Like an ill wind, the litany of woes occasioned by a plethora of uncompleted projects during the Administration of the immediate past Governor of Ogun State, Senator Ibikunle Amosun, has refused to go away.
Examples of Amosun’s uncompleted projects littering different locations throughout the 20 local government areas of the state include the 26 Millennium Secondary Schools projects, each gulping N1.7b, several Flyover projects and most importantly the proposed 250-bed specialist hospital for which a staggering amount of N7billion his already been expended.
It would be recalled that Senator Amosun, less than four days to the end of his two-term tenure on May 29, 2019, had hurriedly invited President Muhammadu Buhari to perform the commissioning of the hospital complex, which was in reality yet to be completed, and in fact not been fully painted.
To worsen matters, the incumbent Administration in the state led by Governor Dapo Abiodun has recently disclosed that the government would still need another whopping sum of N3.5bn to complete the project and put for use.
This accounts for reasons why the government of Ogun State has been pushed to the walls and is presently seeking expression of interest from investors, under a Public/Private Partnership arrangement for completion and management of the hospital.
The project which is only about 60% completed is designed as a world class health facility in the mould of a secondary and tertiary hospital with state of the art facilities.
As the Abiodun-led Administration intensifies its privatization plan for the hospital project, heated debates and much furore are being generated, with many residents criticising the government’s plan as being capable of taking healthcare dividends beyond the reach of the common man.
A notable Public Relations expert and top rate consultant, Mr Eddie Aina, vehemently rejected the government’s move, describing it as strange and worrisome.
Mr Aina said: “This development introduces a Private Partnership Participation (PPP) into the health sector of Ogun State, a strange and worrisome concept in a state that is used to free health care system.The wider implication of this obnoxious policy is that healthcare in Ogun State will be subject to ‘cash and carry’.
“Only the rich will be able to access a fairly good healthcare in a state with majority of the people living below per capital income. Definitely, the investor is bound to recoup his investment in any form and such, is not always friendly to the masses; it’s rather exploitative in nature.
“The policy therefore lacks in deep thinking and foresight!! Rather than put the health sector of the State on wholesale economic consideration, the Government should set its priorities right, be sensitive to the basic needs of the people and pursue a welfarist programme of empathy.
“Frankly speaking, the PPP is not needed in the health sector of Ogun State, please”
However, Eddie Aina was countered by a public health physician and former Health Commissioner in the state, Dr Iziaq Salako.
Dr Salako who is presently Chairman of the Ogun State Hospitals Management Board, did not see any sense in Amosun’s gargantuan investment of N7bn on such a project in the first place but said nonetheless that Governor Abiodun was left with no choice than to seek investors assistance.
Dr Salako said: “The 250 bedded hospital as presented by the initiator is meant to provide secondary specialist and tertiary healthcare services. I am of the opinion that considering the health need of majority of Ogun State residents, the financial situation of the state and the level of development and utilization of existing public secondary/tertiary health facilities in the state, building another one should not have been a priority of government.
“The Olabisi Onabanjo Teaching Hospitals, Sagamu, the Federal Medical Centre, Abeokuta and the Neuropsychiatric Hospital, Aro Abeokuta are adequate to provide tertiary healthcare services for Ogun and neighbouring states, if well developed and funded.
“I think it would have been a wiser and more prudent spending if the immediate past government of the State had committed resources to strengthen and expanding the services of the existing tertiary health centres especially OOUTH rather than building another one at less than 10 and 30 minutes drive from FMC and OOUTH respectively.
“However, since the immediate past government has committed billions of naira of state resources to develop the hospital to certain level, the current government has a responsibility to ensure that the committed resources is not allowed to waste and and should be commended for it’s efforts so far in this direction.
“I think that considering the health priority of this government, the resources available for health financing and the health need of majority of Ogun State residents, committing a whopping N3.5 billion naira to complete the 250 bedded hospital at this time cannot be justified. I therefore agree absolutely with the move by the government to bring in private operator(s) so that the facility does not go to waste.”
Differing from the opinions expressed by antagonists of the government new plan, Dr Salako stated: “It is important to state unequivocally that bringing in private sector participant to complete the 250 bedded Hospital does not in anyway translate to “cash and carry” healthcare services or that only the “rich will be able to access a fairly good healthcare in the state”.
He said further: “With the recent introduction of health insurance scheme and the basic healthcare provision fund which is being aggressively funded by both the Federal and State governments, 80 – 90% of Ogun State residents should be able to meet their health need at the primary and secondary levels without being pauperized and without needing to pay out of pocket.
“For the remaining 10% who will require specialist/tertiary level care, what is required is for the government to provide some social safety nets through expanded health insurance and social funding to support them. For me, rather than government commit 3-5 billion naira to complete the 250 bedded Hospital, I will advise the government to strengthen OOUTH with a billion, rejuvenate our secondary and primary health facilities with a billion naira each and commit another N1bn into a robust social health insurance in a sustainable manner.
“Those criticising the Ogun State Government on the move to bring in private participant to complete and run the 250 bedded Hospital to my mind do not know what they are saying. They should be advised to keep quiet and not derail the laudable move of the government.”(operanewsapp)
