At a time when modern Medicine is in danger of losing a powerful, old-fashioned tool, the human touch, the transition of Sir Dr. Wilberforce Olumide Aina, a Knight of John Wesley (KJW) raised the alarm about ‘our strange new world where patients are merely data points and calls for a return to the traditional one-on-one physical exam.’ The world and Methodism lost an exceptional doctor and a kingdom treasurer in Sir Dr. Aina. His career and legacy strongly endorse the value of the patient-centered family physician needed within today’s healthcare system. Sir Dr Aina lives on. His career, life, and legacy inspire and define the vision of effective Medicine, patient care, and a life well-lived.
Born on 1st April 1937 in a village called Kajola on the Railway line in Ogun State, he attended St. Paul’s African School at Kajola Station for his primary education before he moved to Lagos to finish at New African School, Ebute Metta, for his primary six certificate. He gained admission to Abeokuta Grammar School for his secondary school and up to his Higher School Certificate. He was married to his wife, Christie Oluranti Aina, and blessed with two sons and many grandchildren.
Sir Dr Aina entered the University of Lagos in 1962 to study Medicine. He graduated with a Bachelor of Medicine and Surgery in 1967. He worked in the Department of Surgery both at General Hospital, Lagos, and University Teaching Hospital, Idi Araba, Lagos. He proceeded to the United Kingdom for his postgraduate study at the Royal College of Surgeons, Edinburgh, Scotland. He also worked in many hospitals in Britain. He was awarded Examination Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons, Edinburgh, in 1974.
For the love of serving his fatherland, Sir Dr. Aina came back to Nigeria in 1975. He worked as a Consultant Surgeon in General Hospital, Lagos and Ikeja. He retired in 1998 and, in the same year, was offered a position as a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Anatomy at Lagos State College of Medicine. He lectured for 14 years and later became the head of the department before he finally retired and set up a Clinic in Lagos.
Sir Dr. Aina was a very active and committed member of the Williams Memorial Methodist Cathedral, Ago Ijaye, Lagos. In his early days, he was a choir, youth club, and Sunday school member. He was a member of the Methodist Evangelical Movement (MEM), Christian Youth Association, and Elders and Mens’ Fellowship, Ago Ijaye. He donated a clinic to the Church at Ago Ijaye, Lagos. He was a Conference Medical Adviser at Methodist Church Nigeria and a patron to many societies in the church. He was awarded the Knight of John Wesley by the Methodist Church Nigeria in 2013.
Sir Dr. Aina was a member of the Methodist Professional Fellowship established during the tenure of His Eminence Sunday Mbang. Sir Dr. Aina was a member of the Methodist Praying Partners and one of the pioneers of the Wesley School of Prayers and Discipleship (WESPLE). Sir Dr. Aina was punctual in the rugged quarterly prayer and fasting meeting – Coming Alive, where he joined others like late Baba Adeyemo (Baba White), late Baba Sobogun, Mummy Rev Sobogun, Baba and Mama Omoyeni, Mummy Baiyewu to sleep on wooden benches during break time at the camp auditorium. On a personal level, Sir Dr Aina referred to me as “my pastor.” Not minding the generational gap between us. He was a father figure to me.
Sir Dr. Aina, an exceptional doctor, had a vast intellect and a huge heart but, with no ego, was set apart as a rare amalgam of cutting-edge knowledge and old-fashioned practice. Sir Dr. Aina, a holistic, thorough diagnostician and patient-centred family physician, was loving and caring and took time with each patient (including myself) — to listen, examine, and get to know each one. He read voraciously, kept up to date on everything and consulted with specialists whenever he did not understand something. Specialists, especially within Lagos State College of Medicine, loved him because he would do thorough write-ups whenever he referred anyone and when he lectured his medical students.
He would spend quality time on a physical exam, do house calls, and even phone patients to follow up on lab results — so many of his patients still talk about him. Sir Dr Aina ‘epitomized the thorough diagnostician — never ordering tests unless he already had a good idea of what he was looking for.’ Using the words of Abraham Verghese, Sir Dr. Aina had the “doctor’s touch,” was very careful with prescribing medication, and kept track of any drug medications. Sir Dr. Aina took seriously his role as the patient’s primary physician, ‘like the captain of a ship.’ When my second son, David Oluwapamilerin, was diagnosed with a brain tumor at age 4, all hope was nearly lost at Lagos University Teaching Hospital, Idi Araba, Lagos, where David was admitted. Sir Dr Aina connected us to the Great Ormond Street Hospital, London. With the support of the Lagos State Government under President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR, and our friends, David was flown to Great Ormond Street Hospital, London, in critical condition. To God be the glory, David, at 25, recently graduated with a Bachelor of Arts with Honour Upper Second Class in Automotive and Transport Design from Coventry University, United Kingdom.
Sir Dr. Aina’s medical legacy warns us that ‘Not everyone is so careful with tests, so we see a lot of false positives — an X-ray showing normal wear and tear, but not accompanied by pain. That happens when doctors rely on tests but do not actually touch the patient or get them to move and show when they feel pain.’
Sir Dr Aina was the kind of Doctor Nigeria’s health care system needs more of. He gave so much to his patients throughout his career that he could not even retire even in his old age when he closed his private clinic; he remains active and engaged. Sir Dr Aina had an unfathomable impact on many, on a personal level, nationally and globally. He trained countless anatomists, surgeons, and clinicians around the world. It was from Sir Dr Aina I first practically learnt the art of Healthcare chaplaincy. My visits to his house at River Valley Estate, Ojodu Berger, Lagos, where he established his clinic, always go with prayers and encouragement for patients on admission in the clinic. Most of the time, the patients were treated free of charge.
The life and time of Sir Dr Aina was not totally without hiccups. He was a God’s general in mission work but also faced with a lot of vicissitudes in his life. His unshaking belief in God and power of prayer, he was able to sing as a true Methodist Christian even in sorrow especially during one of his difficulties of life when he lost one of his sons. Sir Dr Aina never spoke ill of his Creator in spite of the changing scenes of life. Sir Dr Aina lives on. He mentored and trained one of his sons who is a consultant in public Health.
Dr Bernard Lown best expresses Sir Dr Aina’s legacy and unfathomable impact in one of his books, ‘The Lost Art of Healing.’ Dr. Lown writes, ‘A three-thousand-year tradition, which bonded doctor and patient in a special affinity of trust, is being traded for a new type of relationship. Healing is replaced with treating, caring is supplanted by managing, and the art of listening is taken over by technological procedures. Healing is best accomplished when art and science are conjoined when body and spirit are probed together. Only when doctors can brood for the fate of a fellow human afflicted with fear and pain do they engage the unique individuality of a particular human being. Patients and doctors then enter into a partnership as equals. As the patient is empowered, the doctors’ curing power is enhanced. A doctor establishes credentials as a caring practitioner during the very first visit by listening attentively. This, requiring engagement of all sensibilities, is the most powerful diagnostic device in the doctor’s armamentarium.’ Sir Dr. Aina’s engagement of all sensibilities in his career and spiritual endeavors remains unequal in his age and time. We thank God for Sir Dr. Aina’s gift of 85 active and fruitful years of service and ministry. Worthy is the Lamb!
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