By Fatima Haruna (9News Nigeria Maiduguri)
Vice President Kashim Shettima on Friday commissioned three major projects in Maiduguri delivered by the administration of Governor Babagana Umara Zulum.
The projects are a 400-bed teaching hospital and two mega primary schools.
The hospital, Kashim Ibrahim University Teaching Hospital is a comprehensive healthcare and training institution built to reposition Borno as a centre for quality healthcare and medical training.
It is also designed to end medical tourism.
The hospital has 13 specialist departments that covers diagnostic, medical, surgical, emergency, paediatrics, internal medicine and physiotherapy services, among others.It also comes with a medical college complex, a students’ hostel, 200-unit staff estate.
Also, it has an oxygen plant complex to support its operations.
The facility is fitted with modern diagnostic equipment, which includes: 1.5-tesla MRI scanner, a 160-slice CT scanner, three conventional and two mobile X-ray machines.
In addition, it is equip with three 4D ultrasound machines, a fluoroscopy system for real-time imaging and a digital mammography machine.
The government said the investment will bring advanced diagnostic and specialist care closer to home for Borno residents.
It will also serve people from neighbouring communities and foreign residents across Lake Chad.
According to the state government, the project will address the healthcare manpower shortage by training doctors, nurses and allied health workers for Borno and the North-East.
Among the two mega primary school commissioned by the vice president is Yerwa Practice Mega Primary School.
The school is also constructed by Governor Zulum administration as part of efforts to expand access to quality basic education.
The other school was delivered under the Kashim Shettima Free Education Programme.
The programme Shettima’s pet project aims to provide free education to orphans and vulnerable children.
Commending Governor Zulum, the VP described the projects as those that could stand the test of time.
He said, “we shall be judged by what survives our time in office, the offices we held, the aides who surrounded us, and the length of our convoys will have surrendered their importance.”
He added that “what will endure are the institutions we built, the roads we built and the lives we improved through service.”
Stating further, he said “that is the meaning of our gathering here in Maiduguri. That is why this occasion brings me such joy.
“According to Carl Sagan’s law of insignificance, 100 years from now, everyone you know or who knows you will be out of this world. This is why I do not doubt the vision of His Excellency Professor Babagana Umara Zulum.
“His passion for healthcare and education is expressed in the institution before us.”
Shettima added that “the ultra-modern Kashim Ibrahim University Teaching Hospital and the school that dotted our landscape in Maiduguri and across the state give substance to his belief that Borno recovery must reach the patient awaiting treatment and the child sitting in a place in the classroom.”
