A LIFE LIVED FOR OTHERS

Henry Ewunonu pays tribute to Paul Gowon Jibrin, a medical doctor who gave his all

As the rites of passage and funeral arrangements commence towards committing the remains of late Dr. Paul Jibrin to mother earth on the 28th of December, 2024, I have chosen to rise and wrestle with melancholy, grief, and all other forms of negative emotions to pen down my appreciation of Dr. Paul Jibrin who lived for others’ wellbeing and development. Until his death, he was a Chief Consultant Histopathologist at the National Hospital Abuja.

Dr. Paul as he’s called by acquaintances came into my life in the early 1990s when he came to the University of Calabar in my Pathology year at Med-school as a young doctor. He became the toast of the students as his smile was charming, his calm words soothing as it was therapeutic. He counselled, prodded and encouraged many as he maintained that all things including passing our examinations and ultimately graduating are all possibilities. Again, after Med-school, we met at the National Hospital where he transferred his services to the Dept. of Morbid Anatomy/Histopathology. The kind disposition to and warm relationship with all were universal. He never discriminated against anyone. Age, social class, educational status, tribe and religion were mere human creations. In him was a combination of a brother, father, counsellor, mentor and pastor.

He loved his profession and gave his life for it. He was never satisfied with what pathologists refer to as ‘H&E’- only diagnosis – the very primary diagnostic modality in histopathological evaluations. Dr. Jibrin regularized Immunohistochemistry and made it a routine in our practice and worked tirelessly to make the intra-operative diagnosis (frozen section) also a routine. He was restless in the last

 few years of his earthly existence as he forayed into the arena of molecular diagnosis in which a cancer cell is not just assigned a

name and nativity but also characterized by how it behaves- what it does, feeds on, looks like and products manufactured. All these make it possible for scientists to design appropriate onco-pharmacologic armamentariums to either force them to commit suicide or have them roasted with modern treatment modalities He started engaging with collaborators, especially in Breast, Prostate and gynaecological cancers. Most times, he used his resources to augment the deficiencies in the Department to avoid disruption of services. He was always at work, even on weekends. He was one of the few ‘ogas’ in local parlance who opened the office at the beginning of a working day and locked it at the end of the day. He didn’t mind. He insisted that patients shouldn’t suffer extra anxiety or pains caused by delays in issuing histology reports. He worked tirelessly to shorten the turn-around time (TAT) so that patients commence their treatments without delays. What didn’t he do to invigorate histopathological services at the National Hospital Abuja? He would repair the broken-down mortuary freezers with his funds to be later reimbursed by Management.

He would stand with the technicians during repairs. Dr. Jibrin served humanity as he would, God. He took no for an answer as he insisted that despite the prevailing gloomy circumstances in the nation, Nigeria would not scatter from his hands. He gave all. He did all. His last vision was to make the Dept. of Histopathology of the National

Hospital a regional hub for Molecular Diagnosis. He worked with NICRAT, CAPTSI and other Research organisations. Some of those proposals had commenced with tissue banking/cryopreservation. At the Faculty of Pathology of the National Post Graduate of Nigeria and the International Academy of Pathology West African Division, he gave his best and served meritoriously. Arrangements for recruiting, training and retraining of personnel were also in the pipeline but death did its worst.

Dr. Paul Jibrin was a man of many parts. He was a serial entrepreneur having the golden genes of enterprise from his father the great Jibrin Adama of Adokpa Enjema Ankpa in Kogi State. He was an ardent believer in the cliché “dignity in labour” and believed in the Biblical dictum of no work, no food but he showed mercy to all. He wasn’t a lazy man but taught as he practised the multiple streams of income paradigm without stealing the time of his primary employer for personal gain.

He could be described as a pastor without a church building or parish as many will say. He witnessed for Christ at any and every occasion that presented itself. He invited everyone to his Church the Dunamis International Gospel Centre at any slightest opportunity. He was a counsellor per excellence. In every life experience, Dr. Jibrin had a message for everyone. He presented God in a very simple form yet professed his almightiness in every scene of life. To young people male or female, he was a strong, broad and reliable shoulder to lean upon. All who passed through our Department for an internship or NYSC posting will attest to this. He endowed many with material gifts and even followed up on the very home where such came from as he solved challenges from their very foundations. He never discriminated against anyone. To some, he was too lenient but he was a good shepherd who knew how to tend both foolish and wise flocks. To the weak, he gave strength; to the lawless, a very long rope to seeing reasons and repent, and to the visionless and lost, he provided a compass for direction.

Why will such an angel then face the sudden unexpected death and not live long enough to see his children’s children as the Scripture has promised? Only God knows

why. I have a consolation. It says “Good people pass away; the Godly often die before their time. But no one seems to care or wonder why. No one seems to understand that God is protecting them from the evil to come.” Isaiah 57:1 (NLT). Paul Jibrin has been saved from the harsh realities of living in today’s Nigeria. He will no longer suffer the anxiety of the uncertainties of the economy, security and safety and hopelessness. Dr. Paul was a heavy burden bearer, problem solver, innovative solutions provider, critical thinker and ebullient motivator. He faced life and whatever it brought with equanimity. He detested laziness and called it evil. His value for the marriage institution and the pricelessness of family life was second to none. Yet, I lost him to the cold merciless hands of death.

As you stand before your creator in judgement as the Holy Bible foretold, may mercy speak for you. May you benefit from that same uncommon spirit of benevolence that made you squeeze yourself to make others happy. Go well my teacher who made me his brother and friend. Dr. Paul Jibrin hearkened to the admonition of Frantz Fanon who stated that “each generation must, out of relative obscurity, discover its mission, fulfil it, or betray it.” He fulfilled his mission. To Madam Mercy, Ojochenemi, Deborah, Esther, Emmanuella Obed; the entire Jibrin family and fellow mourners, our hero has answered the ultimate call. We submit to the supremacy of God in all affairs. The Oga that made me his brother and friend, Rest on! We shall meet to part no more.

Dr. Ewunonu writes from Abuja