Tanimu Foundation Medical Diagnostic Centre, Makurdi, Benue State, Nigeria is the latest addition to communal assistance by the Foundation
US-based Dr. Sabo Tanimu is Founder, Tanimu Foundation
Dr. Sabo Tanimu is Founder and President, Tanimu Foundation. He has a strong passion for philanthropy having grown in an environment where he saw people dire need. A 1995 graduate of Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, he moved to the United States in 1998 for more academic pursuits. He is a Gastroenterologist with a subspecialty in Endoscopic Oncology at Marshfield Clinic in Weston, Wisconsin, USA, a Fellow of the American Society of Gastrointestinal Endoscopy as well as a Fellow, American College of Physicians, and an Adjunct Associate Clinical Professor of Medicine and Public Health at the University of Wisconsin, Madison. He speaks to Daily Trust Saturday on what moved him into providing for the society among others.
By Anthony Maliki
What actually prompted the establishment of Tanimu Foundation?
I grew up a natural giver, especially to the less fortunate. One of the primary reasons that sparked my desire to give was the hardship of the people in the community I grew up. I nursed the ambition to be positively impactful via education. I carefully nurtured it through my formative years in Tilley Gyado College, Makurdi, Yerwa Government Secondary school, Maiduguri and Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria. After completing my advanced studies from the United States, executing my lifetime ambition became my top priority. I dedicated a little more than a decade of my life, post-graduation to implementing the programs of Tanimu Foundation. Our primary goal is community development via education and Healthcare as depicted at our website. https://www.tanimufoundation.org/
Why are you doing all these activities in Makurdi?
The choice of Makurdi was primarily driven by my lifetime experience. I was born in North Bank, Makurdi, Benue State. I had my primary and early secondary education in Makurdi. I saw, first hand, the difficulties people were experiencing stemming from poverty, lack of education, unwanted pregnancy, drugs and more recently unwanted killings and kidnapping. My strongest support system namely trusted family members and friends are in Makurdi. Hence, the choice of Makurdi, as the center for our foundations activities was no brainer.
Over the last twelve years or so, we began with the creation of Tanimu Foundation. The first step was creating scholarship awards for students at SS3 level and 100 level at the university. The scholarship has gone through a lot of metamorphosis however; we choose these two levels, because they are pivotal to the academic progress of our students. Some SS3 students are overburden by the cost of registration for WAEC, NECO, JAMB or post JAMB examinations. This is a deal breaker, which has hindered many student from progressing to the university. For those students who have made it to 100 level, the cost of registration and housing may be enough financial constraint to trigger a dropout from the institution of higher learning. We began by giving N50, 000 per student for many years but was changed it to N15, 000 per student to have a wider reach and serve more as a catalyst to promote academic progress.
The diagnostic centre has latest medical equipment
The next component of Tanimu Foundation was the building of a multi-million Naira ‘Tanimu Foundation Vocational Centre’, which has three arms. The first component is the fashion and design unit. We train mostly girls, who are disadvantaged in the community, for a period of one year and at the end of the training , we give them a brand-new sewing machine to help kick start their carrier. This has been ongoing for about five years. The second component is the computer-training unit. The section target student who have graduated from the university or those who are in secondary school, all aimed at improving computer literacy. We give them basic computer training for a period of six months. They undergo an examination at the end of the training and are certified in basic computer skills including use of excel, power point, word application etc. The third component is the Science training unit. We observed over the years, that final year students from secondary school go to ‘Miracle Centers’ for their final examination. An orchestrated “cheating examination centers”, where they are given the answers to NECO or WAEC examination. To circumvent this mischievous attitude, we provide a one-year extra moral computer based training in science subjects namely Mathematic, Physic, Chemistry and Biology. The level of preparedness in science subject has positively influenced the enrolled students.
The next component of Tanimu Foundation is the Tanimu Foundation Ultra-modern Public Library. Our primary goal is to bring about change via education. We believe that an educated mind is more likely to think freely and positively influence the community. The relative lack of enthusiasm in promoting Western education in the northern part of the country is partly to blame for some of the negative undertones in the country, namely Boko Haram, Alma Jiri system, Kidnapping etc. We are contributing our quota in creating an enabling environment to promote education. The library is a solar powered facility equipped with a wide range of books for primary, secondary and tertiary level of education. A special section dedicated to medical specialty contains books of various sub specialties in Medicine including books for the United State License Medical examination.
We also sunk a solar-powered borehole to provide fresh water to the community. This was aimed at averting water borne diseases in the community.
Over the last decade, the foundation has also provided additional services including, lectures on advances in Gastroenterology, free Endoscopic services, donation of endoscopic and surgical accessories to the following facilities ; National Hospital Abuja, Benue State University Teaching Hospital Makurdi, Federal Medical Center, Makurdi and Jos University Teaching Hospital, Plateau State.
Finally, the culture in the foundation promotes absolute tolerance regardless of religion or ethnicity. Although, we are proudly more dedicated to promoting female education.
Trainees in the Fashion and Design unit
What informed the setting up of the diagnostic centre?
When we commissioned the Tanimu Foundation Ultra-Modern Public library in August 2018, the community leaders met me and asked if I could help build a hospital for the community. I pondered over it prior to my return to the United States. As you are aware, Health-related matters are difficult and sensitive. Knowing, I will not be present to provide the desired services and with my deep commitment to quality in healthcare, the least I could do was to improve the awareness of getting diagnostic valuation prior to treatment in the community. That was what gave rise to the concept of Tanimu Foundation Diagnostic center.
Every fever is not malaria and or typhoid fever. This dangerous dictum must change in our communities. Medications are not completely safe, from their inherent side effect to the unwanted interactions with other drugs or the fake medications in multiple pharmacy across the country.
The diagnostic center has two components. The laboratory unit and the Ultra-sound unit. The laboratory unit performs basic laboratory tests for malaria, typhoid, and screening for HIV, Hepatitis B, and Hepatitis C etc. Urine and stool studies, Blood cultures, Genotyping etc. Ultra-sound imaging is performed for abdominal, pelvic and pregnancy related conditions.
The central component of the diagnostic center is that, the cost of services provided is fifty per cent of the cost of similar services provided in other parts of the community. We are delighted that a seasoned consultant radiologist Dr. Mohammed Hameed, a Staff of Benue State University Teaching Hospital, supervises our diagnostic Center.
Tanimu Foundation Ultra-Modern Public Library, Makurdi
All these cost a lot of money. How do you manage with getting the resources?
I bought two houses in Abuja. The annual revenue from the two houses is one million five hundred Thousand Naira (N 1.5 million). I donated the houses to the foundation, documented and informed everyone in my family that in the event of my demise, the houses are primarily for the foundation and the community. The revenue from the houses helps in funding our activities including staff salary, purchase of Sewing machine for graduates, payment of utilities and other incidentals etc.
The most recent addition to our foundation, the diagnostic Centre is a revenue-generating venture, whose services are offered at the most minimum cost. The cost of services is slated at 50% of the prevailing cost obtained elsewhere in the community. The revenue generated is used for paying salaries, buying reagents and payment of utilities.
The last component of our potential source of revenue is a booklet of our activities; I produced for distribution to governmental and non-governmental organizations in the United States. The pamphlet depict twelve years of our selfless commitment to improving humanity via self-sponsored and financially consuming ventures of Tanimu Foundation. Our goal is to present a platform of trust, honesty and transparency that will serve as a vehicle for channeling assistance from the United States to Nigeria and other African Countries. I am delighted that a Colleague of mine Dr. Jibril Odogba, a Biomedical Engineer based in the United State became our first donor. He donated N 500,000 naira to four students, each receiving twenty five thousand naira annually for a total of five years of academic scholarship. This is my vision for Nigeria. I will start distributing the pamphlet in 2020 and remain very optimistic of a fruitful yield.
Director of Project Development, Tanimu Foundation, Alidu Yusuf Omeje (right) with some guests at the Foundation’s graduation ceremony
Many Nigerians in Diaspora especially in the medical field, from time-to-time return with foreign colleagues to undertake an outreach. Are you planning to do that?
I have nursed that ambition for quite some time. But for you to set that up, you need to have an institution willing to finance part of the bill for the trip of the providers from the United States. I can certainly arrange the many willing experts from various disciplines who have echoed their interest in our foundations activities. However, one of my major concern is the rampant insecurity in Nigeria. The multiple cases of kidnappings have negatively affected that idea. I remain optimistic that the security atmosphere will improve, to allow for such Medical missions in the future.
Going forward, what are you thinking of soonest?
My thought is to get governmental and non-governmental organizations’ from the United States to help with additional funds beyond what we have done, so that we can reach more people in need. We centered all the activities in Makurdi, Benue State as a pilot study but it is about time to expand our activities to other parts of the country. That is my vision for Nigeria.
Finally, I am indebted to the following like-minded people who have tirelessly worked in ensuring the success of our programs over the last twelve years- Mr. Yusuf Alidu Omeje ( Director of Finance and Operations), Mr. Bala Tanimu(Vice president), Dahiru Mohammed( Director of community Liaison) , Rosemary Ngozi( Senior Supervisor-TFVC & TFDC) and Lawan Tanimu( Supervisor-TFUMPL). My special appreciation to active community participants including Mr. Danladi Abdulkadir & Mr. Mohammed Yahaya and many others not defined. (Daily Trust)
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