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By Muinat Usman
The Emeritus Professor and former Registrar of the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board, JAMB, Professor Ishaq Oloyede, has urged Muslim medical professionals to combine compassion, professional competence and conscience in the discharge of their duties.
Professor Oloyede made the call at the 27th Annual General Meeting and Scientific Conference of the Islamic Medical Association of Nigeria, IMAN, held in Ilorin, Kwara State.
The conference has as its theme, “Compassion, Competence and Conscience: Integrating Islamic Values in Modern Medical Practice.”
Professor Oloyede said advances in medical technology had enabled practitioners to perform complex surgeries, transplant organs, deploy artificial intelligence and manipulate reproductive processes, but cautioned that scientific advancement alone could not determine what was morally right.
He stressed that compassion without competence could result in good intentions without effective care, while competence without compassion could make healthcare dehumanising.
The Islamic scholar therefore called for the integration of the three qualities, noting that Islamic teachings place human dignity at the centre of medical practice.
Professor Oloyede said every patient deserved respect irrespective of wealth, social status, age, illness or ability to pay for medical services.
He urged healthcare professionals not to allow repeated exposure to illness and death to make them insensitive to patients and their families.
According to him, what becomes routine to a medical practitioner could be an extraordinary and frightening experience for a patient encountering it for the first time.
The former JAMB Registrar also described professional competence as a religious responsibility, saying medical practitioners handle lives entrusted to them and must recognise their limitations whenever necessary.
He advised practitioners to seek second opinions when faced with cases beyond their expertise, rather than risk harming patients through experimentation or overconfidence.
Professor Oloyede further described the professional service of medical practitioners as a form of worship, urging them to recognise that saving lives and serving humanity could constitute significant acts of devotion.
He commended IMAN for providing professional expertise on medical and ethical issues affecting Muslims, particularly in areas where government and other institutions require guidance on the Islamic perspective to healthcare.
Professor Oloyede recalled that the need for such expertise became evident when Islamic scholars were confronted with complex medical questions that required the input of healthcare professionals.
He urged members of the association to continue combining Islamic values with professional expertise to provide credible guidance on contemporary healthcare challenges.
Earlier, the keynote speaker, Senator Ibrahim Yahaya Oloriegbe, identified patients’ fear, brain drain and the growing influence of money on patient care as major challenges confronting the medical profession.
Senator Oloriegbe said the deeper challenge was the erosion of ihsan, or excellence, in healthcare, with the profession increasingly being perceived as a financial transaction rather than a trust.
He prescribed compassion, competence and conscience as essential to rebuilding trust between healthcare providers and patients, stressing that every patient should be treated with dignity irrespective of financial status.
He also linked ethical challenges in the health sector to systemic problems, including inadequate funding, poor infrastructure, and shortages of medical equipment and personnel.
Senator Oloriegbe urged Muslim healthcare professionals to draw inspiration from the Islamic medical tradition, citing the contributions of renowned physicians such as Al-Razi and Ibn Sina, whose practice combined professional excellence with ethics and compassion.
The National President of IMAN, Professor Ibrahim Adekunle Oreagba, said the conference provided an opportunity for the association to reaffirm its commitment to healing, ethical practice and service to humanity.
Professor Oreagba highlighted some of IMAN’s initiatives, including the Save Dignity Grant, digitalisation of membership, the IMAN-FIMA Lifesavers Programme and efforts to expand zakat-based healthcare support for indigent patients.
He called for increased investment in a nationwide IMAN health network, Islamic bioethics, access to quality healthcare for the poor and leadership development for young Muslim healthcare professionals.
Declaring the conference open, the Kwara State Commissioner for Health, Hajia Aminat Ahmed El-Imam, described the theme as timely in addressing the ethical and professional demands confronting modern healthcare.
She commended IMAN for its free medical and surgical outreach at the Kwara State University Teaching Hospital, KWASUTH, which attended to more than 1,500 beneficiaries, including 70 general surgeries and 60 ophthalmic surgeries.
The Chairman of the Local Organising Committee, Professor Lukman O. Abdur-Rahman, disclosed that 856 delegates had registered for the conference as of August 18.
He said the scientific sessions would feature 74 abstracts and discussions on healthcare chaplaincy and faith-based counselling, women’s health, insecurity and medico-legal solutions, as well as geriatric healthcare in Nigeria.
The conference also featured goodwill messages, donations and presentation of awards to individuals who had contributed to the development of healthcare and the association.
Among the award recipients were the founder and funder of Al-Hikmah University and Father of the Day, Alhaji Chief Abdulraheem Oladimeji, Senator Dr Ibrahim Yahaya Oloriegbe and Chief Umar Sanda Danda, among others.
The five-day conference, which began on August 24, is expected to end on Saturday, August 29, with a final press briefing after the scientific sessions and Annual General Meeting.
Editing: Abdullah Ahmed
