Poorly processed garri can cause goitre — Musa-Olomu

By Abubakar Imam

A Professor at the Department of Surgery, University of Ilorin, Abdus-Samiu Adewale Musa-Olomu, has urged government at all levels to ensure that local gari producers are trained on how to properly process and produce the foodstuff in order to ensure that the substance (cyanoclycosides) that encourages goiter are removed from it to safety levels.

Prof. Musa-Olomu stated this last Thursday (November 5, 2026) while delivering the 308th Inaugural Lecture of the University, titled “Beauty of A Surgeon’s Knife: Bringing Smiles to Patient’s Faces”, at the University Auditorium.

The Inaugural Lecturer also said that people should try as much as possible to avoid or stay near gari processing mills to prevent the inhalation of cyanide fumes that can cause goitre.

Prof. Musa-Olomu also encouraged government at all levels to ensure that the populace have access to well treated potable water in all the nooks and crannies of the country in order to reduce the incidence of goitre; and to promote the use of iodised salts.

He also encouraged the people to re-examine myths and cultural beliefs, saying that it is always important to seek expert medical care promptly instead of relying on mythological beliefs.

The don said that people should ensure adequate and early patronage of hospitals and that parents and guardians should ensure protection of           children and offer them counselling services to avoid unnecessary injuries.

Prof. Musa-Olomu said that whenever the children are injured, early and immediate                reporting in the hospital is necessary; as they are the most vulnerable to injury, saying that doing that would also lead to the avoidance of complications.

The Inaugural Lecturer, who is a former Chief Medical Director of the Federal Medical Centre, Abeokuta, also encouraged members of the public to avoid food items that are likely to           encourage development of goitre such as garbage and excessive use of drug that are not prescribed by doctors.

Prof. Musa-Olomu also said that members of the public should keep strictly to the prescription of their        doctors as excess of drug usage can cause problems like development of goitre in diabetic, hypertensive patients and those on cough medication.

He also encouraged members of the public to avoid patronage of quack doctors as well   as traditional bone setters, who, he said, rather than providing solutions, would accelerate challenges.

Prof. Musa-Olomu, who is a former Head of the  Surgery Unit at the University of Ilorin Teaching Hospital, also encouraged the Federal Government to ensure  the training of more General Surgeons for the benefit of the nation’s health system.

The don explained that based on the nature of their training, General Surgeons can function anywhere and treat their patients in their primary area of specialisation and effectively manage the patients of other specialities of surgery effectively.

He said that General Surgeons can, therefore, be posted to anywhere in any part of the country and they would be able to function excellently well.

He also encouraged the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA) to collaborate with relevant stakeholders for them to work towards ensuring the declaration of a  General Surgeons’ Day (GSD), which will be used to draw the attention of the public to the importance of surgery in the life of individuals.

The Inaugural Lecturer equally advised Local Government Councils across the country to encourage community extension health workers to ensure more health counselling that can encourage the people to patronise orthodox medicine and dissuade them from cultural beliefs and attitudes and the wrong notion they have about orthodox medical practice.

He also said that State and Local Governments, in particular, should regularly organise training for traditional bone setters, as it is done for Traditional Birth Attendants to offer safe care to the populace.

To mitigate the widespread poverty currently ravaging the land, the Federal Government, according to Prof. Musa-Olomu, should ensure the provision of Health Insurance Scheme, with a view to making it more accessible to a vast majority of people to make healthcare affordable.

He also encouraged the management of  tertiary health institutions across the country to mandate their staff members to give prompt attention to patients, whenever they come to hospitals.

The medical teacher also urged the Federal Government to create the Office of the Surgeon-General of the Federation as handed over by the colonial masters. This, he reasoned, would ensure that salaries of doctors and other healthcare workers are much better as the holder of the position of Surgeon-General would be placed next to that of the Speaker of the House of Representatives and thereby enhance the prestige of medical professionals, particularly medical doctors.