A US-based Dr. Titus Okunlola, a medical practitioner, has donated a new ultrasound machine to the former Ahmadu Bello University Teaching Hospital in Malumfashi, Katsina State.
The presentation ceremony took place at the hospital in Malumfashi, with Dr. Okunlola being represented by his childhood friend, Alhaji Tijjani Muhammed-Aminu, on Sunday.
Dr. Okunlola’s decision to donate the ultrasound machine was motivated by his gratitude towards the hospital for saving his life back in 1978 when he was a student. Alhaji Tijjani Muhammed-Aminu, reflecting on their shared history, recounted how Dr. Okunlola, originally from Osun State, fell ill while attending Government Secondary School in Musawa, Katsina State, in 1978.
He said, “He was attacked by meningitis with high fever, vomiting, neck stiffness, severe and excruciating headache for a few days and was rushed unconscious to the then nearby available hospital in Malumfashi for treatment, and he eventually survived.
“He only came to realise how close he was to dying when he got to medical school in the university. Let me quickly add that this is the beginning of our relationship because to whom much is given, it is sensible to say that much is expected from him. This hospital gave back his life when he was unconscious and literarily far gone for days, but the good people of this hospital those days nursed him back to health.’’
He explained that, on completion of the doctor’s secondary school education at Musawa, he left for the Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Osun State, worked as a doctor for some years in Lagos State before proceeding to America.
He added that the movement made him lose contact with the school and Malumfashi, but through social media he was able to contact some of his schoolmates who remembered when he was ill and asked if the hospital still exists.
The Chief Medical Director of the hospital, Dr Abdukazeez Shehu, appreciated the medical doctor for giving back to the community.
The CMD also promised to put the machine for the good use of the hospital and the community in general.
He prayed to God to reward him abundantly, while calling on other Nigerians to emulate this good gesture exhibited by Okunlola.
Also speaking, Alhaji Yakubu Wada, representative of the Malumfashi community, appreciated the donation and commended the gesture.
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