Medicine is arguably one of the most sought-after courses at most universities, despite the extremely limited admission slots. At Ahmadu Bello University (ABU), my alma mater, the story is no different. For many students, the ambition to become medical doctors begins as early as primary or secondary school, particularly at the senior level. Many parents equally nurture the dream of making doctors out of their children, to the extent that any brilliant child is almost automatically considered a potential medical doctor.
It goes without saying that it takes brilliance to complete an MBBS degree. However, brilliance alone does not necessarily make someone a medical doctor, just as being brilliant does not automatically make medicine the most suitable course for everyone.
My love affair with medicine started in Zaria in the 1990s
During my early years in the 80s and mid-90s, there were hardly any medical doctors in Zaria City, where I lived. I can recall only one, Dr. Bello Abdulkadir, Salanken Zazzau, who is married to my cousin and owns a private hospital in Tudun Wada, popularly known as Asibitin Dr. Bello. Other professionals, including engineers, architects, economists and accountants, were also relatively scarce, but medical doctors were particularly scarce.
I encountered the second medical doctor in my circle, Dr. Lawal Halliru (Dr. Daddy), who was then a medical student, in 1995 when I joined SS1. We met at the Muslim Refresher Course Program (MRCP), popularly known as Refresher, where he taught us Chemistry. Refresher was a tuition-free weekend extra-mural programme that played a tremendous role in addressing the educational backwardness of Zaria and its environs.
If you want to see brilliance with your naked eyes, look at Dr. Daddy! He was exceptionally brilliant and deeply passionate about teaching Chemistry. In the course of his lessons, he would occasionally tell us about his medical studies. Gradually, I became fascinated by medicine through his stories, even though I struggled to understand his Chemistry lessons in their entirety until later in SS2. That, however, is a story for another day.
Seeing another medical doctor, albeit a medical student, as my teacher and listening to him speak passionately about medicine ignited my interest in the profession. When he noticed my growing interest, he gradually drew me closer and became a mentor. I would sometimes visit him at home, where he shared more about medicine and guided me academically.
I became his mentee. He encouraged me to sit for WAEC in SS2, which I did, obtaining an A2 in Chemistry, his favourite subject and the subject he taught us.
He also organised an additional weekend lesson for a small group of us: Engr. Idris Nuhu Malami (Major), Dr. Shuaibu M. Bala, Bashir Muhammad and my humble self. He taught us Biology from 4 pm.
My weekends were quite eventful. I would attend Refresher from 9 am to 1 pm, proceed to Bashir's house to rest until 4 pm, and then head to the lesson venue at Junior Secondary School, just after the bridge leading to Tudun Jukun.
He also organised a separate weekday lesson exclusively for me. Immediately after closing at my conventional school, Government Day Tukur-Tukur, at 1 pm, I would head straight to his room, where he would teach me until around 3 pm. I would then return home and come out again after 4 pm to Alhuda Huda College for Mal. Ibrahim's Physics lesson. My days were fully occupied with learning, while my nights were reserved for personal studies, sometimes extending deep into the night when there were no distractions. I was a night owl.
Then came the third medical doctor who further cemented my love for medicine.
Somewhere in SS2, I met late Dr. Ahmad Ismail. He was Dr. Daddy's mate at ABU but had moved to Bayero University, Kano (BUK), and subsequently to the University of Maiduguri (UNIMAID), where he was undertaking his housemanship.
He organised another special weekend Biology class after our regular Refresher lessons. I loved his passion for Biology - and, by extension, medicine - more importantly, his unique method of imparting knowledge.
We made presentations and lysed. His teaching method was so effective that I would attend his classes without a pen or notebook. Yet, when I returned home at night, I could reproduce everything he taught us - including sketches, labelling and explanations, entirely from memory -and form my notes. That experience further strengthened my determination to study medicine at university.
My passion was so intense that I would write Dr. Salihu Lukman on virtually all my WAEC question papers after completing them!
How Further Mathematics eventually stole my heart from medicine
After graduating from secondary school in 1997, I started teaching at Refresher the same year for free like any other teacher, exactly one week after our send-off ceremony. I was awaiting my WAEC results before proceeding to write JAMB.
During this waiting period, Dr. Daddy, being my mentor, advised me to start learning Further Mathematics. His argument was that medicine involved a course called Biostatistics, which required advanced mathematical knowledge.
In fact, I bought my first Further Mathematics textbook from him for just N120. It was titled Additional Mathematics, by Godwin and Talbert. I started studying it independently before joining lessons organised by Mal. Baban Jummai (Mal. Zubairu Rilwan) and late Mal. Hassan Sabo at Baba Ahmed Primary School. Prof. Abubilal Kabir Ahmad, Engr. Abubakar Suleiman and Engr. Jamilu Sahabi were also among us.
I became so engrossed in Further Mathematics that I would spend hours solving problems. Whenever I encountered a difficult question, I would visit Mal. Baban Jummai at his residence for assistance. Later, I exchanged my Pure Mathematics 2 by Backhouse for Intermediate Pure Mathematics by J. Blackey with him to access more challenging problems and advanced topics.
I have deliberately mentioned these details because I want readers to appreciate the invaluable contributions of these Refresher ‘angels’ in human form. They did not merely direct us to good textbooks; they went the extra mile to help us acquire those rich learning materials and understand their contents.
After experiencing the sweetness of Further Mathematics, I reached a rather unusual conclusion: I could not imagine a life without the combination of Further Mathematics, Physics and Chemistry. Before long, Further Mathematics had mixed with my blood to such a concentration that medicine could no longer contain it!
Engineering eventually won the battle
By the time I was preparing to fill my JAMB form in 1998, Dr. Daddy realised that his dream of making a medical doctor out of me was gradually slipping away. Engineering had successfully wooed me over, largely because of my growing passion for Further Mathematics. I simply could not imagine studying any course that did not involve intensive advanced mathematics. Biostatistics alone was not enough to quench my thirst for mathematics.
One day, before I filled the form, he called me aside and made one final passionate attempt to convince me to choose medicine rather than engineering. His arguments were convincing, and for a moment, I was almost persuaded. Then, suddenly, a question crossed my mind:
Would Dr. Daddy be the one studying for me at the university, or would I be the one doing the studying?
Of course, I was the one!
So, I followed my passion and chose Chemical Engineering, driven by my love for Chemistry, Physics and Mathematics. However, I was eventually admitted into the Department of Water Resources and Environmental Engineering at ABU. The rest, as they say, is history.
My passion for teaching continued at university
While at ABU, I frequently returned to Tudun Wada, particularly during weekends, to teach at my alma mater, the popular Refresher, and Muslim Potential Doctors (MPD), now known as the Muslim Special Training Centre (MSTC).
MPD started as a special class under Refresher before gradually developing into a full-fledged extra-mural programme similar to Refresher.
Interestingly, none of the founders of MPD were medical doctors. Most of us were engineering students with a common ambition: to prepare secondary school students academically so they could qualify for admission into medicine at university. We deliberately designed the programme to mimic certain medical school practices. Students wore white laboratory coats, and results were published in three separate categories: Passed, Repeat and Withdrawn.
Some of the students who passed through the programme eventually studied medicine, while others pursued engineering and different disciplines. Our objective was to prepare them for academic excellence and help them achieve their ambitions.
Dr. Abdullahi Usman Kilaco was among the pioneer students of MPD whom I taught at both Refresher and MPD. Our academic paths would cross again when he became my undergraduate student in the Department of Water Resources and Environmental Engineering (WREE), where I eventually supervised his undergraduate project. We met yet again at KFUPM, Saudi Arabia, when he joined the university while I was pursuing my PhD. He also participated in a research project with me. After completing his master's degree, he later joined me at the University of Hafr Al Batin.
Another student of mine was Ibrahim El-Caleel, who would later establish a similar extra-mural programme in Tudun Wada, known as the Muslim Intellectuals Training Program (MITP), inspired by the Refresher and MPD model.
Medicine in Zaria today: A different story
The scarcity of medical doctors that characterised Zaria in the 80s and 90s is no longer as pronounced. Today, Zaria has many medical doctors, and one of my wives is among them, a consultant obstetrician and gynaecologist at ABUTH.
There was no human medical doctor in our Refresher set, although we had a veterinary doctor, Dr. Saidu Muhammad, who is now a Deputy Director at NAPRI, ABU. Interestingly, the set immediately preceding ours produced three medical doctors. One of them, Prof. Muhammad Ibrahim (MIZ Guy), is currently the Chairman of the Medical Advisory Committee (CMAC) of ABUTH, the second-highest-ranking official in the hospital.
Nevertheless, we still need more medical doctors in Zaria and Nigeria at large. The mass migration of Nigerian doctors abroad under the Japa phenomenon remains a serious concern, with reports indicating that about 16,000 doctors left Nigeria within the past two years. We must continue to encourage young people to study medicine and other critical professional disciplines in the sciences, arts and social sciences. However, there is one important lesson I would like parents to take away from my story.
Do not impose medicine on your children!
Your responsibility as a parent is to encourage, guide and expose your children to opportunities. It is not to dictate what they must become. A brilliant child does not necessarily have to study medicine. If your child develops a genuine passion for engineering, physics, economics, psychology, business, law or any other discipline, allow that passion to flourish. There are medical doctors who spend years studying rigorously, earn their MBBS degrees and eventually change careers to pursue what their hearts truly desire.
The point is simple: Guide, don't dictate!
As for me, I still have an enormous passion for medicine. Whenever a medical condition piques my interest, I can easily hyperfocus on understanding it, researching its underlying mechanisms and demystifying the science behind it.
Interestingly, I eventually specialised in Public Health Engineering, another name for Environmental Engineering. Although I did not become a medical doctor, my profession still intersects with public health and human wellbeing in many ways.
I have absolutely no regrets about abandoning medicine for engineering. I found my passion, pursued it and built a fulfilling academic and professional career around it.
Looking back, I remain grateful to Dr. Lawal Halliru (Dr. Daddy), late Dr. Ahmad Ismail, Mal. Ibrahim Physics, Mal. Baban Jummai, Major, and all the other teachers and mentors who shaped my academic journey. They may not have succeeded in making a medical doctor out of me, but they certainly helped make me the engineer and teacher I am today.
Now, let me ask you:
Did you love medicine as passionately as I did? Did you eventually become a medical doctor, or did another discipline steal your heart along the way?
What is your own story?
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