By Esther Sangodele
A Consultant Neurologist at the University College Hospital (UCH), Ibadan, Dr Temitope Farombi, has urged the Federal, state and local governments to invest deliberately in brain health and reform the nation’s education curriculum to strengthen cognitive development.
Farombi, who is also the founder of Brain Centre for Neurocritical and Rehabilitation Services, said brain health should be treated as a critical component of Nigeria’s human capital development and economic growth rather than merely as a medical issue.
She made the call in an interview with journalists in Ibadan on the state of the nation’s healthcare system.
According to her, governments at all levels should integrate brain health into public policies and develop strategies that promote cognitive wellbeing from childhood through adulthood.
“Brain health is an important component of Nigeria’s human capital development and economic growth. The Federal, state and local governments should integrate brain health into their policies,” she said.
The neurologist also advocated comprehensive reforms in the education sector, urging schools from nursery to tertiary levels to place greater emphasis on skills that enhance brain development.
She said the curriculum should prioritise analytical, logical, quantitative and verbal reasoning to equip young Nigerians with the cognitive abilities required for problem-solving, innovation and economic development.
“Schools should place greater emphasis on analytical, logical, quantitative and verbal reasoning to strengthen cognitive development among young Nigerians,” Farombi stated.
She noted that protecting brain health should begin in childhood and continue throughout an individual’s lifespan.
Farombi identified good nutrition, access to green spaces, recreational facilities and healthy social interaction as important factors in promoting cognitive development and overall brain health.
However, she said achieving meaningful improvement in brain health would require reforms in the broader healthcare system, which she described as “highly fragmented.”
“The healthcare system in Nigeria is highly fragmented. What happens in the primary care centre is not known to what happens in the secondary care, as well as what happens in the tertiary care. There is also not enough policy monitoring. When you give out guidelines, there is not enough monitoring of those guidelines,” she said.
The neurologist also faulted poor enforcement of healthcare regulations, saying it had created room for quackery and indiscriminate sale of medicines.
She particularly warned against inappropriate use of antibiotics, noting that such practices were contributing to the growing challenge of antimicrobial resistance in the country.
Farombi called for stronger regulation, monitoring and enforcement of professional standards to ensure that healthcare practitioners operated within the limits of their training and licences.
She also urged the government to improve working conditions, increase funding and provide modern equipment in hospitals to address the migration of medical professionals and encourage some of those in the diaspora to return to the country.
As an interim measure, she advocated a government-backed digital health platform that could harness the expertise of Nigerian doctors living abroad.
According to her, such a platform could enable doctors in the diaspora to provide virtual consultations and support healthcare workers and patients in Nigeria without necessarily returning physically.
She added that telemedicine could help bridge the gap between rural healthcare centres and specialist facilities in urban areas, reducing the need for patients to travel long distances to access neurologists and other specialists.
Farombi also urged Nigerians to embrace preventive healthcare and seek proper medical attention when they develop new or persistent symptoms.
She warned that first-time ulcer symptoms in people aged 50 and above should not be treated casually, recommending endoscopic evaluation to determine the underlying cause.
“First-time ulcer in anybody who is 50 and above requires an endoscopic evaluation,” she said.
The neurologist stressed that healthcare professionals should investigate warning signs rather than merely treating symptoms, noting that some serious diseases could initially present with seemingly ordinary symptoms.
