Professional Development: Dr M.R Akpa holds a fellowship of the West African College of Physicians and the Royal College of Physicians of London.

He is currently the Training coordinator of the Faculty of Internal Medicine, West African College of Physicians, a Senior Lecturer in the department of Medicine at the University of Port Harcourt and a Honorary Consultant Physician and Cardiologist to the University of Port Harcourt Teaching Hospital, Port Harcourt.

As a trained and practising cardiologist with almost two decades of experience, Dr M.R Akpa shows a strong research interests in management of cardiac diseases. He has research interest in hypertension, arrhythmias and heart failure and has published several works in these areas in local and international journals. He is a full member of Nigerian Cardiac Society, Pan African Society of Cardiology, and European Society of Cardiology.

To keep abreast of his of his area of research interest and stay of global trends in cardiology and medical education, Dr M.R Akpa, participates in international and national medical conferences and workshops regularly; prominent among them, the annual Scientific Meetings of the West African College of Physicians, the Pan African Society of Cardiology, the European Society of Cardiology and the Nigerian Cardiac society.

Family Life: Dr M.R Akpa is happily married with children.

His journey towards social change in health sector started as a 200-level student when he volunteered as a media personnel for the Ebola Alert Group mandated by the government to proffer solutions to the Ebola crises that rock the nation at the time. There he mustered forte in IT and Medial Skills set which he brought into focus working with The Nigerian Child Initiative, an SDG oriented organization committed to promoting and ensuring healthy Nigerian Children. He served as Media Director at the Organization. He has also served and worked with organizations like Leading Health Initiative, The New Dawn Foundation, The Dorcas Foundation and recently the Carrington Youth Fellowship Initiative. He is a founding member of The Safer Hands Initiative, an organization involved in providing proper and adequate training and facilitation of traditional birth attendants and maternal and child health providers in rural settings of resource constrained states. He is the founder of the Talk2Brammy Hub, a Media Outlet housing over 30 Medical and Medical related young persons who are skilled IT and Media Skillsets and thus provide Digital and Media Solutions.
He is currently a participant of the Kectil Youth Fellowship and earlier this year was picked as a representative of Nigeria at the United Nations Youth Assembly in New York. He has over the years grown to be an active leader in his community and college having served in several elective and appointment capacities as a medical student including Deputy Senate President of the Medical Student Association, Vice President of the Same Association. He currently leads over 1000 Medical Students at the College of Medicine, University of Lagos as President.
His love for driving social change and being part of health care development and advancement in Nigeria remains his driving force towards learning actively as well as taking well crafted steps towards being of a positive impact. He hopes to be involved in International Research and Evidence Based Policy Development in the near future as a Medical Doctor and Social Changer.

Qualifications

He had his elementary education at St. John’s Primary School, Okiti pupa, Ondo State between 1976 and 1982. He proceeded to Ikoya Grammar School, Ikoya in 1982 and was

only there till 1983. He completed his secondary school at Methodist High School, Okitipupa between 1983 and 1987 when his father who was a school principal was

transferred there. To earn his A-Level Certificate, he attended Christ School, Ado-Ekiti in Ekiti State in 1988 and Ondo Boys High School, Ondo State in 1989.He proceeded to the

University of Lagos, Lagos State for his tertiary education. He bagged his MBBS from the College of Medicine of the institution in 1996. Not satisfied with just being trained as a

medical doctor and realising the indispensable input of business orientation in all successful human endeavours, he acquired Masters in Business Administration (MBA)

from the Federal University of Technology, Akure in 2005 while working as a medical officer in the State Specialist Hospital, Akure.

 

In an attempt to satisfy his unquenchable thirst for knowledge, he went back to the

University of Lagos and got Masters in Cell Biology and Genetics in 2006.

Being an inquisitive mind, Francis went further to become a Fellow of the Medical College of Pathologists in 2007, from the National Post Graduate Medical College of Nigeria where he took Advanced Courses in Pathology, Surgical Pathology and Forensic Medicine.

 

In 2008, he sought to further broaden his medical horizon by obtaining a Diploma of the National Cancer from the Division of Cancer Prevention, USA. He passed with distinction

the Diploma of Forensic Human Identification from the Academy of Forensic Medical Sciences in United Kingdom examination. Francis has had many professional training in

terms of workshops and seminars within and outside the country. He also has many research publications and presentations in his chosen field of medicine.

He attended Group School EziamaNtigha for his primary education and proceeded to the Catholic Seminary School, Annunciation Seminary Amaudara, Ngwaobi for his post primary education. At both primary and secondary schools, he maintained a track record of excellence, both in academics and behaviour. He proceeded to the prestigious University of Nigeria, and graduated a medical doctor. Presently, he is a senior registrar (specialist cardiologist) at the University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital Ituku/Ozalla, Enugu.

Dr. John Ugochukwu Onyebueze commenced exemplary leadership role as far back as his secondary school days where he served as senior prefect. He has ever since then distinguished himself as an astute and versatile politician, human rights activist, social and public crusader, diplomat,and a leader per excellence all through undergraduate days in the university till date.He has to his credit a lot of diverse public and political crusades that has led to improved governance and dividends to the people.

He was a Project Implementation Officer of GEDAFF Club of UNEC, a member and Pro-tem Speaker of the House of Representatives (HOR), Students Union Government(SUG), University of Nigeria, Enugu Campus (UNEC), Chairman, Joint Campuses Committee (JCC) of National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS), Enugu State. In this capacity, he led several struggles for the Nigerian students in Enugu State and also nationally. During which period, he served as a member of the Presidential Committee on Students Hostel Accommodation in 2004 that caused the Federal Government to rescind the increment on students’ hostel fees, as well as a member National Population Commission Enugu State Census Publicity Committee for the 2005 National Census. He also served at different times as Public Relation Officer, Eastern Youth Forum (EYF) and Ohaneze Ndigbo Youths, amidst other political and medical school engagements. In final year at medical school, he was coronated the 2^nd traditional ruler (Igwe) of the Great Imoke Hall/UNTH Community. He learnt from medical school, and postulated the theory of the meeting point between medicine and politics; “while medicine is responsiveness to the plight of the sick, politics is responsiveness to the plight of the general populace and the society.”

He became the President of Association of Resident Doctors (ARD), UNTH for the 2009/2010 tenure as a junior resident in a keenly contested election with senior residents. He served out his term diligently, and together with his team achieved a lot for the resident doctors in UNTH. Thereafter, he became appointed to various committees of National Association of Resident Doctors of Nigeria (NARD) and Nigerian Medical Association (NMA); NARD Unification Committee, NARD Constitution Review Committee, NARDRemuneration Committee, NARD Residency Programme Policy Review Committee, NMA Welfare Committee, ARD UNTH Medical Outreach Committee, ARD UNTH Constitution Review Committee, NMA Enugu Medical Outreach Committee, to mention but a few.

He was overwhelmingly elected the National President of the National Association of resident Doctors of Nigeria for the 2016/2017 Executive year. He served meritoriously with numerous achievements for his constituency, the resident doctors, and successfully handed over in September, 2017.

Back home, he has also been a benefactor to his people. He was one of the select persons to the reconciliation committee that resolved the rift that threatened the peace of his community. He leads team of Doctors and other health workers routinelyto UmuekpeNtigha Autonomous Community for medical outreach. His support for development projects both at his community and outside is remarkable.His love for education is also manifest in his assistance to the financing of the education of some of the indigent persons in his community.

 

To mention but a few of his achievements;

1. Rescinding of the decision by the federal government to increase students’accommodation fee from about N1, 200 to N10, 000.
2. Securement of allocation for the permanent secretariat site forAssociation of Resident Doctors, UNTH.
3. Procurement of the first ever vehicle for Association of Resident Doctors, UNTH.
4. Entrepreneurial expansion of the Association of Resident Doctors, UNTHbusiness ventures.
5. Recognitionof UNTH Ituku/Ozallaas a registration center with twopooling boots units by INEC.
6. Negotiating and signing with government a memorandum of terms of settlement with Doctors in September 2017, for matters related to improved remuneration,corrections of anomalies in promotion, pension, and structure of the training of resident Doctors.
7. Initiating and lobbying for a bill on legislation of residency training programme at the National Assembly which presently awaits presidential assent, contributed to formulating the free maternity carebill, as well as participating at the public hearing of so many other bills relating to the health sector.
8. Acquisition and furnishing of a national Office for NARD in Abuja.
9. Initiating and securing approval for the registration and incorporation of NARD with FMOLE and Corporate Affairs Commission respectively.
10. Re-instatement of pension for resident doctor in federal tertiary health institutions.
11. Release of circular/implementation of the adjusted entry grade step for medical house officers.
12. Appropriate promotion placement and application of skipping of grade level for doctors and other health workers in federal tertiary institutions.
13. Reduction of strikes in health sector while serving as national president of resident doctors, through active engagement of relevant stakeholders.

 

 

AWARDS AND RECOGNITION

1. Awards of meritorious service as President ARD UNTH for 2009-2010, by ARD UNTH (December 2010).
2. Meritorious service award for numerous contributions to growth and sustainability of NARD, by South East Caucus of NARD (February 2017).
3. Award of excellence in recognition of meritorious service to humanity as president of NARD for 2016-2017,by Doctors’ time out family (June 2017).
4. OsahonEnabuleleleadership award for outstanding achievement as president, National Association of Resident Doctors of Nigeria (NARD) for 2016-2017. (September 2017)
5. Award of excellence for meritorious service to NARD and humanity during the NARD 2016/17 executive year as president of the Association, by NARD(September 2017).
6. Award of excellence in public service by Nigerian Medical Students’ Association (NIMSA) (November 2017).
7. Meritorious service award in recognition of the contributions to the growth and progress of the Doctors as National President of NARD 2016/2017, by ARD UNTH. (December 2017).
8. Award of honour in recognition of contributions in fostering good relationships among medical Doctors in Imo State,by ARD FMC Owerri (December 2017).
9. Last but not the least, conferment of the chieftaincy title “ALILIELEMBA I” in recognition of illustrious contributions to the growth and development of UmuekpeNtigha Autonomous Community, by Eze in Council,UmuekpeNtigha(December 2017).

In 2004, he was appointed the Acting Deputy Registrar of the Council when the position was temporarily vacant.

While serving as the Head of Department of the Professional Discipline, Dr. Sanusi was made to supervise the Registration Department for a period of one year in 2006. He championed the proposal for the establishment of the Inspectorate Department of the Council and the framework was adopted to establish the Department.

He was equally at various times, member, Junior Staff Appointment, Promotion and Disciplinary Committee (JSAPDC) and later became the Chairman until 2013. This is aside various other committees of Council. He was transferred from the Abuja office of the Council to head the South West zonal office in Lagos in 2008; it was from the Lagos office that he proceeded to the United Kingdom in 2009, upon his admission by the Cardiff University Law School in the United Kingdomto undergo a one year post graduate LLM LEGAL ASPECT OF MEDICAL PRACTICE.

While on this training, he won an European Union scholarship of Erasmus Mundus Masters of Bioethics, jointly organized by a consortium of three Universities, KatholiekeUniverisitat, Leuven near Brussel Belgium, Radbound Universitet Nigmegen, the Netherlands and Universitet DegliStudi, Padova, Italy. On completion of the study, Dr. Sanusi returned to take over the headship of the Lagos office. He was promoted to the substantive position of the Deputy Registrar of the Council in 2013. Dr. Sanusi was appointed the Ag. Registrar of the Council in December 2016.

In February 2018, he was confirmed as the substantive Registrar of Council

His responsibilities as the Registrar/ CEO and Secretary to Council include among others, the coordination/supervision of the various functions of the Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria, some of which include the following:

1. Registration of Medical and Dental Practitioners within the territories of Nigeria and Nigerian Practitioners in the diasporal;
2. Ensuring compliance with the Ethics of the Professions;
3. Accreditation and visitation to the various Medical Training Institutions;
4. Accreditation and visitation to Tertiary Health/Internship Training Institutions;
5. Ensuring effective and efficient implementation of Policies/decisions of the Council being Secretary to the Council; and
6. Day to day Administration/supervisions of Personnel and functions in the various Departments at the Secretariat and Zonal Offices of the Council.

After his assumption of duty as the overall Chief Executive of the Council, Dr. Sanusi has carried out major turn-around of many of Council’s functions and activities notable among which are:

• Removal of controversies surrounding the conduct of Assessment Examination;
• Standardisation of the accreditation of medical and dental training institutions and Internship training centres;
• Obtaining FEC approval of the centralization of internship posting.

SUMMARY OF RESEARCH INTERESTS

Bacterial infections in orthopaedics and trauma surgery

Orthopaedic trauma

Operative orthopaedics

General orthopaedics

MEMBERSHIP OF PROFESSIONAL ASSOCIATIONS

1. Registered with the Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria.
2. Member Nigerian Medical Association.
3. Fellow of the West African college of Surgeons.
4. Member Nigerian Orthopaedic Association. NOA.
5. Member, Nigerian Surgical Research Society
6. Member, International Society of Orthopaedics and Traumatology (SICOT)

 

EDITOR OF BIOMEDICAL JOURNALS

Nigerian Journal of Orthopaedics and Trauma Nov 2005 – 2010

MEMBER EDITORIAL BOARD OF BIOMEDICAL JOURNAL

Journal of neurosciences in rural practice, India

Annals of Health Research

REVIEWER FOR BIOMEDICAL JOURNALS

1. Journal of the National Medical Association, USA
2. Nigerian Medical Practitioner
3. Nigerian Medical Journal
4. Nigerian Journal of Clinical Practice
5. Nigerian Journal of Orthopaedics and Trauma
6. Journal of microbiology and antimicrobials
7. Journal of neurosciences in rural practice, India
8. Nigerian Hospital Practice
9. Journal of Surgical Technique and case report
10. Annals of African Medicine
11. Saudi Medical Journal, Saudi Arabia
12. West African Journal of Medicine

 

CONTRIBUTION TO THE NATION

• Vice Chairman, Medical and Dental Consultants Association of Nigeria, OOUTH chapter 2003 to 2004
• Member, Federal Road Safety Corp planning committee on Sagamu Accidents Centre 2004
• Chairman Medical and Dental Consultants Association of Nigeria, OOUTH   chapter, 2005, 2006
• Member, Ogun State Local Organising Committee (LOC) of the Nigeria  FIFA U-17 World Cup competition. 2008 – 2009
• Member, Faculty Board of Surgery, West African College of Surgeons. Feb  2009 – date
• Chairman Medical Subcommittee FIFA Under-17 World Cup LOC, Ogun State   2009
• Member Medical Committee Gateway Tertiary Institutions Games, GATIG         2010
• Member Local Organising Committee, West African Football Union Tournament, Ogun, Nigeria 2010, 2011

 

ADMINISTRATIVE FUNCTION AND CONTRIBUTION TO A UNIVERSITY

1. Chairman, Accident and Emergency Services, OOUTH 1998 to 2017
2.  Acting Head, Department of Surgery, FCS, OACHS, OOU at various times
3.  Head, Dept. of Orthopaedics and Traumatology, OOUTH 2002 to date
4.  Member Scientific Research and Ethics Review Committee, OOUTH 2005  to date
5.  Member of SENATE Olabisi Onabanjo University 2002 to date
6.  Coordinator of Residency Training, OOUTH, 2005 to 2008
7.  Chairman Medical Advisory Committee OOUTH 2006 to 2008
8.  Acting Chief Medical Director OOUTH at various times
9. Ag Dean, Faculty of Clinical Sciences, OOU at various times
10. Head Department of Surgery, OOU 2010 – 2012
11. Member of Governing Council, OOU May 2012 to 2016
12. Provost Obafemi Awolowo College of Health Sciences, OOU, 2014 – 2018

PUBLICATIONS

More than fifty publications in peer review journals

CORRESPONDENCE

Dept. of Orthopaedics and Traumatology,

Olabisi Onabanjo University Teaching Hospital,

PMB 2022 Sagamu,

Ogun State, Nigeria.

E-mail:  loathanni@yahoo.com , loa.thanni@oouagoiwoye.edu.ng

Phone:   08023721022 (mobile)