Honour Our Mad Doctor

Across the globe, heroes are remembered for their tireless and selfless efforts because of their positive contributions towards the development of a country, be it in the field of economics, social or political. They are also remembered by future generations by having them named after an institution or a government project.

The nation has witnessed the renaming of projects and institutions after selfless citizens from past and current governments. I believe this to be very commendable and should be a continuous process that shouldn't come to a halt anytime soon until Tamale's own Dr Abdulai Choggu gets named as well.

I have had this in mind since the demise of our beloved Dr and philanthropist. Whose services to society can't be measured in anyway both in kind and in cash.

To many, there won't be any need to speel out a long profile of Dr Abdulai choggu as an introduction or a way of awakening people's mind of who he was.

A medical doctor by profession he was but, whose enviable contributions to the development of society willingly earned him another title "the mad doctor" because society is yet to come to terms with someone who would sacrifice pleasure, money and fame at the expense of devoting his life to seeing that a smile is put on the faces of all and sundry irrespective of their ethnic or religious backgrounds.

It will be time wasting to point to all what he did in his lifetime but to mention few,

Dr Abdulai who was affectionately known in the northern region by many as Dr choggu cared for the sick and insane by bathing,clothing and feeding them and as if that wasn't enough he provided shelter to them as well.

He worked beyond being just a Dr to these class of people because when society rejected them he never did.

Truth be told, most women who have their husbands join the silent majority have not had it easy living their lives as widows just like others. In most cases they are even labeled as witches and seen as killers of their husbands. Some of them had tough time surviving and feeding their offspring. Dr Abdulai's Shekinah clinic Foundation cared and provided food for these women every Sunday at St Paul's RC primary which I witnessed severally.

Dr Abdulia also gave free health screening and medication and conducted surgery on heynea patients free of charge.

Because of all of these sacrifices and more by just one man, I am humbly appealing that an institution or a structure be named after our hero because I believe in the saying that "a nation that doesn't honour it heroes losses it's history".

By
Alhassan Yakubu Sualesu.
(Mc)