Nigeria’s bid to stem the growing tide of medical tourism and reverse decades of brain drain in the health sector has gained momentum with the National Universities Commission (NUC) approving the establishment of a Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS) programme at Mudiame University, Irrua, Edo State.
The approval, effective from the 2025/2026 academic session, followed a successful resource verification visit by a panel of experts who assessed the university’s capacity to deliver the programme. The NUC, in its communication to the Vice-Chancellor, Professor Emmanuel Osikhuemeh Aluyor, affirmed that the university possesses the requisite human and material resources to run a full-time medical degree.
The Commission, however, clarified that the approval does not extend to the part-time mode of delivery, urging the institution to maintain the prescribed academic standards and invest continually in infrastructure and personnel development.
Reacting to the development, the Chancellor of Mudiame University, Professor Sunny Eromosele, said the approval underscores the university’s broader vision to “domesticate medical innovation” and strengthen Nigeria’s human capital base in healthcare and research.
“This is more than an academic milestone it’s a strategic intervention in our health system,” he said. “We are training doctors who can innovate, research, and find context-driven solutions to the diseases affecting our people.”
For years, students in Edo and surrounding states struggled to secure admission into medicine and nursing programmes, forcing many to migrate to other regions or even outside the country. Eromosele said the university’s new medical college will close that access gap and build a pipeline of competent professionals who will serve locally rather than seek opportunities abroad.
“Without a healthy population, there can be no sustainable economy. Our investment in medicine is an investment in Nigeria’s long-term productivity,” he said.
Unlike many new medical schools, Mudiame University is grounding its programme on an unusual blend of engineering precision, biotechnology, and applied medical science, a model drawn from the Chancellor’s background as an industrial technologist.
Eromosele said the university will leverage its advanced laboratory infrastructure, originally developed for the oil and gas sector, to support biomedical research and pharmaceutical development.
“Our goal is to evolve into a leading research hub for medical and pharmaceutical innovation, to produce locally made drugs and health solutions for our communities,” he stated.
Already, Mudiame has entered a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Irrua Specialist Teaching Hospital, one of Nigeria’s oldest referral and infectious disease centres, to facilitate clinical training, joint research, and disease control studies.
Through this partnership, the university aims to engage in applied research addressing public health challenges and emerging diseases, an approach Eromosele described as “turning theory into therapeutic impact.”
The Chancellor also revealed plans to position Mudiame University as a medical tourism destination, reducing Nigerians’ dependency on foreign hospitals, especially in India.
The university is investing heavily in medical infrastructure and modern teaching equipment, while also developing collaborations with Indian health institutions to integrate natural and alternative medicine into its curriculum.
“Every year, Nigeria loses over $2 billion to medical tourism,” Eromosele noted. “We intend to keep that expertise and spending within the country by building world-class facilities and training professionals who can deliver care that matches global standards.”
By 2026, Mudiame expects to launch a pharmaceutical sciences programme to facilitate in-house drug production, alongside an expansion into telemedicine and biomedical technology.
“We’re not just producing doctors; we’re producing innovators,” Eromosele said.
“Medicine is no longer just about treatment — it’s about research, technology, and foresight.”
The NUC’s approval aligns with broader federal efforts to expand medical education and reduce the doctor-to-patient ratio, which currently stands at an estimated 1:5,000 far from the World Health Organisation’s recommendation of 1:600.
Analysts view Mudiame’s approval as a timely reinforcement of Nigeria’s push for self-reliance in healthcare delivery, as the country continues to battle mass emigration of health professionals and an overstretched medical infrastructure.
If implemented successfully, Mudiame’s model, fusing technology with medicine, and innovation with accessibility, could become a new reference point for private sector-led transformation in Nigeria’s medical education landscape.
