The Vice-Chancellor of the University of Ilorin, Prof. AbdulGaniyu Ambali (OON), has given a pass mark to the Department of Ears, Nose and Throat (ENT) of the University of Ilorin Teaching Hospital (UITH) for being consistent in its collaboration with St. George's Hospital, University of London, UK and Erasmus Medical Centre, University Hospital, Rotterdam, The Netherlands, since the past seven years.

Prof. Ambali gave the commendation penultimate Thursday (December 17, 2015) at the lecture to end this year's edition of the annual Head and Neck Surgery Training Course jointly organised by the Department of ENT of the UITH and ST. George's Hospital, University of London, UK and Erasmus Medical Centre, University Hospital, Rotterdam, The Netherlands.

The Vice-Chancellor, who was represented on the occasion by the Dean, Faculty of Clinical Sciences, College of Health Sciences, University of Ilorin, Prof. Olanrewaju Adedoyin, also thanked the visiting doctors for providing the University with the state-of-the-art equipment each year since 2009. He disclosed that the equipment brought from overseas by the team this year worth over N15 million and commended the E.N.T Department for engaging in such a result-oriented collaboration.

Prof. Ambali said, "A collaboration that has gone on for seven years is a commendable collaboration because there are several other collaborations and linkages in the University that have not stood the test of time. This one has been able to stand the test of time. They have come once, second, third and up to the seventh time consecutively, this is a real collaboration. A real collaboration should be consistent, persistent, serious, focused, sincere, and it should be sustainable, any collaboration that is not sustainable is not a real collaboration".

"I want to congratulate the Head and Neck team with the Department of ENT for sustaining this one, and for them to have gotten to seventh, I'm sure the eighth, the ninth, the tenth will come. I want to thank them for the gifts they have given us, the gifts they brought for is over 15 million naira. Every time they come, they bring gifts", he said.

In his address, the Head of ENT Department, UITH, Dr Sulaiman Alabi, said that since its inception in 2009, the course has realised various objectives such as provision of quality health care delivery to Nigerians, on cases which otherwise would have been referred overseas, at reduced cost.

Other advantages of the collaboration, according to Dr. Alabi, included donation of the state-of-the-art equipment worth millions of naira from overseas collaborators, technology transfer and advanced surgical training, creation of awareness on the scourge of cancers in Nigeria among others. "The course started in November 2009 following my Head and Neck Fellowship training at the United Kingdom under Mr. Tunde Odutoye with subsequent stints at the Netherlands under Dr Jeroen Kerrebijn.

"The aim of the course is to disseminate knowledge and skills among ENT, Head and Neck and other Surgical Specialties in Nigeria. This is to be achieved through on site hands on Cadaver dissections and live surgeries for Nigerians with ENT, Head and Neck diseases on cases which hitherto were referred abroad" Dr Alabi said. Dr. Alabi called on the Federal Government and institutions in Nigeria to allocate funds for periodic training of medical personnel to update their knowledge in addition to the provision of modern equipment.

In his lecture on the occasion, Prof. G. A. Rahaman of the Department of Surgery, UITH, said we can still do thyroid Surgery in Nigeria, saying that the hallmark of good outcome of the surgery is to be meticulous and be extra care so as not to record collateral damage.

Prof. Rahaman, whose lecture centered on the treatment, management and prevention of goiter, advised people to always take iodized salt as absence of iodine leads to goiter diseases. Earlier on Wednesday (December 16, 2015), members of the team of overseas collaborators led by Dr Tunde Odutoye, had visited the Vice-Chancellor, Prof. AbdulGaniyu Ambali in his office.

Dr. Odutoye explained that his team from overseas had also gained a lot from the collaboration and thanked the University authority for giving them the opportunity to partner with the institution. In his response, Prof. Ambali thanked the visiting team for their interest in the University of Ilorin and pledged the readiness of the institution to sustain the relationship.

The Vice-Chancellor disclosed that the University of Ilorin had entered into a number of collaborations and partnerships with several institutions abroad all geared towards moving the University to an enviable height.