The date was January 20, 1961, and the occasion was the inauguration of the 35th President of the United States.
After taking his oath of office, the young incoming President John F. Kennedy called out to his people- “And so, my fellow Americans: ask not what your country can do for you – ask what you can do for your country.”
This call continues to resonate with every patriotic citizen with a commendable sense of “civic action and public service”.
Last April 17, 2023 was a memorable day in the ancient city of Otukpo, the traditional headquarters of the Idoma nation, Benue South Senatorial District. Long neglected by succession administrations at both federal and state levels, Otukpo town is currently enjoying some reawakening in infrastructure, following the siting of a Federal University of Health Sciences (FUHS) by President Muhammadu Buhari.
Further to the flurry of amenities that are being put in place to support the effective takeoff of the university, a private individual made a humongous intervention of a magnitude never witnessed in the annals of individual philanthropic gestures in Idomaland, if not the entire Benue State.
This was the commissioning of an ultramodern Kidney/Dialysis Centre, built and equipped by the GODWIN OBLA FOUNDATION, initiated and funded by Chief Godwin Odumu Obla, SAN, in furtherance of his ceaseless philanthropic giving-back-to-the-society Program, and donated to the Teaching Hospital of the Federal University of Health Sciences, Otukpo.
It was a day of sober reflections, a day of long but inactive political knives, a day of nostalgic regrets, and a day of hope, as well as a day of appreciation. Indeed, it was a day of mixed emotions. Most of all, 17th April 2023 would go down as a day of realization and challenges.
The premises of the former General Hospital, where the Centre is located, is a colourful beehive of activities as people from far and near thronged the venue to appreciate Chief Godwin Odumu Obla, the first Senior Advocate of Nigeria from Benue South Senatorial District for his show of love towards his late wife, expressed in his determination to provide such needed health care facilities, the absence of which led to her untimely demise.
The JUDITH OGWA OBLA KIDNEY CENTRE is named after Chief Godwin Obla’s wife who passed on in the United States of America on 21st March, 2022, due to complications arising from a protracted battle with diabetes which resulted in kidney failure.
Her passing on to eternal glory was a glaring manifestation of the unacceptable gap between health facilities in Nigeria and other more advanced societies, prompting her husband to promise a well-equipped health Centre for his people back home.
For a man who has always regarded a promise to be a debt, Chief Obla pulled all available resources together and within four months the Centre became ready for handover, Project fully completed and appropriately equipped and furnished. Apart from handing over the state-of-the-art KIDNEY CENTRE to FUHSO’s Council, the Vice Chancellor of the first Federal Government-established Medical University, Prof Innocent Ujah, had a memorable 17th April 2023, as an avalanche of academic endowments totaling N40 million naira was thrust at FUHSO, still by the GODWIN OBLA FOUNDATION.
Some of these included the Judith Ogwa Obla Prize for Best Graduating Student in Nephrology; Joseph Elagbaje Obla Snr Prize (to honor his late father) for Best Graduating Student in Internal Medicine; GODWIN ODUMU OBLA Prize for Best Graduating Student in Urology; and Dr Idoko Edwin Obe Prize for Best Overall Graduating Student (in memory of the first Idoma Medical Doctor).
Each of the four endowments is to attract an annual cash gift of not less than a million naira.
The GODWIN OBLA FOUNDATION and FUHSO signed agreement papers to legitimize the handover, which also included the public presentation of the real bank cheques to Prof Innocent Ujah.
The Director General of GODWIN OBLA FOUNDATION, Elder Michael Uba Obande, JP, had, in his speech while welcoming dignitaries to the historic occasion, given a brief exposition on the FOUNDATION which is committed to upholding the biblical Good Samaritan principle of extending assistance to the needy. He told the audience that GODWIN OBLA FOUNDATION has already impacted lives positively through its Projects in such areas as the Benue Judiciary, St Francis College, Wesley High School, and New Vision Institute of Technology (all in Otukpo).
The mammoth crowd which witnessed the great event included Benue State Deputy Governor Benson Abounu, Deputy Governor-elect Sam Ode, Distinguished Senator Abba Moro, House of Reps Member Ottah Agbo, Och’Idoma V, Catholic Bishop Michael Apochi and other members of the clergy as well as members of both Obla and Ugbo families.
The Obla, the centre benefactor had advised the Vice Chancellor of the university, Innocent Ujah, a professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology, to set up a team of eminent medical professionals based in the US to fashion out “a proper clinical governance structure.”
To ensure staff discipline, Mr. Obla said Close Circuit Television (CCTV) cameras would be installed at the centre to capture medical personnel activities as they relate to patients’ care.
He explained that the facility would serve as a research and training centre to assist government in planning, policy and decision-making.
