Dr. Salamat Ahuoiza Aliu is a 35-year-old neuro-
surgeon at National Hospital, Abuja. The first
indigenously trained female neuro-surgeon in Nigeria is also the first female to be certified a neuro-surgeon in West Africa. Mrs Aliu, who hails from Okenne Local Government Area of Kogi State, was born in Ilorin, Kwara State, where she had most of her education up to the university level. The medical doctor, who is happily married with a lovely boy, in this exclusive interview, spoke about her career and the hope to nurture the younger ones. Excerpts:

What does it really take to become a neuro-
surgeon?
To become a neuro-surgeon, you have to have gone to a medical school first of all. Then, you enroll in residency training. In Nigeria, to become a neuro-surgeon, you have to have gone through two years of trial surgery and at least another four years of specialized neurosurgery training. Then, you can become a neuro-surgeon in Nigeria.

Are you saying that the requirement doesn’t go beyond that?
It depends on some circumstances. But what I said is the minimum length of time it takes for someone to become a neuro-surgeon. But due to various circumstances, it might extend beyond that time.
This is a rare field of study in Nigeria. Why did you decide to study neurosurgery?
Well, I should say first of all, it has to do with interest. Neurosurgery specializes in the treatment of neurological diseases. This means diseases of the brain and spinal cord. Often, it involves the use of surgical operation to treat such diseases. So, that area has always intrigued me. It is the interest that gets me, first of all, to study neurosurgery. And I’m opportune to have an enabling environment. I find myself in a place where it was possible for me to go for the training. Then, I took the chance.
Where was the place?
I find myself at National Hospital. Even though at that time, the National Hospital did not have the training. But there was a centre in Sokoto. When there was an available space, I took the opportunity. I went to Sokoto for the training. It was Neurosurgery Centre, Sokoto.
Are you saying that the study of neurosurgery has been in Nigeria for quite sometime?
Yes, it has been in Nigeria for quite sometime. I think the first neuro-surgeon came to Nigeria before independence. He is a Nigerian who studied in the United States of America. He is late Professor Lakunle Odeku. He came back to Ibadan, where he established neurosurgery training either in the early or late 60s. I can’t be specific about that date.
Since you have been practicing this discipline, what is your memorable experience?
Let me say that every day in neurosurgery is memorable because it is an amazing thing to be able to operate on somebody’s brain and the person gets up again. It’s always amazing. It’s something that gives us (neurosurgeons) a lot of joy. It gives me joy. I can’t point out a specific case. Every case is interesting and memorable. We treat a variety of cases, ranging from diseases of children and adult. One common condition of children we treat here is hydrocephalus – that is abnormal accumulation of water within the brain. It can occur in children. It can also occur in adults. A lot of them occur, following infections and meningitis in children. But a few also occur congenitally. That is a condition that we treat often. We also see and treat cases of brain tumors. One thing that gives me concern is the high rate of neurotrauma that we have in Nigeria. The high incident of neurotrauma involves injury to the brain, especially following road traffic accident. We lose a lot of life through this. Spinal cord injuries are also very common. These are cases that are quite challenging and we see them every day.
Who motivated you to go for this course?
I can’t say particularly one person who motivated me. But I heard of the specialty in neurosurgery when I was in secondary school. So, I picked interest in it. I thought maybe one day I could become a neuro-surgeon. While I was an undergraduate of Medical School, University of Ilorin,One of my consultants, who is a neuro-surgeon, Professor T.O. Odebode, used to call me a neuro- surgeon, jokingly. So, all that made me think that I could really become a neuro-surgeon. But the final decision to become a neuro-surgeon is not something that occurs at a particular point. It is a cumulation of events. I just thought that I could do it even though there was no woman before me in Nigeria who had been indigenously trained in neurosurgery. I was encouraged that it’s a field I could go into even though it is usually perceived as a difficult field which once you are in it, it doesn’t go well with family life. But I thank God I was able to look beyond all those challenges and follow my interest.
Now, being a mother and a neuro-surgeon, how do you cope with the family challenges?
I have just been quite fortunate to have a good support system. Sometimes, my mother comes around. And I have a very good support from my husband. So, that is how I’m able to cope. You said the decision to study this field stemmed from a cumulation of events. Can we learn from those events?
Basically, it’s a challenging field. You think that as a woman, it’s not something compatible with family life. How would you cope being a neuro-surgeon and being functional at home? So, even though I had interest from the beginning to do neurosurgery, at one point, I considered other things. I consider doing pediatric surgery. I also considered doing plastic surgery. But I had a very good support from senior colleagues who encouraged me that I should still go with my heart. I should look beyond the difficulties - I
should look at what job satisfaction I can get from a career in neurosurgery. So, I prayed about it. Then, I was able to finally make up my mind and decide that it is neurosurgery that I should pursue.
Are you satisfied with this field now?
I thank God. I’m happy being a neuro-surgeon even though working in Nigeria is challenging. You don’t have the best of facilities. That is the truth. But National Hospital is a good place among many hospitals in Nigeria. It’s fairly well equipped.
How many hospitals in Nigeria train neuro- surgeons?
It will be difficult for me to specifically give the numbers. But I know that there are a number of centres in the North. There is a training centre in Uthman Dan Fodio University Teaching Hospital, Sokoto, where I went for the training. After I got trained there, National Hospital Abuja has also got full accreditation to train doctors in neurosurgery. These are basically the two in the North that I’m aware of. We have centres in Ibadan, Lagos, and Enugu that have full accreditation. Then, a few other places have partial accreditation to train doctors in neurosurgery. Due to the traumatic situation in the country occasioned by the Boko Haram insurgency, many people are thought to be suffering from mental illnesses during this challenging period.
Do you handle cases? How many cases are being reported on a daily basis?
People, who are faced with insurgency, even if they are not physically injured, they can have Post- Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) from the gravity of violence they have seen around them. In neurosurgery, we don’t deal with such patients. It is the job of the people in psychiatry. They treat such patients. So, I wouldn’t be able to say how many patients have Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder from the Boko Haram insurgency.
What are the causes of mental illness?
Again, mental illness is not in my field. But I can just say that some mental illnesses have hereditary components like schizophrenia, it’s a familiar component which runs in certain family. It could also be because of drug abuse or intoxicants. It can also follow organic brain injury.
It is believed that many Nigerians are still travelling abroad to do brain surgery despite the fact that we have those handling it in Nigeria. What do you think could be responsible for this? Do you think we can compete favourably with our foreign counterparts?
Yes, Nigeria can compete favourably with other countries, including their counterparts in developing countries. Even in some areas, we can compete favourably with developed countries. But a lot of Nigerians still travel abroad for medical treatment. This is because of lack of confidence in our system. But I want to assure Nigerians that our doctors are capable of treating most ailments that afflict Nigerians. So, they should have more confidence in the system. Government officials too can assist by seeking healthcare in our institutions rather than going abroad for treatment.
You admitted that we have the challenge of equipment in Nigeria. How do you think we can overcome this?
Well, that challenge can be surmounted when government starts spending more on health. All the things we need should be made available for us so that we can be able to work in a more enabling environment.
How many neuro-surgeons do we really have in Nigeria?
I think we should be about 50 or more than that. I’m not very sure. But we should be at least 60 in the country.
How do you feel being the first indigenously trained female neuro-surgeon?
I’m the first indigenously trained female neuro- surgeon in Nigeria. I also happen to be the first female to be certified a neuro-surgeon in West Africa. So, I’m happy about it. And I give God the glory for giving me that honour.
Do you have any plan to nurture and encourage the younger ones?
Yes, I hope I’m able to inspire as many women as possible to come into the field of neurosurgery. And I’m happy that since I started my training, more women have started coming to neurosurgery field. I think right now, there are about 4 or 5 females in training for neurosurgery, which is a thing of joy. And I pray many more will come into the field. Are they undergoing the training in Abuja here? No. Two are training in Sokoto. One is training in Ibadan and one is in Enugu. May be there are four that I’m aware of.
What advice do you have for Nigerians in order to avoid issues that lead to brain surgery?
I will advice Nigerians to live a healthy lifestyle. They should eat well – balanced diet. They should exercise and avoid excessive consumption of alcohol or avoid it altogether if they can. They should
avoid smoking and the use of hard drugs. Then, they should listen to their bodies – listen to early signs that something may be wrong so that they can seek help early. They should also have the habit of going for regular health checks so that if there is anything wrong, it can be detected in the earliest possible time so that it can be easily tackled.

Medicine is boring.. I didn't read

Stale and redundant news!

What a useless post

If you want people to read this, you need to put proper spacing and also bolden the questions. It was a chore to read.