4th Emeritus Prof. Festus Aghabo Memorial Lecture

4th Emeritus Prof. Festus Aghabo Memorial Lecture

The Umbilicus: The Paediatric Surgeon's Perspective
The 4th Memorial Lecture for Emeritus Professor Festus Aghagbo Nwako
By
Emeritus Professor Nene Agugua-Obianyo

I am immensely delighted to participate in giving honour to Emeritus Professor F.A. Nwako. I regret that efforts to bring me to this forum earlier were not successful. I apologise to the Nigerian Medical Association Anambra State Chapter. It's really better late than never as I continue to appreciate the effort Prof Nwakomade to train me to this standard of Paediatric Surgery.

When I commenced work at UNTH Enugu, I was posted to the Department of Surgery as a Senior Registrar. Prof Nwako was then the head of the Department of Surgery, and I was the only Senior Registrar in the department. On that first day, I walked into his paediatric surgical clinic and introduced myself. He was seeing a child with neurofibromatosis. He immediately drilled me with questions on the clinicals and pathology of the subject; and then confidently walked away saying, "You should take over this clinic while I do some work in the department." I had come back from England as a trained General Surgeon.

Few weeks later, one other Senior Registrar joined the surgery department. Prof instructed that I stayed in Paediatric Surgery while the other Senior Registrar who also trained as a General Surgeon remained in General Surgery. This was the beginning of my subspecialty training in Paediatric Surgery. It was not by choice but by instruction; and till date I remain very grateful to...