ON THE TRACK OF AN UNUSUAL STETHOSCOPE:
A Review of Dr Victor Azubuike Osiatuma: A Physician’s Extraordinary Journey
By Akeem Lasisi
Biographies tell more than the stories of individuals they focus on. For when the story of a man or woman is well told, it speaks to their micro and macro societies as it does to their past, present and future. This is true of A Physician’s Extraordinary Journey, which is the engaging biography of the outgoing Medical Director of the Federal Medical Centre, FMC, Asaba, Delta State, Dr Victor Azubuike Osiatuma.
Written by a seasoned journalist and critic, Sylvester Asoya, the 175-page book takes the reader on a pilgrimage to all the cardinal points of the resourceful, productive and impactful life of Dr Osiatuma, as designed for him by providence, his own deliberate vision and society. For one, the medical doctor the author presents to the world in A Physician’s Extraordinary Life is a cat with more than a few lives. He is that rare being who, based on the nature of his profession, would normally be an introvert, but who contrarily is not only adventurous and apolitical, but has also proved to be a sound, humane, efficient and, indeed, an outstandingly successful administrator. Of course, the book is also the story of that innocent medical doctor whom abductors once turned into an unwilling celebrity.
Coming in eight painstakingly researched and intricately woven chapters, A Physician’s Extraordinary Journey begins with a preface that establishes the kernel of the narration and an inspiring foreword written by the immediate Past Medical Director, Federal Medical Centre, Yenagoa, Professor Dennis Allagoa. All the chapters are introduced with inspiring quotes from global philosophers.
As the author notes in the preface, the book was written to provide a valuable insight into the extraordinary medical life journey of Dr. Osiatuma. Asoya writes: “For emphasis, it is the story of an unusual physician who travelled a remarkable professional path, fraught with challenges, danger, unpredictability, excitement and adventures. Regardless of all the challenges, this life story, and the incredible tour of duty of one man, on one location and in one era, marked by distinction, interestingly, climaxes with a happy ending.”
On his part, like the deep calling to the deep, Professor Allagoa enthuses in the foreword: “This biography, I must say, provides vital information on Dr. Osiatuma and how he redefined health care and service delivery. In addition, the work opens a window on how this Medical Director, while at the helm, combined medical practice and the role of a health care administrator, managing healthcare staff and ensuring compliance even in difficult times.”
In the opening chapter titled ‘Atuma-Iga and the Osiatuma Family Branches’, the author digs into Dr Osiatuma’s lineage, taking us to the serene, value-saturated Atuma-Iga, where Pa Benson Osiatuma Nwaoligbo, the iconic father of Dr. Victor Azubuike Osiatuma, was born 82 years ago. Since there is no river without a source, the writer generously tells the story of Pa Benson Osiatuma, before moving on to that of the son; after all, the story of every child begins with those of his parents, as evident in how Pa Benson’s sense of commitment, determination, approach to challenges and triumphs foregrounded much of what Dr Osiatuma has become today.
It is in this chapter the reader will learn about the life and times of Benson’s parents — the late Okolie Nwaoligbo and Hannah Nwaoligbo, too. How did Pa Benson meet Dr Victor Osiatuma’s mother, the late Mrs Rosaline Osiatuma, during the Civil War? What incident forced Pa Benson to wear the same dress, and without taking his bath, for FOUR long months during the war? How did health workers’ negligence ironically contribute to Mama Rosaline’s death in 1985? These and many other questions are answered in the opening chapter.
Hear what Dr Victor Osiatuma told his father the day his mother departed the earth in 1985, before she clocked 40: “Daddy, when I grow up, I will be a doctor. I want to save lives and show love to the people who will come to my hospital. But I don’t want to be like those doctors we just met, who were not in hurry to attend to Mommy. I am very sure they don’t understand the sanctity of life and the need to act fast in times of emergency.”
Has he not fulfilled that mission today?
Meanwhile, in this book, Dr Osiatuma’s brothers and sisters speak glowingly about their mother’s virtues.
The story of Dr Osiatuma’s ride through schools is well told between chapters three and five.
Even as a student at Western Boys’ High School, Benin-City, he had always been sure he would study medicine, which he memorably did at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka. His brilliance helped him, but it was also a source of some adversity. For instance, readers will discover how he was always waylaid on his way home after school hours by the big boys in his class who were usually unhappy that he used to answer all the difficult questions in class.
On how the doctor in him has always been alive, Dr Osiatuma again says:
“At home, in those days, I was the one who killed the usual Sunday chicken. As I prepared the chicken for its onward movement to the pot, I would be the one dissecting it and showing my siblings the vital parts of the chicken’s anatomy. So, I used the chicken to practise my biology which, as a subject, remained the bedrock of medicine.”
His brothers and sisters also attest to his long-discovered medical and leadership passion in Chapter 4.
While the book records an ugly experience that welcomed Jambite Osiatuma to the UNN, in which all his belongings: his money, new clothes, shoes, provisions, and nearly everything of value that he came to Nsukka with from Benin-City were stolen, it also documents the great times he had at the ivory tower. So great were Dr Osiatuma’s experiences and those of his co-students at the UNN that, today, over six of his classmates are Chief Medical Directors of tertiary institutions across Nigeria.
In chapter 5, Osiatuma’s Housemanship experience in Lagos and NYSC life in Igbajo, Osun State, are captured.
In his immediate home, Dr Osiatuma is a very lucky man. As recorded in Chapter 6, he is blessed with a great woman as wife. This is Dr. Vivien Osiatuma: consultant orthodontist, deservedly described as a wife, mother, supporter, clergywoman and home keeper. She is a multifaceted and an accomplished professional who radiates strength, aptitude, single-mindedness and compassion. How the medical couple met as youth corps members will also interest readers as documented in A Physician’s Extraordinary Journey.
Here is a part of Dr Vivien Osiamata’s account: “We met at the NYSC camp. The previous day, I was supposed to be on duty with him, but I did not show up for reasons I cannot remember right now. So, he came in search of me the following day, looking anxious. We eventually met for the first time that day and engaged in a conversation; one thing led to the other. If I remember correctly, I was reserved, but he was more gregarious, outspoken and outgoing. And he was also overly concerned about my absence from duty the previous day. It was obvious he was fully determined to make me his wife even on that first day. To my surprise, he wasted no time calling home and telling his family members that he had found a wife.”
The abduction of Dr Osiamata was widely reported in 2010. It is, however, in A Physician’s Extraordinary Journey that the whole and the whole story has been told. This is the account we have in Chapter 7, aptly titled ‘A Black Day in June’. It is not the mandate of this reviewer to narrate the story that unfolds like a horror movie. I can only request that everyone should read it, including political leaders, based on the insight that came from the discussions the kidnappers usually had with the abducted doctor with whom they loved to gist after midnight. And what about the role Dr Vivien Osiatuma, his wife, ingeniously played, which made the criminals soften their heart, when she feigned collapsing as the kidnappers were outrageously negotiating ransom with her? How the amount paid to the criminals was raised, and how the protagonists’ brother, James Victor Osiatuma, took the naked risk of delivering the ransom are all captured in Chapter 7.
The concluding chapter is very strategic. Titled ‘Above and Beyond Expectation’, it spotlights the enviable legacy Dr Osiatima is leaving behind as the CMD of the Federal Medical Centre, Asaba. Like a noiseless revolutionary that he is, he brought real development and industrial harmony, in a way that is a lesson for others and would-be administrators. The book also documents how he brilliantly expanded infrastructure and technology, achieved capacity building, institutional expansion, productive network with corporate, governmental and nongovernmental institutions. No wonder, A Physician’s Extraordinary Journey ends with a gale of testimonies which are an inspiration as well as a challenge to every leader and reader. What various people, including colleagues, senior and junior staff as well as other stakeholders say about Dr Osiatuma’s legacy and overall personality in Chapter 8 are surely worthier than diamond and gold.
In all, Dr Victor Azubuike Osiatuma: A Physician’s Extraordinary Journey, is a significant book in the following ways. It is a celebration of professionalism and a generally impactful and fulfilling life. The unique road our man has travelled, the battles he has fought and won, and, very importantly, the impacts he has been able to make are worthy of documenting not just for posterity, but also to inspire others to do things that will make them leave the world better than they met it.
Secondly, this publication is a celebration of heritage. It is a deserving honour to the noble family that produced Dr Osiatuma. The family, at some points, was a victim of poverty but it fought hard to conquer it by comprehensively training the likes of Osiatuma. The way brothers in the family complement one another, as also obvious in the way they rallied round their brother when he was kidnapped, are instructive. Theirs is, therefore, a story that must be told and read and this book has done just that.
Very related to that is the fact that A Physician’s Extraordinary Journey is a tribute to the village, town, country and continent that produced Osiatuma. In our clime littered with self-inflicted injuries and failures, good things do not often trail leaders. There is the fear that leaders are born and made to fail here. The rate of disappointments and their attendant hopelessness is so high that those who excel seem to do so by accidents or mistakes. If and when we thus have someone like Dr Osiatuma who, against all odds, turned stone into bread at the FMA, the story must be told loud, clear and widely. As we do so, we are saluting and reassuring the larger society that genuine, visible and enduring change is still possible from our midst.
Can one also miss out the fact that this work is a big spotlight on the Federal Medical Centre, Asaba? As we read the story of the life of Osiatuma, we learn more about the FMC. We know more about its history, essence, challenges and feats. The physician’s story brings to life that of the institution, plus the passion the staff bring in, despite their fame for aluta.
This great book, of course, is also a strategic sociological mirror on the Nigerian society. It projects our cultures and is commendably critical where it needs be. More importantly, it sheds light on some of our societal contradictions as we have in the discussion the kidnappers had with Dr Osiatuma when he was in their den. The encounter appears to indicate that, truly, crime is bad. Kidnapping is condemn able; but, at the same time, the roots of many of the crimes that plague our country must be addressed.
The last aspect of the essence of this book, as I highlight here, is that it is a must-write one for a spiritual being the subject, that is Dr Osiatuma, is. This book is an accolade for his great spirit and a life destined to complete his assignment on earth, being a proverbial dog that successfully returned from the house of a lion. As he himself notes in the book, not everyone is lucky enough to get so close to kidnappers and live to narrate their experiences. He went, though unwillingly, he saw death, but he conquered. This book is, therefore, a literary thanksgiving for Dr Victor Azubuike Osiatuma.
On this basis, I feel bold and proud to recommend it for the pleasure, inspiration and education of everyone. This book is suitable and wonderful for the old and young, leader and the led. Interestingly, medical students too need it because it offers them an opportunity to learn from the story of an industry legend and worthy role model. In this regard, the subsequent edition could include success nuggets from Dr Osiatuma, for both would-be medical doctors and administrators. But, most importantly, brilliantly written, masterly edited and beautifully produced, A Physician’s Extraordinary Journey is good for the eye, nourishing for the mind and elevating for the soul.
