Immigrant Pride, Nigeria: Dr. Seyi Oyesola, Cobhams Asuquo, Bringing the Operating Room to Ordinary People
If you watch medical shows like E.R. and General Hospital, you’ve likely witnessed a scene where a group of doctors, in a very clean, well-lit room, are crowded around a patient stretched on an operating bed.
We are not accustomed to seeing an operating room where multiple
needles are scattered on the floor, with blood from the last patient still
present. Most of us would refuse to step foot in a hospital like that. Yet, we
forget that there are parts of the world where, firstly, a hospital is too far
to drive a critically ill patient. Secondly, such a hospital in this part of
the world, is not properly equipped or maintained to handle life-saving procedures
without a little innovation from medical (or, in too many cases, non-medical) personnel.
Thirdly, the cost of equipping these hospitals with (and adequately training
personnel to handle and maintain), the Western standard of, “proper equipment”
is way too high for anyone in the hospital to afford. Do not forget, not all
hospitals in the world have wealthy backers or governments to keep them up-to-date
and adequately running. So, anyone living in these parts of the world is pretty
much on their own. Well, not entirely.
There are people, both medical and non-medical
professionals, who are finding diverse ways to address some of these medical
care-related issues. One such person, a British-Nigerian doctor by the name of
Dr. Seyi Oyesola, “co-invented a mobile operating room” called “The CompactOR”.
Its less technical alias is “A Hospital-in-a-Box”.1 Here is a quote
from GH Scientific on the invention
itself:
“This is a solar powered portable
operating theater fully fitted with a defibrillator, EKG monitoring, suction,
an anesthetic machine, and surgical lighting. It serves as a life-saving
operating room which can be quickly transported and set up in remote areas of
Africa.”1
I think Dr. Oyesola is an inspiration, not just to Nigerian
youths, but to immigrant youths in general. You do not need hundreds of
thousands of dollars (pounds, or euros), to create a product that can potentially
impact lives for the better. You do not have to be a boring stuck-up either.
Check out his presentation on Ted-Talk.
Seyi Oyesola | Ted Global 2007: A Hospital Tour In Nigeria
Seyi Oyesola | Ted Global 2007: A Hospital Tour In Nigeria
All it takes is a little observation and ingenuity to steer the
world in the right direction. Good luck to Dr. Oyesola on his product and many
more successes to him!
We have now arrived at the music/movie section of this post.
You likely noticed the title includes two names --- Dr. Seyi Oyesola and
Cobhams Asuquo. If you are inquisitive, as I know you are, you have been wondering
to yourself, “Where am I going to hear about this other guy, Cobhams Asuquo?
Did EBG just forget about this person?” No, I haven’t. Cobhams Asuquo is a
blind, Nigerian musician who also produces songs and heads his own company,
Cobhams Asuquo Music Productions (CAMP, for short).2 A comprehensive
overview of his many achievements are on Believer’s Portal, but I chose Mr. Asuquo because of one song that I believe best
represents the message of this post, “ordinary people doing extraordinary
things”. It is called “Ordinary People” and I know you will enjoy it!
COBHAMS ASUQUO - Ordinary People (OFFICIAL VIDEO)
Special thanks to Believers
Portal and Ted Talk for sharing
the media used in this post. Special, special thanks to Temitope Popoola of
NAIJ.com for his/her article, “15 songs that will lift your spirit and inspire you throughout 2017”. Feel free to visit
these sites and show your appreciation by liking their content. Also, don't forget to vote for the country you want to be the focus of Immigrant Pride. Polls are still open! Until next time…...
Related Posts:
Kicking off M.Y. Immigrant Pride: Celebrating Immigrant Contributions to Society
M.Y. Update: March Polls Are Open! Which Country Will Be The Next Focus of 'Immigrant Pride'!
Lecrae Releases Church Clothes 3!
References:
1 Dr. Tagoe, Thomas. “Day 28: Dr. Seyi Oyesola”.
GH Scientific. Created: April 12, 2015.
Accessed: March, 18 2018. https://ghscientific.com/day-28-dr-seyi-oyesola/
2 BP-Pub-2. “Biography of Cobhams Asuquo”. Believer’s Portal: Jesus Christ The Lord.
Created:
October 11, 2016. Accessed: March 18, 2018.
3 Popoola, Temitope. “15 songs that will
lift your spirit and inspire you throughout 2017”. Naij.com.
Accessed: March, 18 2018.
Nice talk EBG on showing that even Nigerians can be extraordinary people. Keep up the good work and continue showing to the world that anyone regardless of their nationalities can become legends and can work to make this world a better place for all of us.
ReplyDeleteYou are most welcome! I'm happy you enjoyed it. As a society, we assume certain nationalities are good for certain jobs. Why that is, I think is a combination of what we absorb from various media outlets and the conversations we have with people who look like us, talk like us and think like us. A little tinge of that is personal experience, but the world is so vast, our personal experiences only capture a spot on a very large canvas. So I try to share my experiences, with the intent to motivate others to see as much of the canvas as they can. But I cannot do it alone, as my experience is also very limited, which is why I rely on other people to share their experiences through music and movies. So thanks for commenting. I will most definitely try to keep up the good work for as long as I possibly can. Your comment is validation that I'm, at the very least, turning towards the right direction.
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