Lack of Maintenance Culture Bane of Nigeria’s Problem-Gen Danjuma

Posted by African Examiner Agabus Pwanagba, Latest Headlines, News Thursday, November 7th, 2013

Agabus Pwanagba, Jos

Former Minister of Defence, Lt.-Gen Theophilus Danjuma has said lack of maintenance culture is the number one problem bedeviling Nigeria as a nation.

Former Minister of Defence, Lt.-Gen Theophilus Danjuma

He stated this on Thursday while commissioning Dee Medical Dialysis Center, in Bukuru, Jos South Local Government Area of Plateau State.

The facility is built by an elder statesman, Bulus Dareng for his twins Doctors, Dr Gyang and Dr Pam Dareng.

Danjuma noted that, “Lack of maintenance is our number one national problem and I will plead with you, to ensure that this equipment works all the time.

“I beg you, the equipments are all digital, meaning they are very delicate and when anything goes wrong, there will be no patch work, we can’t manage the dead equipment.

“Please hang on to the Americans who supplied you this equipment, have an agreement with them, so that every now and then you can call on them to come and fix the equipment, when it goes wrong”.

He stressed that, “Without functioning equipment, the centre will just be a name.

The Elder statesman maintained that, “This centre is one of the best Medical Centers I have seen, at least the best equipped I have seen in the world.

Danjuma decried the way similar equipment, have been abandoned at the national hospital, saying, “Go to the National Hospital and you will see many dead equipment in the corridors and all over the place.

In his remarks, Governor Jonah Jang, said, “I therefore encourage more health practitioners to join in government desire for partnership to bring medical care to our teaming populace, considering the fact that; we are still far behind in the ‘one doctor to three patients’ phenomenon.

The Governor warned private health operators to ensure that they maintain standard, saying “health is key to life”.

He assured that, the State Government will continue to explore avenues in conjunction with stakeholders in the health sector, towards creating a flourishing standard medical system.

In his earlier address, Medical Director of the Center, Dr Pam Dareng, called on the Federal Government to include dialysis treatment in the National Health Insurance Scheme for all qualified patients and subsidize it for non-qualified NHIS patients.

He urged States and Local Governments to create programs that will subsidize dialysis for indigenes.

Dr Pam, further said, “Bringing in medical/dialysis consumables into the country should be made duty free so as to decrease the expense of dialysis treatment by more the 35% and help hospitals provide quality and affordable medical services.

The Medical Director stressed the need for more medical centers to be built in the country, to prevent patients from traveling long distances for treatment.

Stressing that, “It will take policy changes and partnership to make dialysis affordable”.