By: Tunde Olofintila
The flood of Awards that has been the lot of the ultra-modern 400-bed ABUAD Multi-System Hospital, AMSH, endorsed by leading healthcare stakeholders as the “most well-equipped Hospital in Sub-Saharan Africa” has continued unabated with the recent announcement of two Awards by the Ekiti Chapter of the Nigeria Union of Journalist, NUJ, for the Hospital, which was commissioned on October 20, 2017, and commenced operations on March 21, 2018.
Whereas the Ekiti NUJ’s first Award, the “NUJ National Award of Excellence as a Life-Saving Home and Centre of Medical Excellence in Nigeria” goes to the Hospital, the Hospital’s Chief Medical Director, CMD, Prof. Akinola Akinmade, an Orthopaedic, Trauma Surgeon, will be receiving the “NUJ National Award of Excellence for Rare Administrative Discipline, Professionalism and Transformative Leadership” on November 20, 2026
The significance of the double Awards is embedded in the fact that they are coming nine months after Progress 100.5 FM Ado-Ekiti, decorated the same ABUAD Hospital with its Award for Excellence for “quality healthcare and service delivery” on February 7, 2026, as part of the activities that marked the 23rd Anniversary of the Station which was commissioned on February 7, 2003, by the then Minister of Education, Prof. Babalola Borisade, an indigene of Usi-Ekiti in Ido-Osi Local Government Area of Ekiti State, during the administration of the pioneer Civilian Governor of the State, Otunba Richard Niyi Adebayo.
The same Hospital had in 2025 won the 2025 Nigerian Health Excellence Award (NHEA) Special Recognition Award in appreciation of what was described as the Hospital’s “exceptional achievements in redefining medical excellence and setting a new standard for healthcare infrastructure in Nigeria”.
The cheering news about the latest double Awards to AMSH and its CMD was contained in a letter dated October 6, 2026, signed by the Chairman, Ekiti State Council of NUJ, Comrade Kayode Babatuyi.
In Babatuyi’s words: “The Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), Ekiti State Council, is delighted to formally notify you of the decision of the Union to confer two separate Awards of Excellence on you and the Hospital on the same day, Friday, November 20, 2026”.
Babatuyi added: “The two Awards have been duly approved by the National President of our Union, Alhaji Alhasan Yahaya. Whereas your Award as the Chief Medical Director of ABUAD Multi-System Hospital is in appreciation of your “Excellence for Rare Administrative Discipline, Professionalism and Transformative Leadership”, that of the Hospital is in appreciation of its well-known penchant for “Excellence as a Life-Saving Home and Centre of Medical Excellence in Nigeria”.
“Under your watch, ABUAD Multi-System Hospital has become more than a hospital: it has become a life-saving home, a refuge for the sick and a beacon of world-class healthcare delivery in Ekiti State, nay Nigeria.
“Its impact in saving lives, deploying cutting edge technology and offering affordable, dignified care has not gone unnoticed by the media and the public in general
“The NUJ has therefore resolved to honour both the driver and the institution, the visionary CMD and the life-saving Hospital he leads. The dual Awards will be formally presented during the NUJ 2026 Annual Press Week and Award Dinner”.
The frontline posture of the ABUAD Multi-System Hospital has been aptly captured by Dr. Yemi Johnson, the Chief Medical Director of First Cardiologist, Lagos, who endorsed the Hospital in the following words: “This is my first visit to Ekiti and the ABUAD Hospital was my first stop. This is really impressive. I can say without any equivocation that this hospital has more high-tech medical equipment than all the Hospitals in Lagos put together. This is most certainly the best equipped Hospital in Sub-Saharan Africa”.
The place of the Multi-system Hospital has earlier been corroborated by top rate Medical Educators such as Prof. Isaac Folorunso Adewole, former Hon. Minister for Health, who said: “This Hospital will offer us what we hitherto believe cannot happen in this country. It will also improve the poor Health Indicators in Nigeria. With what I have seen here today, this Hospital matches the best in the world, and it will certainly put an end to Medical Tourism outside Nigeria” and Prof. Temitope Alonge, former CMD, University Teaching Hospital, UCH, Ibadan, who said: “I have worked in many Hospitals both here in Nigeria and in Europe. This Hospital beats most Hospitals where I have worked in Europe. This surely will be the answer to outward Medical tourism. With what is here in this Hospital, there is no reason why any of our Doctors should want to go abroad for their Sabbatical. All they need is here”.
Akinmade reiterated that in tandem with the hope, dream and vision of Aare Afe Babalola, the Founder of the Hospital, AMSH has certainly become a world-class hospital having regard to the quantum of state-of-the-art equipment and the array of qualified medical personnel delivering quality and world-class medical services, including but not limited to Open Heart Surgeries and Kidney Transplantation among several others.
Since the Hospital commenced operations in 2017, it has made giant strides in different specialties of medicine, performing cutting-edge surgical and medical procedures such as:
Open Heart surgeries
Cardiac interventional procedures
Spine surgeries
Brain surgeries
Plastic and reconstruction surgeries
Hip and Knee Joint replacement surgeries
Major eye surgeries
Haemodialysis
Interventional Radiology procedures
Kidney Transplantation
Renal Biopsy, and
Daily medical operations in different areas of Medicine
Some of the high-tech medical equipment available in any hospital which are deployed for sophisticated surgeries include
Five (5) Modular Theatres
Three (3) MRI Machines
Toshiba Infinix -cf-i/mono-plane Cathlab machine
Intra-Aortic balloon Pump
Maquet Vario twin -HL20 Heart Lung Machine
Maquet servo air ventilator
Servo-I adult ventilator with compressor
Non-invasive ventilation software
Humidifier
IVF Facilities
A modern Dialysis Centre consisting of 21 state-of-the-art Dialysis Machines
A modern Blood Bank and Transfusion Service Centre
Ministry of Aviation-certified modern Helipad to ease transportation of patients and clients to ABUAD Multi-system Hospital and the university
A Building for the Military to aid security, and
Special beds among several others.
The Hospital which has successfully completed more than 50 kidney transplant surgeries, which places it among the leading transplant centres in Nigeria, has started reversing outward medical tourism of notable Nigerians with patients now come from overseas for medical care at the hospital.
In a recent media parley, Akinmade said that AMSH has also achieved another landmark: the successful completion of the first penile implant surgery.
According to him, the patient in question, who had experienced longstanding erectile dysfunction (ED), is now able to achieve an erection on demand, with full restoration of sexual and reproductive function.
On the reversal of outward medical tourism, Akinmade said, “We are now reversing medical tourism. The channel for medical tourism is typically outward. People leave from here and go to New York for their procedures, but now we’re having patients who have seen the value, who have seen the quality of care that is available in Nigeria and have seen that they can get it for a fraction of the amount that they would spend if they went outside the country.
He added: “And so, if our politicians develop such centres in every part of the country, then it’s a bit of our own collective advantage. So, I think that’s one way to think about it.”
Speaking on the successful completion of over 50 Renal transplants, the CMD said, “Our outcomes remain outstanding, with a very high success rate, comparable to respected international centres. This reflects the strength of our Surgical teams, our Nephrology Unit, our Critical Care Specialists, and the seamless collaboration across all Hospital Departments.
“We are also entering a new phase of Urological advancement with our preparations to perform complex urethral reconstruction surgeries. These surgeries are highly specialized and remain unavailable in many centers across West Africa. Our readiness to provide them positions AMSH as a clinical and academic leader in advanced Reconstructive Urology.
Reacting to the double Awards, the Founder & Chancellor of Afe Babalola University, Ado-Ekiti, ABUAD, Aare Afe Babalola, OFR, CON, SAN, LL. D (London), LL. D (UNILAG), LL. D (UI), LL. D (TWU), LL. D (TIU), D. Lit (NDA), FNSE, FNIALS, Fellow, King’s College, London, FNAE, said: “I am happy that what we are doing in our University, our Multi-System Hospital and our Industrial Park in Ado-Ekiti is being noticed by many, including the Press as a result of which the Ekiti Council of NUJ is now appreciating our ABUAD Multi-System Hospital and its leadership for Excellence in service delivery.
“When we started the Hospital, we made it clear that we wanted it to be the best around, that we wanted it to stand out as a clear leader and the toast of its peers in Africa. That was why we populated the Hospital with the most modern and sophisticated medical equipment and hired the best of hands that will make it the Hospital of first choice in Africa. That was why we entered partnerships with reputable global players in the Healthcare industry including Project C.U.R.E and Bridge of Life (BoL) of the United States of America and Marengo Asia Healthcare Private Limited.
“We thank God that our dream is being realized. We thank the Regulatory Bodies, our dedicated staff and our admirers as well as our well-wishers for their support and quality advice along the way. We will not only continue to keep the flag of excellence flying high, we will continue to raise the bar of quality healthcare delivery”.
Babalola, a former Pro Chancellor and Chairman of Council of the University of Lagos, UNILAG, expressed joy at the latest accomplishment by his Hospital, noting that this pleasant and encouraging news of additional feather to the university’s well-adorned hat of Awards will surely buoy and fast-track his (Babalola’s) dream and vision to reform functional education and quality healthcare delivery in this clime.
•Olofintila, ABUAD’s Director of Corporate Affairs writes from Ado-Ekiti.