Health Minister Lays Foundation for Lions Club Dialysis Centre at LUTH

Peter Uzoho, Hamid Ayodeji and Esther Oluku

The Minister of Health, Prof. Isaac Adewole, Thursday laid the foundation for the construction of a state-of-the art dialysis centre at the Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH), Idi Araba, which is being built by the Lions Club International in honour of the departed member of the club and past District Governor, District 4041A, Lion Isaac Olusola Dada.

The facility named ‘Lion Isaac Olusola Dada Dialysis Centre’is in fulfilment of the dream of Dada, who had proposed during his time as the District Governor to build a dialysis centre as his legacy project in the hospital and in Lagos State to serve special health needs of the people.

Adewole who was the guest of honour at the foundation laying ceremony of the facility was represented by the Chief Medical Director of LUTH, Prof. Chris Bode, who acted in dual capacity as the minister’s representative and as the host of the occasion.

Speaking at the event, Adewole, thanked the family of late Dada, the Lions Club and everyone that contributed to making the ceremony possible, saying: “We are gathered today to honour the goodness of one man, whose clarion call is reaching us from the paradise where he is now. His loss was a big tragedy to us, his family and the community as a country.”

Stressing on the benefit of the dialysis centre, the minister said: “In Lagos, with over 20 million persons, there is a paucity of many critical care needs. One of them is the fact that we have very low numbers of dialysis centres where people, who are critically ill with kidney diseases can go and readily get care – the same thing with intensive care unit in Lagos and so many other places. So, this has come as a great benefit to, not just LUTH, but to the whole of Lagos and Nigeria. We need more of this not only in Lagos but all over Nigeria.

Commenting on the project, the US-based Chairman of Lions Club International Foundation, Dr. Naresh Aggarwal, expressed his pleasure over the commencement of the building of the health facility in honour of Dada.

According to Aggarwal, with such intervention in the health needs of Nigerians, the Club is making a mark in history.

Recounting his lovely experiences with Dada when he was alive, he said: “I never knew that I was going to lose a brother but when I came back from a trip, the sad news came. But I am very happy. We are living a mark in the history. Winners don’t do different things, they do things different.

“When he was likely to be the governor, my friend had talked to me that he had a dream to build a dialysis centre. This dialysis centre is one of the six major projects of the Lions Club. I can share with you that nothing gladdens my heart than that I see the project completed. I need this to be one of the state-of-the-art dialysis centre in the world.”

Aggarwal also appealed to good spirited Nigerians to donate to the project as part of their contribution to caring for humanity.

On her part, wife of late Dada, Lion Chief Omolola Dada, described her late husband as one who “was always driven by the desire to make the world better than he met it.

She added: “Naturally, he found in the Lions Club International a good platform which will complement his huge personal contribution.”