CENTRAL HOSPITAL NOT ICONIC INSTITUTION

I have read a lot, especially on the furor generated by Edo State government decision to turn a dilapidating hospital to a motor park. And to very quickly add that with this letter, we are not in any way holding brief for Gov.Godwin Obaseki but to say that there is nothing iconic about the Central Hospital in Benin, and nothing in its recent past gives that indication.

If truth be told, that hospital is the epitome of government neglect of the health sector over the years in Edo and Nigeria. The Central Hospital in Benin is a reflection on why our leaders choose to treat ear ache and knee problems abroad. Its buildings, labs are in a state of rot like the Ministry of Education at Iyaro.

At the back of the building is where dangerous medical waste is carelessly dumped. If you are pressed and you dare use any of the toilets, chances are that you would leave that toilet infected. If you are poor or rich and you visited that hospital, there is the likelihood that you would pick up an illness or two in addition to the one that took you there.

So, while I respect the politics involved in the designation of that hospital as a motor park, let us be mindful that old age in itself is not what confers iconicity on a person or an institution. To be described as an icon means that the individual or institution has made such invaluable contributions over time, and has therefore earned respect from the impact those contributions have made. In that wise, can the Benin City Central Hospital qualify to be known as an icon in the health sector in Edo State?
I don’t think so.

• Bob MajiriOghene Etemiku, Benin City