By Kingsley Chukwuka
A former Chief Medical Director (CMD), University of Jos Teaching Hospital (JUTH), Dr. Ishaya Pam, has faulted a report by one of the national daily newspaper’s suggesting that the hospital is discriminating the Hausa Fulani extraction from getting treated at the hospital.
Pam who is currently a consultant in Obstetrician Gynaecologist in JUTH, said Super Eagles Captain, Ahmed Musa started his first professional football in JUTH FC.
He wondered how a hospital that did not discriminate against Ahmed Musa and the likes of Hassan Hassan, Kenneth Omeruo and others will now turn around to discriminate Hausa Fulani patients who throng to the hospital for treatment on daily basis.
Pam, who’s father is Lt. Col. James Yakubu Pam and was murdered in the January 15, 1966 Coup, said it is rather unfortunate that the reporter did not seek the opinion of the University management before going to the press, adding that the reporter may have other intentions of plunging the State into another round of crisis.
The son of the late Ajutant General stated this at the weekend, while interacting with our correspondent on the viral dd report titled: “How JUTH Denies Hausa, Fulani Treatment For Claiming Plateau State”.
According to him: “During my time as the Chief Medical Director, Jos University Teaching Hospital, we have a football club called JUTH FC that was open to everyone. Footballers from different ethnic groups came and achieved stardom. Ahmed Musa passed through JUTH FC and that was his first professional club.
“Nobody was interested in religion, as footballers were shortlisted into the club by merit. JUTH have a track record till date and I think it was wrong to paint an establishment responsible in saving lives in such a bad light of religious or ethnic coloration.
“People on daily basis come from at least 5 to 6 northern States to access health care in JUTH and the malicious story as published by the reporter would have caused death in some of these states because some of these patients would say they might be discriminated against if they come to JUTH as a result of the report.
“So the reporter would have succeeded to reduce access to health care and would have caused a lot of harm to many patients that would have believed his story”, he said.
Recall that the “discriminating” report as published, stated that the Hausa and Fulani Muslims living in Jos, are being forced by record officers at the General Out-Patient Department (GOPD) of JUTH to change their states of origin and local government areas before they can register to see a doctor.
The GOPD is where new patients would first visit for registration before they can see a doctor.
The report had also said that any Hausa or Fulani Muslim who claims to be an indigene of Plateau State would be asked to claim another on the grounds that such ethnic groups were not indigenous to the state.
The report narrated that a nurse was seen addressing new patients and was quoted as saying “Your state of origin is not a state of residence. Now, if for example, I am from Ogbomosho, Oyo State and my grandparents were born in Plateau, should I claim that I am an indigene of Plateau State?”.
However, Dr. Pam said the nurse was not supposed to talk about health information or records from management, saying that what she said was her own understanding of the health records system which is completely untrue.
“The software that is used to collect information from staff is the same software that is used nation wide and it is called Health In The Box. It comes from the Federal Ministry of Health and does not discriminate against anybody”, Pam said.