I have always expressed some concern and some unwillingness with all the awards and titles. My concern and unwillingness, maybe out of idealism, or maybe out of some philosophical differences. Because indeed these awards are mere appellations of man. I have always been interested in the ultimate award – the permanent award. But when my teacher, Professor Jonathan Azubuike, spoke to me a few months ago, I knew right away that I will come to Ijanikin today.

I have come to Ijanikin for many reasons, many symbolic reasons, to pay respect to a great institution, to pay respect to a great body of teachers. This is a rare opportunity to publicly acknowledge the difference these teachers and this institution have made in my life. So, thank you to all those who taught me. I have come to say thank you to our very very senior colleagues, who had laboured year in year out largely unrecognized, to say thank you to many of you who refused to “check out”, who refused to seek greener pastures elsewhere – to say that we appreciate you.

So this award, this honour, is very important today. I really appreciate it. It has also given me an opportunity to demonstrate practically my gratitude to invest in this heritage.

The government and people of Enugu State indeed had provided
- four number, 5 horse power packaged units.
- two number, 3 horse power packaged units.
- four number, 2 horse power packaged units of air conditioners and provided electric power intake of this auditorium.
The Government of Enugu State also supplied four executive podiums, tables and twelve executive seats and also the installation of seats in this College auditorium. The Government of Enugu State also provided the installation of aluminum roof and cladding work for this auditorium. The Government of Enugu State also finished up the painting of this auditorium. So I am happy to have given up something however little to my teachers, to a very very noble institution.

I want to use this opportunity to restate my confidence in the medical system here in Nigeria. Personally I have also demonstrated that confidence. A few weeks after I became the Governor of Enugu State and a few months after I came back to Nigeria, I went into the Orthopedic Hospital at Enugu and had a major surgery under general Anastasia.

For many years I had a problem in the United States, but either from denial, or mere fright, I refused to go through the procedure in America. When I came back to Nigeria, I realized that Dr. Achebe was the M.D. of the Orthopedic Hospital. I realized that my school mate, Bona Ondo and Kachy were there. I went there and had general anastasia and had a major surgery. I had the opportunity of going anywhere in the world. It is because I believe, I have confidence in the clinical skills that they provide day in, day out. The medical situation in Nigeria has performed up to the level comparable in the world. The clinical training and the clinical skills you received in Nigeria is comparable to anywhere in the world. I can bear personal testimony to that fact.

To the graduands of today, I also have a single advice and that is for you today to choose whom you will serve, because you can not have it both ways. It is either you are going to teach, you are going to do research or you are going to go out there and make money. You can not have it both ways, there is no way you are going to teach, there is no way you are going to practice medical profession and still have two to three Mercedes cars, still build a house in the urban centre and still build in the village and send your kids to school abroad – it is not possible. You have to make that choice.

The choice that our elders and teachers made many many years ago. Some of them are without car, some of them are without houses. They made the choice and they invested in us. You too you have to make that choice.

I cannot leave this place as Enugu State Governor without sharing my personal view and my personal experience. On a national level I had the occasion 18 months ago, to write a public letter to Prof. Eyitayo Lambo, the Minister of Health, where I suggested a unitarised system of healthcare for indigent patients – one system. If we can have a unitarised system for UBE where money is posted from federal, state and local government, if we can have a unitarised system for police, for army, for youth corpers and for other services, we also need a unitarised healthcare system in Nigeria for indigent care, that guarantee indigent care to all. And the pinnacle of professional leadership of unitarised health system is the Surgeon General. The Surgeon General is going to play many roles but more importantly the Surgeon General will serve as a total symbol of healthcare, of medical excellence in Nigeria.

For us in Enugu State, we have provided healthcare services according to the guideline of the Millennium Summit, which essentially is to half poverty by 2015, to decrease infant mortality by 2/3, to decrease mortality by ¾, to wedge the spread of HIV and if possible lead to its reversal, to wedge the spread of malaria and if possible lead to its reversal, to provide universal basic education, gender equality and empowerment.

So what we have done with healthcare is what we call “Health and Human Services”, an integration of health and human services. In African and other underdeveloped world, what we have is a compartmentalization of healthcare. We have health, we have education; they don’t talk to each other. They don’t know what each other is doing. But you must agree, for the pre-care child, for the school child, for the pre-adolescent, the greater part of the healthcare is going to be provided in the school system.

It is therefore important to have a close relationship, a close synergy between health and education, hence we have health and human health services. We have the School Meal Plus programme, we have the early childhood learning centres, and we have the district health system. So health reform is certainly on course in Enugu State.

To all those who have accompanied me to Ijanikin today despite my protest and attempt to discourage them, that is all part of democracy, especially the professionals, the administrators, the top businessmen and oil merchants, the real estate managers, who left their major assignments to come to Ijanikin today, I say thanks.

To my teachers I remain eternally grateful. The lights you lit will never dim, they shall continue to shine and the banner shall continue to fly.

And as we continue to say in Enugu State, “To God Be The Glory”.