•Federal Capital Territory minister, Nyesom Wike
Residents of Tude, a community in Kabi Ward within the Kuje Area Council of the FCT, have converted a classroom at the Local Education Authority (LEA) primary school into a makeshift clinic.
The locals took the decision after their repeated pleas for a health centre from the council authority yielded no results, reports Daily Trust.
Some residents, speaking to our correspondent, explained that after the community-built mud-block clinic collapsed several years ago, they were forced to repurpose a classroom to ensure patients had a place to receive care.
They noted that patients, including pregnant women, receive treatment from the converted classroom with the help of a local volunteer, who attends to the sick.
Mr. Adamu Yahaya, a community member, told our reporter that the lack of a government-built facility left them with no choice.
“Since we have an indigene here who is a trained health professional, we advised him to use one of the classrooms as a temporary space where patients and pregnant women can be treated,” he said.
Yahaya added that without this makeshift solution, residents would be forced to travel long distances to neighboring Kabi village for any medical needs.
Another resident, Ibrahim Alkali, highlighted the specific challenges faced by expectant mothers seeking antenatal care.
He noted that the community has repeatedly petitioned the area council authorities for a standard clinic, but their pleas have yet to yield results.
“It has been over eight years since our community-built clinic collapsed. The government has been promising to build a new one, but up until this moment, nothing has been done,” Alkali said.
Danjuma Ismaila, the volunteer health worker attending to patients in the classroom, shared his perspective.
A native of Tude who attended a school of health technology in Kano State, Ismaila decided to stay and assist his people.
“As you can see, the original clinic built by the community years ago is in ruins. Because I am one of their own, the community members asked me to find a way to use a classroom to attend to patients,” Ismaila said.
He clarified that while he handles minor cases and purchases drugs with his own money, patients with severe conditions must still travel to Kabi.
He appealed to the council authorities to come to the community’s aid by constructing a modern facility.
When contacted via telephone, an official from the Council’s Health Department, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said the council has captured the construction and rehabilitation of rural clinics, including that of the village, in its current budget.
