Who is Dr Tayo Ojo and why’s everyone talking about him? Here’s everything we know about the Neurosurgeon
In a country where there is a massive brain drain in the medical sector that has resulted in the exit of 50,000 Nigerian doctors from the country in the past eight years, Nigerians are celebrating the brilliance of Dr Tayo Ojo, a Consultant Neurosurgeon at LUTH. University of Lagos.
On Monday, January 16, 2023, a popular Nigerian medical doctor and influencer, Chinonso ‘Aproko Doctor’ Egemba shared a two-minute video narrating how he was diagnosed with Cranio Pharyngioma, a rare type of noncancerous brain tumour that can affect the function of the pituitary gland and other nearby structures in the brain which almost resulted in the loss of sight in one eye.
“Throughout December of 2022, I was fighting for my life. I went blind in one eye on the 3rd of December 2022 and on the 5th, I was diagnosed with a brain tumour.”
“One thing to understand is that health issues can happen to you regardless of who you are including me,” said the medical influencer who has been helping social media users live a healthy life with his health tips.
Egemba said he had to undergo neurosurgery which was carried out by a team led by Dr Ojo. His commendation led to more Nigerians thanking the doctor for a well-done job and for remaining in the country despite the huge wave of his colleagues leaving Nigeria in search of better opportunities.
A 2021 report showed that Nigeria has 97 neurosurgeons, a number that is considerably lower than the expected 2,000 which is why Dr Tayo has been receiving applause for his work.
This is not the first time Dr Ojo will be receiving public commendation from Nigerians. In 2021, Mike Essien, the CEO of hotels.ng, took to Twitter to appreciate the brilliance of the neurosurgeon on the successful brain surgery carried out on his father.
In 2013, Ojo won the prestigious Young Neurosurgeon award from the World Federation of Neurosurgeon Societies in South Korea.
Ojo won the award due to his outstanding work on Endoscopic Third Ventriculostomy (ETV) in the treatment of hydrocephalus in children.
He studied Medicine and surgery at the University of Lagos and has had over 24 years of experience. He served as the National General Secretary as a student in ’96/’97, and also as the General Secretary in LUTH chapter within the past 6 years.
