In the last couple of weeks, I have painstakingly studied the National Honours Act (1964, later CAP N43 LFN 2004) of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. I have also taken the time to carefully peruse the list of recipients of our national honours, with keen interest in the rationale for each award. There is no doubt that the central purpose of national honours is to publicly recognise and reward citizens and friends of the nation for distinguished service, exceptional patriotism, and outstanding contributions to the growth and development of Nigeria. I have, therefore, decided to share what the good people of Osun State witnessed from the sheer altruism and benevolence of the great family of Modupe and Folorunso Alakija last December to the world so that Mr President and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, the distinguished Secretary to the Government of the Federation, the National Honours Award Committee, and the permanent secretary, cabinet affairs office, can know that the Alakija’s philanthropic legacy should not be glossed over at the national level.
In the last 10 years, the Osun State University has been exceptionally lucky to have Apostle (Dr) Folorunso Alakija as its chancellor. Within that period, she has used her networks and goodwill to mobilise resources for the progressive development of the university. Among several others, using family resources, she started a state-of-the-art hospital in 2018 to be donated for advanced medical research and teaching by the university. The construction went non-stop for seven good years, featuring such structural longevity features as epoxy-coated rebar, predictive maintenance, modular rack system piping and self-healing high-density concrete. By 2023, the structural works had been completed, and the last two years were spent on massive equipment procurement and shipping from Germany, followed by installation, calibration and licensing by the appropriate regulatory agencies, including the Nigerian Nuclear Regulatory Agency.
By the first half of 2025, the hospital, named Modupe and Folorunso Alakija Medical Research and Teaching Hospital, was ready for inauguration. It took the university three months of careful planning ahead of the inauguration. Invitations were sent to every stakeholder at the federal, state and local government levels, including all health-related professional organisations. At the end of the day, the hospital was inaugurated on Monday, December 15, 2025, in Osogbo by the former Vice-President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo.
As confirmed by the Vice-Chancellor of Osun State University, Prof. Odunayo Adebooye, who described the facility as the first of its kind in Africa, the hospital has “all-in-one” 250 admission beds, 20 clinical departments, five non-clinical departments, community health unit, maternity and neonatal medicare, digital research and diagnostics laboratories, four state-of-the-art operating theatres, cutting-edge diagnostic imaging inclusive of CT scan, MRI scanning facility, ultrasound scanning facility, X-ray, radiotherapy, brachytherapy, modern digitised CATHLAB, cardiac theatre and ophthalmology suites and two units of modern Luminos dRF Max Fluoroscopy. Others are four digitised delivery rooms, 36 Units of fully digitised neonatal ICU and incubators, nine units of modern digitised dialysis with specialised units for HIV+ and Hepatitis B+ patients, 16 ICUs, a modern mortuary, restaurant and several facilities to encourage and improve healthcare delivery research, among others. And, to avoid take-off operational challenges, the donor-family provided a non-refundable lifeline of N1bn.
For the information of the public, the Alakija family members are not politicians to the best of my knowledge. They are also not from Osun State by origin. In fact, they are most unlikely to have relatives on the personnel register of the hospital, nor have cause to come to the hospital for medical services. They just believe that in the face of all impossible odds, people who love this country can change its trajectory for the better. The hospital will not only serve the people of Osun State but humanity at large, as people from all parts of Nigeria and the entire globe will be served with advanced health and medical care. Available documentary evidence shows a total construction and equipment procurement and installation cost of N58bn for the hospital. This is a massive philanthropic intervention from a family with neither political affiliation nor political motivation. They are only being kind to humanity with this facility. Undoubtedly, with adequate personnel complementation, this hospital will reduce medical tourism out of Nigeria and will increase the hope of Nigerians in terms of good-quality healthcare and medical education. I strongly believe that this makes a lot of sense, and most fittingly complements the renewed hope agenda of Mr President in the area of health care.
It was remarkable to note that the inauguration ceremony served as a unifying platform for all political divides in Osun State. Former Vice-President Osinbajo (APC stalwart) cut the tape. The Governor of Osun State, Sen. Ademola Adeleke (then in PDP, now in Accord Party) was present. Engr. Rauf Aregbesola, former Governor of Osun State (now in ADC), was present. Prince Olagunsoye Oyinlola, also a former Governor of Osun State (PDP), was also present. With this background, what is evidently clear is that the donation need not and should not be politicised in any way. It is a non-governmental intervention for public good, and must be strongly supported to succeed and effectively fulfil its founding objectives by governments and all stakeholders.
In this singular massive donation from a family, there are lessons to be learnt by all. Contemporary Nigeria is bedevilled by a lot of challenges. Insecurity is rising nationally; there is a public trust deficit; there is ethnic and regional tension; and, in the health sector, the human resource crisis and workforce deficit are pervasive; primary healthcare paralysis is evident; what of wrong diagnosis and fake drugs?
All these are surmountable when there is a collective will. The Alakija family is not the only wealthy family in Nigeria. They are only being more evidently patriotic, more humanitarian and more altruistic. They have done their best for humanity. They have shown philanthropy at its highest level in this part of the world. May the Almighty God, the Just Rewarder, continue to bless them with the divine enablement of long life, sound health and prosperity beyond measure and boundaries.
With this donation, the Alakijas have joined the class of global patriots like the American Andrew Carnegie, the gold-standard of infrastructure philanthropy, who constructed 2,509 libraries worldwide between 1883 and 1929 and donated $1.5m (worth $50m today) for the construction of Peace Palace in The Hague, Netherlands in 1903; Li Ka-Shing, who has channeled billions of dollars into Greater China’s social infrastructure by founding Shantou University from the ground up and financing the construction of world-class medical facilities, including the Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine in Hong Kong; and the Indian Azim Premji, who has transformed India’s educational landscape by funding the physical and digital infrastructure for over 350,000 government schools and establishing the sprawling Azim Premji University campus to professionalise the nation’s public service sector. The world recognises these global patriots, and their names will never be extinct in this and the upcoming generations. These are the models that our billionaires should emulate. The diligent but indigent over 190 million Nigerians need their impact to build a renewed generation with less poverty, higher literacy rates, increased life expectancies, reduced insecurity, and national prosperity beyond imagination.
It has, therefore, become imperative to use this medium to appeal to President Tinubu, a good listener, not to let this huge donation pass by unnoticed. The hospital deserves a high-power visit by the Federal Government. Apostle (Dr) Folorunso Alakija, who served as chancellor of a Nigerian university and donated this massive health infrastructure, deserves not only a presidential commendation but also a national honour in the rank of The Commander of the Order of the Federal Republic, the category conferred to recognise private citizens whose contributions have a massive, transformative impact on national infrastructure. For the avoidance of doubt, Alakija has received eight honorary degrees from different universities in Nigeria because of her impact on each of these awarding institutions. But this latest impact bestowed on humanity through Osun State University is not only massive and monumental, but is also the first of its kind in contemporary Africa. This must be accorded its due recognition, first at home, before multinational organisations start acknowledging the legacy donation.
I must not end this piece without acknowledging the role of institutional leadership in all of this. The Alakija Family must have been significantly motivated to embark on this donation, having been satisfied with the kind of visionary leadership the university is endowed with. One must, therefore, specially commend the current Vice-Chancellor, Professor Odunayo Adebooye, who was in saddle for four out of the seven years of the construction of the hospital culminating in its completion and inauguration, and who has been working round the clock to ensure a very strong operational and administrative foundation for the hospital; and Prof. Labode Popoola, in whose tenure the foundation of the hospital was laid. Had the donors noticed any leadership minuses and deficits from these vice-chancellors, they probably would have been discouraged from moving ahead. The governing councils of the institution, previously led by Prof. Yusuf Ali, SAN and currently by Prof. Wale Oladipo, must be appreciated for the quality of superintendence and direction fostered on the university.
In fact, the example of Osun State University, a public university in a state that is not oil-producing, but which has continued to turn its structural and locational disadvantages into strengths, has shown that Nigeria itself can be made much better with purposeful and visionary governance. One must also commend all staff members and students of the university for ensuring an atmosphere of growth and progress. A new Nigeria seems to be starting in Osun State, with Osun State University as the launch pad.
Toyese Dahunsi, PhD, Director of Inter-Campus and Public Affairs, Office of the Vice-Chancellor, Osun State University, Osogbo, writes via [email protected]
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