Salamat Ahuoiza Aliu-Ibrahim
Simply put, Salamat Ahuoiza Aliu-Ibrahim is a trail blazer. Do you know she is the first female to be certified as a neurosurgeon in the entirety of the West African Region? Given that her area of specialization – especially in Nigeria – has predominantly been male dominated, her being the first woman, to be certified – not just in Nigeria, but West Africa – is something very special. Born in n in 1980, Aliu-Ibrahim attained her certification when she was in her early thirties. Her achievement could be categorized as something surreal; possibly an unusual yet highly commendable feat.
What’s More to Know About Salamat Ahouiza Aliu-Ibrahim?
- Salamat Aliu-Ibrahim is also actually the first indigenously trained female neurosurgeon in Nigeria. That’s something to celebrate; the first purely ‘Made in Naija’ neurosurgeon. Nigeria is making ‘moves’; positive vibes, forward moves, and though it may seem slow to some, we are surely making progress.
- Salamat Ahuoiza Aliu-Ibrahim hails from Kogi state, Okene Local Government Area precisely. She, however, was born, brought up and educated in Ilorin, Kwara state.
- Aliu-Ibrahim got her first medical school degree at the University of Ilorin. She later trained and specialized in Neuro-surgery at the Usmanu Danfodiyo University, Sokoto.
- Since her certification, she has also served as a mentor to others (especially women) training as neurosurgeons too. She has opened a vista for many other women to consider specializing in neurosurgery; such interest was not evident in previous times.
- Salamat Ohuoiza Aliu-Ibrahim’s venturing and deciding to specialize in the area of Neurosurgery is out of sheer interest, perceived intricacies and intrigues that she perceived are characteristic of the discipline. The catch for Aliu-Ibrahim is that Neurosurgery specializes in neurological diseases which are brain and spinal cord related. Carrying out surgeries on those two delicate parts of the body was what intrigued her the most.
- She actually decided on her field of study from secondary school; and she considers Professor T.O. Odebode, herneurosurgery professor at University of Ilorin, to be one of the motivations to her believing she could become a neurosurgeon. Other areas of specialization she would have considered besides neurosurgery would have been pediatric surgery or plastic surgery.
- Aliu-Ibrahim’s co-authored publication, Knotting of a nasogastric feeding tube in a child with head injury: A case report and literature review (2014) has gained wide publicity and internet responses, given that it serves as a rich resource for science and medical research.[1]
- Aliu was also listed in the top 100 persons of the year by the Arewa Socio-political group in 2016.
[1] Celebrating Salamat Ahuoiza, West Africa’s Frirst female neurosurgeon accessed 3/11/18