The Nigeria Academy of Pharmacy (NAPharm) has bestowed honourary fellowship award on the proprietor, Afe Babalola University, Aare Afe Babalola (SAN) for his contributions to the advancement of pharmacy education in Nigeria.
Afe Babalola University is the first university in Nigeria to establish a College of Pharmacy, with Prof. Femi Mbang-Oyewo as its provost.
The honorary award was conferred on the legal luminary at the academy’s investiture programme held in Lagos recently.
Babalola is the second beneficiary of the academy’s honourary award, coming after former head of state, Yakubu Gowon, who received it in 2015.
While justifying the conferment of the award on Babalola, the NAPharm President, Prince Julius Adelusi-Adeluyi, said, “I would like to specially congratulate Aare Afe babalola, who is not only a Senior Advocate of Nigeria but also the proprietor of the high-flying Afe Babalola University.
“Anyone who has been to the College of Pharmacy of that university will appreciate why the aare has been unanimously chosen by this academy as the second ever honourary recipient of a fellowship of NAPharm, after General Yakubu Gowon. In one word, that College of Pharmacy is world-class. We have no doubt that its products will be no less so.”
Also at the investiture programme, NAPharm inducted 20 new Fellows into its fold. The inductees are Pharm. Olugbenga Olubowale, Pharm. (Mrs) Joke Bakare, Pharm. Olakunle Oyelana, Pharm. Olayinka Subair, Pharm. Christopher Ehimen, Pharm. Babashehu Ahmed, Pharm. (Mrs) Christiana Akpa, Pharm. (Mrs) Olubunmi Aribeana, Pharm. Adekunle Tometi and Pharm. (Sen.) Sadiq Umar.
Others are Pharm. (Hon.) Gboluga Ikengboju, Pharm. (Prof.) Ray Ozolua, Pharm. (Mrs) Talatu Ebune, Pharm. (Mrs) Abiola Paul-Ozieh, Pharm. (Sir) Valentine Ezeiru, Pharm. (Dr) Kingsley Amibor, Pharm. (Prof.) Gbenga Alebiowu, Pharm. (Prof.) Ene Ette, Pharm. (Dr) Daniel Orunmwense; and Pharm. (Mrs) Abolade Sotubo.
While presenting the new Fellows to the president of the academy, the chairman, Membership Committee, Pharm. Paul Enebeli, explained that the inductees had undergone a rigorous screening process. According to him, there were about 63 nominees from different interest groups in the industry.
“After the committee had received 63 nominees, we put some criteria in place and the committee screened all the nominees based on the criteria. At the end of the screening, 20 were selected out of the 63,” Eebeli said.
Prince Adelusi-Adeluyi charged all the new Fellows to start making useful contributions to enable the academy to achieve its objectives.
In his remarks, the President, Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria, (PSN), Prof. Cyril Usifoh, said he was glad that pharmacists are beginning to move from merely complaining to taking possession of what belongs to them and becoming more active.
“One of the slogans during my campaign was that pharmacists must be made relevant in the sphere of activities, especially in the political arena. When we are relevant in the society, we can make impact and when we make impact, people will know who pharmacists are and when they know who pharmacists are, it will increase your economic base and make things better for you, whether in academia or any area you find yourself,” Usifoh said.
The president also commended Prince Adelusi-Adeluyi for the role the academy is playing to take the pharmacy profession to greater heights, while promising that the PSN will continue to work with the academy for the good of the profession.
Prof. Usifoh said, “PSN has been involved in sponsoring of bills at the National Assembly, which I believe strongly are important to us. It is my pleasure to inform you that the National Postgraduate College of Pharmacy Bill has passed the first reading in the House of Representatives and the second reading will come up soon. I therefore charge all pharmacists to pray for the success of the destiny-changing bill in Pharmacy.”
He added: “We have made presentation to the vice-president that NAFDAC should not be made a revenue-generating agency. If you want drug and medicine prices to come down, then you must do some drastic things within the shortest time and I am sure the vice-president took the message as one of the shortest powerful recommendations.”
Also speaking at the event, the Registrar, Pharmacy Council of Nigeria (PCN), Pharm. Babashehu Ahmed, promised that the council will wholeheartedly work with NAPharm to ensure that pharmacy regulation gets to the highest level in the country.
Reacting on behalf of other new Fellows, Senator Sadiq Umar said they were aware that their induction into the academy is a responsibility and they would truly rise up to the responsibility to the academy and to the pharmacy profession. He urged the academy to continue to reposition pharmacy practice in the country.
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