- ₦3,000 Healthcare, ₦15,000 Delivery: How the Former Governor Turned Scepticism Into One of Kogi Central’s Biggest Healthcare Legacies
By Danfulani Lukman Ohinoyi
When former Kogi State Governor, Alhaji Yahaya Bello, conceived the Reference Hospital in Okene, many doubted that the ambitious project would ever become a reality.
Its gigantic structure, sophisticated architectural design and enormous scope attracted criticism, with some doubting whether such a project could be completed, equipped and sustained.
But Yahaya Bello pressed ahead.
Today, the Kogi State Reference Hospital, Okene, stands as one of the most ambitious healthcare investments in Kogi State and is now serving as the teaching hospital for the Confluence University of Science and Technology (CUSTECH), Osara.
The completion of the project also gave rise to new narratives.
Some claimed it was a World Bank project; others alleged that it was a private hospital belonging to a foreigner. There were even suggestions that the facility would not survive six months after commissioning.
Those predictions have not materialised.
Instead, the hospital commenced operations and began delivering specialist medical services. It has recorded childbirths, surgeries and daily outpatient, emergency and inpatient services.
The scale of the facility is reflected in its medical equipment.
Among the major machines and specialised facilities are:
- 1.5 Tesla MRI Machine
- 65-Slice CT Scan
- Mammography Machine
- Digital X-Ray
- Hyperbaric Oxygen Chamber
- Five Dialysis Machines
- Continuous Renal Replacement Therapy (CRRT) Machine
- Oxygen Plant
- Advanced Operating Theatres
- ICU Facilities
- Ultrasound Equipment
- Specialist Laboratory Facilities
- Advanced Cardiology and Diagnostic Facilities
The hospital boasts a capacity of close to 300 beds, with specialist services covering surgery, obstetrics and gynaecology, paediatrics, cardiology, nephrology, intensive care and other disciplines.
Its hyperbaric oxygen chamber has also been described by Nigerian health officials and reports as a first-of-its-kind facility in the country, while the Kogi State Government has stated that some of the hospital’s equipment was debuting in Africa.
The hospital’s early operational record also provided evidence that the enormous infrastructure was not merely an architectural monument.
In one reported period, the hospital carried out more than 100 surgeries within four months, while a team of surgeons later reported successfully performing seven surgeries in eight hours, using the facility’s modern operating-theatre infrastructure.
For a project that was once surrounded by doubts, these figures became an important demonstration of its emerging clinical capacity.
Perhaps the most important part of the Reference Hospital story is its affordability.
Healthcare services are available to ordinary residents at highly subsidised rates, with basic healthcare accessible for less than ₦2,500, while women can access childbirth services for as little as ₦15,000.
This is significant because the original vision was not simply to construct an impressive building, but to bring advanced healthcare closer to ordinary people and reduce the need for Nigerians to travel abroad for specialist treatment.
The Reference Hospital therefore represents more than concrete, steel and sophisticated machines.
It represents a deliberate attempt to introduce a higher standard of public healthcare infrastructure into Kogi State.
Yahaya Bello faced the doubters, completed the project and left behind a facility equipped for advanced diagnosis, surgery, renal care, intensive care and specialist medical training.
The real measure of the project will ultimately be its sustainability, but its journey from “it cannot be done” to a functioning specialist hospital remains one of the clearest examples of the ambition of the Yahaya Bello administration.
For Kogi Central, the Reference Hospital is not merely a building.
It is a statement that world-class healthcare can be built in Okene, and that the standard of public infrastructure in Kogi State can be raised.
From the doubts that greeted its construction to the sophisticated medical services now associated with the facility, the journey of the Okene Reference Hospital remains a significant chapter in the development history of Kogi Central.
What began as an ambitious idea has evolved into a major healthcare facility with modern diagnostic machines, specialist services, surgical capacity and a teaching-hospital vision linked to CUSTECH.
The doubters questioned whether it could be built. Yahaya Bello built it. The challenge now is the residents to help government to sustain the standard and ensure that the people continue to benefit from the legacy.
– Comrade Danfulani Lukman Ohinoyi writes from Okene.
