Vice President Kashim Shettima has called for increased private sector participation in the ongoing reforms in the health sector and healthcare development across Nigeria.
He reaffirmed the Federal Government’s commitment to addressing critical deficits in the health sector through strategic partnerships and investments, noting however that the private sector has a very crucial role to play because the “government alone cannot shoulder this burden.”
The Vice President who stated this on Saturday when he commissioned the Sulaiman Adebola Adegunwa Trauma Centre in Sagamu, Ogun State, said the health facility was a vital addition to the nation’s emergency care infrastructure and a symbol of the government’s dedication to saving lives.
According to a release by his spokesman, Stanley Nkwocha, Shettima revealed that President Bola Tinubu has approved a “comprehensive Health Sector Renewal Investment Initiative, including the creation of over 8,800 new Primary Healthcare Centres across the country and the upgrade of existing tertiary institutions to handle trauma, oncology, and infectious disease control.
“In a nation facing rising urbanisation, motorisation, and industrial risks, trauma care is no longer optional—it is essential,” Shettima added, describing the facility as “a lifeline and a symbol of preparedness in a nation that cares.”
He commended the Adegunwa family’s initiative, urging more philanthropists and corporate organisations to “rise beyond personal achievement and invest in nation-building.”
Describing the initiative as a model of private sector contribution to public health, Shettima said, “This centre is more than a birthday gift; it is a gift to humanity. It is a lifeline—a sanctuary where the wounded can find healing, and where families in despair can find hope”.
The facility built by the Sulaiman Adebola Adegunwa Foundation within the Olabisi Onabanjo University Teaching Hospital aligns with the Federal Government’s Health Sector Renewal Investment Initiative aimed at overhauling Nigeria’s healthcare delivery system.
“The Administration is investing in a National Health Insurance Scheme that leaves no Nigerian behind, and a Digital Health Information Management System that ensures data drives diagnosis and delivery,” the Vice President stated.
The commissioning ceremony coincided with the 80th birthday celebration of Alhaji Sulaiman Adebola Adegunwa, a former chairman of Sterling Bank Plc and CEO of Essay Holdings Limited, the parent company of Rite Foods Limited.
In his remarks, the Governor of Ogun State, Prince Dapo Abiodun, described the celebrant, Adegunwa, as “a philanthropist, entrepreneur and an astute businessman,” who even at the age of 80 has achieved greatness at all times.
Noting that the gathering was not only to honour Adegunwa but to also celebrate a legacy, a milestone and the father of modern philanthropy, Abiodun expressed delight in commissioning the Trauma Centre donated by Pa Adegunwa to Olabisi Onabanjo University Teaching Hospital.
The Governor said it was a monumental facility established for the benefit of humanity and the betterment of mankind.
“In 2019 when I assumed office, this university was on its knees. It was like a ghost town; nobody came here for medical attention. It was one of the worst places I visited in my first term in office. In line with the recommendation of the committee we set up, we constituted the hospital governing board which did not exist for many years. I want to thank the Chief Medical Director for the great job she has done and the achievement that we are seeing today,” he stated.
He thanked Vice President Shettima, who he described as a friend and a leader, saying it is gratifying to celebrate great leaders while they are still alive, thereby motivating others to do more.
Also, the donor and celebrant, Asiwaju Adebola Adegunwa, thanked the governor and all
Echezona Okafor.
