The Vice Chancellor of the Federal University of Medicine and Medical Sciences, Abeokuta, Prof. Fatiu Arogundade, has appealed to well meaning individuals and corporate organisations to support the young institution, which began operations only five months ago.
Speaking on Tuesday, Arogundade noted that running a university is expensive and cannot be left to the government alone. He praised President Bola Tinubu for establishing specialised medical universities across the six geopolitical zones, saying the initiative would boost the country’s healthcare workforce and improve the quality of medical services. He added that increasing the number of trained health professionals would also help reduce the effects of the “Japa” trend.
Arogundade addressed journalists ahead of the university’s first matriculation ceremony scheduled for Thursday. He announced that the institution had been cleared to admit up to 1,000 students based on available resources. Of these, more than 850 pioneer students admitted through the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board will be formally matriculated on Thursday.
The university currently offers programmes in Nursing Science, Medicine, Biology, Microbiology, Biochemistry, Pharmacy, Medical Laboratory Science, and related fields.
According to the Vice Chancellor, the university still requires significant support to become fully operational. He emphasized that the Federal Government cannot single handedly meet the funding needs of a specialised institution such as FUMMSA. He invited donors to contribute endowments, equipment, or other facilities, noting that such donations could be named after benefactors. He also revealed that student hostels would be developed through a public-private partnership, with details to be announced soon.
Arogundade said the university is built on the belief that medical education goes beyond technical training and must combine intellect, empathy, and innovation. He stressed that FUMMSA aims to produce competent healthcare professionals capable of responding to national and global health challenges through creative and technology-driven solutions. Every programme and partnership, he added, reflects the institution’s core philosophy that knowledge is most powerful when it heals and serves society.
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The Vice Chancellor thanked President Tinubu, the Ogun State Government, the Vice Chancellor of the Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta, Prof. Olusola Kehinde, and the Alake of Egbaland, Oba Adedotun Gbadebo, for their support in the university’s establishment. He urged all stakeholders to continue working together to ensure the institution meets its founding goals.
Government owned universities in Nigeria continue to struggle with problems such as inadequate funding, dilapidated infrastructure, and high student to lecturer ratios. These challenges frequently disrupt academic calendars, often triggering strikes by the Academic Staff Union of Universities as lecturers demand better funding from federal and state authorities.
