Bayero University, Kano (BUK), has inducted 47 new Doctors of Pharmacy (PharmD), marking the successful completion of their professional training and formal entry into the pharmacy profession.
The induction took place during the university’s 4th Oath-Taking and Induction Ceremony for graduates of its Doctor of Pharmacy programme.
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Congratulating the graduands, the Vice-Chancellor, Professor Haruna Musa, fsi, represented by the Deputy Vice-Chancellor, Management Services, Professor Aliyu Mu’azu, mni, urged them to uphold the values of truth, excellence, integrity and professionalism.
Professor Musa reminded the new pharmacists that they were ambassadors of Bayero University and charged them to serve with empathy, become problem-solvers and contribute to addressing Nigeria’s healthcare challenges.
He noted that the country continues to grapple with drug misuse, substandard medicines and limited access to quality healthcare, stressing the need for pharmacists to contribute beyond the dispensing of medicines.
The Vice-Chancellor said the graduates had completed one of the university’s most demanding academic programmes, involving comprehensive classroom instruction, clinical clerkships at Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital and practical training in pharmaceutical products and procedures.
The Registrar of the Pharmacists Council of Nigeria, Pharm. Ibrahim B. Ahmed, represented by Dr Anthony Idoku, congratulated the inductees and described their achievement as a result of years of determination, resilience and hard work.
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He urged the new pharmacists to uphold the highest ethical standards and demonstrate exemplary leadership in accordance with the professional code of the Pharmacists Council of Nigeria, which outlines their responsibilities to patients, colleagues, healthcare professionals, employers and the general public.
Delivering the keynote address, the Deputy Director and Deputy Head of Pharmaceutical Services at Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital, Pharm. Ahmed Ibrahim Umar, described Nigeria’s pharmacy workforce as being “in retreat,” saying only about 19,000 of approximately 33,000 pharmacists registered since 1936 remain active in practice.
Pharm. Umar also highlighted the uneven distribution of pharmacists, noting that the South-West has about 9,000 pharmacists compared with approximately 1,500 in the North-West. He said Kano State, with an estimated population of 20 million and 1,319 public healthcare facilities, has only 75 pharmacists in public service.
He warned that the shortage and unequal distribution had created gaps in healthcare delivery, alleging that 83 per cent of child health services and 40 per cent of primary healthcare services were being handled by Patent and Proprietary Medicine Vendors and other unqualified providers.
The keynote speaker urged the newly inducted pharmacists to embrace expanded roles in primary healthcare, hospitals, public health programmes, pharmaceutical industries, regulatory agencies and academia, while strengthening clinical pharmacy, antimicrobial stewardship, immunisation, disease screening, medicines safety, research and local pharmaceutical manufacturing.
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Earlier, the Acting Dean of the Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Professor Bashir A. Z. Chedi, described the ceremony as a transition from classroom learning to professional practice, urging the graduates to uphold integrity, compassion, innovation and excellence.
The ceremony culminated in the recognition of Emiola Jamaldeen Ishola as the Overall Best Graduating Student with an outstanding CGPA of 4.86.