The workaholic CMD in UBTH
By John Mayaki
Recently, I honored an invitation to the University of Benin Teaching Hospital (UBTH), where the Chief Medical Director, Prof. Idia Nibokun Ize-Iyamu, was scheduled to address the press.
By the time I arrived at the hall, the briefing had already begun. I was late. Her 10am was 10am. She was precise. She meant business. She was exact. She is not known to “African time”.
So, I quietly joined the session as she reeled out a catalogue of achievements recorded within just six months in office. The room stirred with surprise. A journalist with The Sun Newspaper even commended her in the absence of further question and scrutiny.
She really came prepared. The CMD who inherited a humongous debt of N7 billion and collapsing institution, succeeded in embarking on renovations, upgraded facilities, employed over 400 staff, secured support from private individuals, foreign countries and the federal government, and state government. She revived and reorganized the system, and strengthened structures. Almost too ambitious. Isn’t?
But she was not done. Prof. Ize-Iyamu is not one for mere declarations in a press conference. She believes in evidence. She insisted we must join her to verify all she had reeled out. Not tomorrow and not through a memo. Nothing to hide. It was immediately.
And so, the inspection began. From the press conference hall to the operating theatres. From one laboratory to another laboratory. From accident and emergency ward to police post. From gas plant to remodeled accomodation block. All these across stretches of the hospital many had never seen in one sweep. Someone said, “this is audit on foot”. But the trek or walk was a great one.
Before we set out, this meticulous CMD advised everyone to carry a bottle of water. It was provided but many of us smiled politely, thinking it was not necessary. But we were wrong. She meant business, unknown to us.
The trek continued and stretched than we thought. The smile on her face betrayed the severity of what we had engaged ourselves in. Under the drizzling rain, she found ways to reach the various places, at distant corners, while moving with surprising stamina.
We inspected over 10 major places far-flung from each other. Young men grew weary but not CMD. Seasoned journalists like Mr. Festus Alenkhe had slowed his pace. My feet was already hurting me. Cameramen battling failing batteries and tired themselves. Some quietly withdrew. But the workaholic CMD did not showed any sign of fatigue.
“That’s why I prefer wearing flat shoes,” she remarked lightly at one point. “By the time we finish this inspection, we would have burned some calories. Our hearts will breathe better.” She said it half in jest, yet she never paused.
At some point, I considered retreating and relying on my cameraman’s footage. But my journalism training would not permit it. I am not an armchair reporter. I wanted to see, not be told. So I trudged on.
Just when we thought the tour had reached its conclusion, she announced one final site and this was to be at the far end of the golf course section. A collective sigh rippled through the already thinning crowd.
Curious about the source of her strength and endurance, I quietly asked her Personal Assistant, Mr. Uyi Iyekekpolo, “what exercise routine does Madam follows?” He replied saying, “This is how she works every day”.
At this point, am sure she noticed that the crowd had significantly reduced for the last leg of the tour, she ordered vehicles to assist those struggling but the vehicles drove empty, as we all endured the great trek. Yet, she continued much of the stretch on foot herself. Even at the final stop which was a resting house facility at the extreme end of the golf course, where almost everyone collapsed gratefully into chairs, she remained standing. Alert. Engaged. Energetic.
There is something instructive about leadership that refuses comfort for Prof. Idia Ize-Iyamu, especially in a system where many prefer the insulation of offices and the convenience of reports, the CMD insists on physical verification with journalists.
I saw an administrator who does not govern by assumption but by presence. Her leadership style is demanding, meticulous, and deeply hands-on. She pushes her team and even unsuspecting journalists, beyond their comfort zones.
I saw rigour. She didn’t. It’s her routine. But I also saw her philosophy; that transformation requires movement. Reform requires energy. Excellence requires oversight. Madam was ready for all.
If you ask me, UBTH may well be fortunate. For what manner of leader sits in an air-conditioned office and expects change to happen by chance?
I see Prof. Ize-Iyamu as a 21st-century leader who is highly disciplined, motherly, caring, compassionate, reform-driven, resilient, and personally accountable, especially in a system too often weakened by complacency and corruption.
And on that day, many of us learned that leadership is not merely announced at a podium or a press conference. It is proven on the road. You see it in the rigour the leader puts into work. And of course, she confirmed this to me, “I came prepared”. Madam is really prepared.