Thirty-Two Teeth, Thirty-Two Challenges: Memoirs of a Dentist Turned Policy Maker

Abstract

According to Eleanor Roosevelt, “memoirs are only useful as the lives you read about and analyse may suggest to you something that you may find useful in your own journey through life.” I am therefore glad to state that I see myself quite relevant to Nigeria’s quest for greatness, particularly in the health sector. This belief fueled my resolve to scale the hurdles every step of the way with the help of God. I thank the leadership of the Nigerian Dental Association (NDA) for the honour of sharing my story with my colleagues on this platform. There is a generational and professional hand-holding gesture that I presume the NDA would like to crystalize by requesting I pen down this memoir. It is indeed a reminiscence of my days of persuasion to preparation and to the stepwise progression towards making valuable contributions to policy making in the Nigerian health sector.