Oluseye Ojo, Ibadan
The University College Hospital (UCH), Ibadan, on Friday got a new Chief Medical Director (CMD), Prof Abiodun Otegbayo, who replaced Prof Temitope Alonge, who became CMD in 2011 and has now completed his two terms of eight years.
The change of baton took place in the hospital when Alonge handed over necessary documents and property, including keys to the strong room of UCH to Otegbayo.
Alonge urged his successor to take the foremost health facility in Nigeria to greater heights. Otegbayo, however, promised to build on the success of his predecessors, and provide transformational leadership for the hospital.
Our correspondent gathered that Otegbayo emerged the new CMD after he scored the highest mark among seven professors shortlisted for the plum job; Nine candidates initially applied for the office.
Otegbayo, who was born in Sekondi, Ghana, on December 17, 1961, hails from Otan-Ile in Obokun Local Government Area of Osun State. He studied Medicine at the College of Medicine, the University of Ibadan from where he graduated with MBBS in 1989.
After his National Youth Service with the Nigerian Navy in Sapele in 1992, he underwent the residency training programme in Internal Medicine at the UCH, Ibadan, and obtained the Fellowship of the West African College of Physicians in 1998.
He subsequently obtained a Postgraduate Certificate in Gastroenterology at the University of Tel-Aviv and clinical scholar at the Chaim Sheba Medical Centre, Tel-Hashomer, Israel in 2002. He was a Union Internationale Contre Cancer clinical fellow at the Johann-Wolfgang Goethe Hopitale, Frankfurt, Germany in 2000.
Over the past 20 years, he has taught and supervised both undergraduate and postgraduate students. He has been an examiner in Nigeria and Ghana to the West African College of Physicians since 2005 and belongs to several local and international professional associations.
His clinical interests are in Gastroenterology and Hepatology as evidenced by his research works on acute and chronic liver diseases, particularly viral hepatitis, cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma. He has presented many academic papers at local, sub-regional and international conferences, and has over 100 scholarly publications to his credit in both local and international journals.
Otegbayo was the maiden editor-in-chief of the Nigerian Journal of Gastroenterology and Hepatology and Prime Medics Journal of the UCH, Ibadan. He is a member of the Editorial Board of the World Journal of Gastroenterology, Savannah Journal, Journal of Hepatology Research among others.
He has served in several administrative capacities, some of which are President, Association of Resident Doctors, Vice President, National Association of Resident Doctors, Assistant Secretary, General Secretary, Vice Chairman and Chairman, Medical and Dental Consultants’ Association of Nigeria (MDCAN), UCH, National Publicity Secretary, MDCAN, Member, Oyo State Executive Council of Nigeria Medical Association.
He was the Director of Clinical Services, Research and Training & Chairman, Medical Advisory Committee, UCH Ibadan; Head, Departments of Medicine, Babcock University and Babcock University Teaching Hospital, and Department of Medicine University of Ibadan and University College Hospital, Ibadan. He was World Bank Consultant to the Ministry of Health & Sanitation, Sierra Leone and later the maiden Chief Medical Director, University of Sierra Leone Teaching Hospitals Complex, Freetown.
Otegbayo is currently the Vice President cum President-Elect of the Society for Gastroenterology and Hepatology in Nigeria and Sub-specialty Head of Gastroenterology of the West African College of Physicians.
He is happily married to Bolanle Otegbayo, an Associate Professor, Food Science and Technology, and Director of Research, Innovations and Strategic Partnership at the Bowen University, Iwo Osun State, and they are blessed with children.