22/08/2026
RESPONSE TO THE MISLEADING CLAIMS ON SENATOR AHMAD LAWAN’S HEALTH INTERVENTIONS IN YOBE NORTH
A recent video making claims about healthcare interventions in Yobe North deserves a response—not with insults, political name-calling or emotional arguments, but with facts, records and evidence.
The claim that Senator Ahmad Ibrahim Lawan has done little or nothing meaningful in healthcare for the people of Yobe North simply does not stand when measured against the documented interventions carried out across the Senatorial District.
Senator Lawan’s healthcare interventions have covered all six Local Government Areas of Yobe North: Bade, Nguru, Jakusko, Yusufari, Karasuwa and Machina. The record spans hospital infrastructure, kidney-care interventions, dialysis support, specialist training, maternal and child healthcare, medical outreaches, surgeries, eye-care services, emergency interventions and the provision of healthcare materials.
BADE — GASHUA
In Gashua, the record includes significant support for healthcare infrastructure at the Yobe State Specialist Hospital, including intervention around the Intensive Care Unit and the provision of an ambulance. A maternal and child health facility has also been developed to strengthen access to essential healthcare services for women and children in the area.
More recently, Senator Lawan has provided dialysis machines for the Yobe State Specialist Hospital, Gashua, alongside arrangements for personnel to receive specialised training.
Therefore, if the question is, “Where is Senator Lawan’s healthcare intervention in Gashua?” the answer is not a political argument. The hospital, the equipment and the beneficiaries provide the answer.
NGURU — A LONG-STANDING KIDNEY-CARE INTERVENTION
Nguru presents another important part of the record.
Senator Lawan’s intervention in kidney healthcare dates back years, including support connected with the development of kidney-care and dialysis services at the Federal Medical Centre, Nguru, as well as support for dialysis equipment and specialised training.
This is particularly important because kidney disease is not a new challenge in the area. Senator Lawan has previously supported efforts connected with investigating the causes of kidney disease and improving access to treatment.
Nguru has also repeatedly benefited from SAIL-sponsored medical outreaches, bringing medical services closer to vulnerable residents who may otherwise struggle to access specialist care.
JAKUSKO, YUSUFARI, KARASUWA AND MACHINA — THE RECORD DOES NOT END IN GASHUA AND NGURU
Perhaps the clearest evidence against the claim of “nothing was done” is found in the interventions that deliberately covered the entire Yobe North Senatorial District.
In 2017, about 4,000 vulnerable beneficiaries from the six Local Government Areas benefited from free eye surgeries, medications and eyeglasses sponsored through Senator Lawan’s intervention.
The beneficiaries came from Bade, Nguru, Jakusko, Yusufari, Karasuwa and Machina.
That same year, another SAIL-sponsored medical intervention provided free hernia and hydrocele surgeries to hundreds of vulnerable patients drawn from the six LGAs.
These were not interventions restricted to one community or one Local Government Area. They were structured to reach people across the Senatorial District.
And the interventions did not stop there.
In 2021, the annual free medical outreach was again organised through two major centres: the Yobe State Specialist Hospital, Gashua, serving beneficiaries from Bade, Jakusko and Yusufari, and the Federal Medical Centre, Nguru, serving beneficiaries from Nguru, Karasuwa and Machina.
That arrangement is significant because it demonstrates deliberate geographical coverage.
Every Local Government Area in Yobe North was included.
THE DIALYSIS QUESTION IS LEGITIMATE — BUT IT MUST BE PRESENTED HONESTLY
There is, however, a legitimate question that deserves an answer:
Why has the dialysis service at the Yobe State Specialist Hospital, Gashua, not commenced fully despite the provision of dialysis equipment and the training of personnel?
That is a fair question.
If there is a shortage of additional personnel, the relevant authorities should address it.
If further technical requirements are needed, they should be provided.
If there is an administrative or operational bottleneck, it should be identified and removed.
People living with kidney disease cannot afford unnecessary delays. Healthcare services should move from equipment and plans to actual service delivery as quickly as possible.
But there is a fundamental difference between demanding accountability for a delayed service and claiming that Senator Lawan has done nothing in healthcare.
The first is legitimate advocacy.
The second is a distortion of the record.
LET THE RECORD SPEAK
The documented record includes interventions relating to:
• Kidney-care and dialysis services at FMC Nguru.
• Provision of new dialysis equipment for Yobe State Specialist Hospital, Gashua.
• Specialised training for healthcare personnel.
• ICU-related healthcare infrastructure in Gashua.
• Maternal and child health infrastructure.
• Thousands of beneficiaries of free eye surgeries, drugs and eyeglasses.
• Hundreds of vulnerable patients receiving free hernia and hydrocele surgeries.
• Annual free medical outreaches covering all six LGAs.
• Emergency healthcare interventions during disease outbreaks.
• Healthcare materials and protective equipment for hospitals and health facilities across Yobe North.
This is not a claim that every healthcare challenge in Yobe North has been solved. It has not.
There is still much more to be done, especially in specialist healthcare, kidney treatment, maternal and child health, medical personnel, equipment and access to quality healthcare in rural communities.
But acknowledging what remains to be done should never require us to erase what has already been achieved.
CRITICISM SHOULD BUILD, NOT DISTORT
If the critic genuinely cares about patients suffering from kidney disease, then the most useful question is not:
“What has Senator Lawan ever done?”
The more constructive question is:
“What can we collectively do to ensure that the dialysis unit becomes fully operational and accessible to patients as soon as possible?”
That is a question worth asking.
At SAIL Media Team, our position is straightforward: healthcare is too important to be reduced to political propaganda. We will support legitimate calls for accountability while also defending the factual record against misleading narratives.
Senator Ahmad Ibrahim Lawan’s healthcare interventions have reached Bade, Nguru, Jakusko, Yusufari, Karasuwa and Machina.
The hospitals are there.
The interventions are documented.
The beneficiaries are there.
The equipment is there.
The records are there.
And the people of Yobe North know the difference between a legitimate demand for improvement and an attempt to rewrite history.
We welcome scrutiny. We welcome questions. We welcome accountability.
But let the criticism be based on facts.
Because when the history of healthcare interventions in Yobe North is written, the record will not say that Senator Ahmad Ibrahim Lawan merely talked about healthcare.
It will show that he invested in healthcare across the Senatorial District—and that the work, like the challenges, remains a continuing responsibility.
— SAIL Media Team
