BY: DR. KHALID SUNUSI KANI
All praise and gratitude are due to Almighty Allah…
“The more difficult it is before you reach your destination, the more you will remember and appreciate your journey”- Susan Gale
After spending nine (9) years in medical school (6 years for academic sessions, 14 months for ASUU strikes, 1 month of MDCAN strike, 1 year for the COVID-19 pandemic tragedy, and 9 months sacrificed for students’ unionism), our long-awaited dream has finally come to fruition. I am now a qualified and certified Medical Doctor. The journey seemed impossible but the passion and optimism that kept burning and permeating through my delicate blood vessels had resulted in my today’s outstanding achievement. My passion for medicine was complemented by hard work and some inspirational words that had been striking my eardrums nakedly from the baritone voices of our senior colleagues in the medical profession. Verily, combining student unionism and activism, and studying medicine wasn’t easy but not impossible. It wasn’t just possible, but achievable and practicable most especially if one had good mentorship, mission and vision.
As the saying goes, “the end always justifies the means.” Despite the time and energy, I spent, and the consequent academic jeopardy that came with it, my participation in student unionism wasn’t a waste of time and resources. It was a memorable period that availed me of the opportunity to grow a philosophical mindset, develop critical thinking dexterity and inculcate leadership and managerial skills while engaging in numerous extracurricular activities, instead of confining or exposing myself only to the medical profession. I must thank God for enabling me to graduate as a medical doctor with numerous additional qualifications that one could never acquire from classes unless you think outside the box as an undergraduate student. Let me share my profound appreciation for the following categories of people and also share some of the experiences I had gotten in the course of this historic journey.
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First and foremost, I must thank Almighty Allah for making things easy and feasible for me despite the myriad of hurdles, holes, and obstacles that came my way at various points throughout my stay in medical school. I was able to surmount them, not because of my high level of intellect or the capacity of my mind, but rather the result of God’s grace and the fruitful outcomes of the everlasting energy and motivation my parents and mentors kept investing in me. Words are not adequate to express how thankful I am to my parents for helping me become who I am today. I am short of words but let me say thank you so much.
It’s inescapable for me to express my sincere appreciation to the entire Kani and Imam families for their moral support. I wish my late grandfather, to whom I dedicated my dissertation, were here to witness this historic moment; may Jannatul Firdaus be his final abode, Ameen. I will never forget the impact he had made in my life ranging from Islamic knowledge, Arabic knowledge, philosophy of life, history, geography, astronomy, sociology, leadership skills, and many more.
At the same time, I must thank our competent and indefatigable lecturers and senior colleagues in the medical profession for their unrelenting support, guidance, and counseling throughout our stay in medical school. Indeed, they did a wonderful job. To my teachers, from primary school, junior secondary school, and senior secondary school, I must express my gratitude for the energy they had spent in making me who I am today. I could not mention the name of everyone but I want them to decipher that “Kani’s body and soul remember you and reflect on the impacts you made throughout his life.” I must thank all my friends who had naturally come into my life from childhood to date for being a source of strength in my life. Their kindness, support and good characters towards me were marvelous. This had enabled me to inculcate some of the sophisticated moralities they do portray before me. This victory is not mine alone but the victory is ours together because they have all contributed to making this dream come into reality. I thank them and I will forever be loyal and grateful to them.
Being someone who believes in giving back to his community and subscribed to the philosophy of “if you want to make a difference in people’s lives, you don’t have to be great, beautiful, rich, or intelligent, you just have to demonstrate the art of caring and enthusiasm,” in medical school, the story was the same. This had simply prepared me to be passionate about the happenings in my surroundings and how to proffer solutions to hardships. That was the justification and rationale behind my active participation in students unionism, activism, and some advocacies throughout my stay in medical school. Even though it is inarguable that medical school is very tough and difficult, I was able to distort the status quo that had been there for decades. I had changed the dogmatic ideology that if you are a medical student, you are not expected to participate in anything outside medicine. I have considered this flimsy credo null and void.
I could vividly recall the time we had lectures on the History of Medicine when we were in level two (2) by a respected and renowned Professor of Public Health in the person of Prof. Baba Isah. I had learned that day that, in the olden days, medical doctors were part of the leadership of the community and some were at the peak of the leadership ladder, committed to offering solutions to the problems that were bedeviling the societies. These privileges were attributed to how medical doctors were considered responsible, diligent, honest, just, and creative as they were shaped by the system of medical training. Then, my psyche had started reflecting on such mind-boggling history of our heroes that passed in the profession. And in the subsequent times, I continued stumbling on uncountable accounts about the leadership qualities and the spirit of making difference in people’s lives by some renowned medical personnel. I had got inspired by their outstanding contribution to society and the world at large.
Bayero University community has left me with the imprint of the kindness, love and overwhelming support showered on me during the historic breakthrough of my contest for the office of the President, Students Union Government. I emerged as the first medical student to be “SUG PRESIDENT” in the history of the University and Northern Nigeria at large. This was simply the result of the commitment, resilience, and determination I had espoused despite all the words of discouragement and despondency received from different people. I am not regretful but rather, I will continue to be proud of the legacies I entrenched during our administration as the SUG executives. Let me use this opportunity to thank all the members of my Executive Council and the Students Representative Assembly for their kind cooperation and loyalty. The scores we had recorded would not have been possible without their unflinching support and serious-minded advice. Then, to the “YES, WE CAN” team I will forever be grateful and appreciate their extraordinary support. I believe they are all great team players, and I promise to continue making them proud.
As we are just coming out to the larger society as new brands of medical doctors, I do believe we owe the members of our community a duty; the likes of responsibility for taking care of your health when you present to the hospital, discussions on health education, health promotion and many more. So, being someone that had learned different ways of solving community problems ranging from using leadership skills, advocacy, activism, and confrontational approach, I promise you to use this knowledge at my disposal to help work out the problems bedeviling the health system in Kano State, Nigeria, Africa and the World at large.
I want to ask the reader a simple question. Please, is it possible to change the world, to end the worst, to eradicate poverty, to cure all diseases, and to populate a new planet? You can call me unrealistic, too optimistic, or a dreamer. But I think it is not only possible but also achievable and practical. Why do I think so? That is a very simple answer. I am the kind of person that thinks outside the box and always engages people around me in problem-solving discussions and brainstorming on policies that could solve the myriad of our societal problems. Discussing ideas and actualization is my forefront priority and symbolism.
Lastly, I promise to be a law-abiding medical doctor, someone that will work fervently towards making the health of his patient a priority, irrespective of the patient’s religion, ethnicity, and financial background. I shall uphold the values of my profession and practicalize the message the Hippocratic oath entails. Justice, autonomy, non-maleficence, fidelity and beneficence shall be my guiding principles. I pledge not to be an activist or advocate of public health that always sees the bad side of government but rather I will do justice to my criticisms and analyses. So help me God and truly, the journey has finally come to an end.
Dr. Khalid Sunusi Kani is a qualified Medical Doctor, Public Health Advocate, Public Affairs Analyst and Activist. Can also be reached through Drkani01@yahoo.com or +2347030631259
