Being a Medical Doctor comes with enormous expectations and Dr. Tari Aganaba, a general Orthopedic Surgeon, has since the inception of his Medical journey, continued to meet and surpass the huge expectations of the ever demanding profession.
For Dr. Tari, it is about impacting the society positively as evident in his riveting and exciting journey so far as a medical doctor.
More recently, he added a breathtaking feat to his already juicy records by conducting a hip replacement surgery in Abuja, Nigeria on a 39-old lady – a case that was adjudged frightening that others had been shying away from.
In this interview with Stanley Ugagbe, the exceptional Dr. Tari shed insight on what informed his choice of career, the journey so far – accomplishments and challenges.
NCNC: Tell us about yourself. What are some of the childhood experiences that shaped who you are today? And why did you choose to pursue a career in Medicine?
Dr. Tari: I grew up in a military environment as my father was a military mechanical engineering instructor at the Nigerian Army Engineering corps that evolved from the WAFF Engineering corps at Yaba and my mother was a nurse at the LMC Domiciliary service at Montgomery road, Yaba. The experience taught me discipline and respect for authority which was the hallmark of the Nigerian Army just coming out of the shadow of the British Nigerian Army. The ball room dances in the officers’ mess made me decide I must go to England to learn to dance waltz. I was surprised my father did not learn to waltz during his two sojourns in England in the late 40’s and early 50’s on his military engineering training at Aldershot and Bordon Hants. All he learnt was to play snooker and clarinet.
My dad had a heart to heart talk with me one fine day when he invited me to accompany him to work. He said he thought I would make a fine doctor when all I wanted to do was follow his footsteps and be a mechanical engineer. I changed my mind as two other people I respected, my biology teacher and my neighbour whose son was in Medilag gave me the same advice. I thought Ibadan was the only place that would fit my over ambitious ego and thank God I got in. It was tough in those days as there were only 4 medical schools. I therefore did not start of choosing medicine, it chose me.
NCNC: There is this popular notion in the public that Medical Doctors don’t own their lives as they are always busy serving others. Is this also the case with you?
Dr. Tari: That Medical doctors don’t have a life is not quite right but is close to the truth depending on your specialty. During residency you certainly did not have much of a life but I always found a way to balance work and play. As a trainee in England in the 80’s it was more the loneliness and the difficulty finding a good balance between work and play that sometimes got me down. I was addicted to squash racket and drove around London to play with some friends.
As I got to the senior registrar level life became more hectic. I had to balance work, training and mentoring junior doctors taking care of my family and playing squash for my county. I also found time to do some prison ministry at the Portland Prison Dorset, which housed a few Nigerian drug offenders.
Yes it can be tough and I recently apologized to my family for all those times I was not at a school activity or a recital.
NCNC: How would you describe your journey so far as a medical doctor?
Dr. Tari: My journey in medicine is perhaps the only thing that has defined me the most. After 20 years in England I decided to emigrate to Canada. That was the best thing I had done in a long time. Though busy I found a bit more time to give to my family. My wife managing the home front and my children not being too naughty, I must shout out to as without them I would not have coped. What I enjoyed most in my journey is my medical mission to Nigeria. I helped set up a medical foundation called IroKo Maple 🏥 foundation-that attempted to provide the specialist orthopaedic care that was sorely lacking in Nigeria. Our base was the National Hospital Abuja and I think we made some difference though limited. The outcrop of that is my continued involvement with one of the surgeons there Dr. Felix Ogedegbe who has gone on to establish a very successful hospital in Abuja called Cedar Crest hospital providing the needed specialist care that people go abroad for but is right under their noses. He has since added all the other medical and surgical specialties and branches in Lagos. I am excited for the future of orthopaedics in Nigeria which has been neglected for so long that bone setters even claim they have better unsubstantiated results in their management of fractures.
My journey has also taken me to being one of the founding fathers of the Canadian Association of Nigerian Doctors and Dentists. As a past President I am proud of the roll I played in signing an MOU with the Nigerian government that has made CANPAD one of the prominent medical organizations bringing expertise and progressive influences to bear on the medical architecture in Nigeria, providing medical missions, resource persons at conferences and advice when needed by the Nigerian Government. I am particularly proud of the organization we set up which has become the premier representative organization representing Nigerians in the diaspora. I would like to thank the High Commissioner Mr. Ashekun a proud fellow Igbobian for his continued support of the organization.
NCNC: What are some of the really challenging moments you have faced that got you sweating under the feet?
Dr. Tari: As a surgical trainee you are faced with several harrowing experiences that leave you sweating in the cold operating room as no two cases are the same and you are still navigating your way through the complex web of uncertainties of developing your strategies to achieving as perfect an alignment of the fracture you are dealing with or straightening and fixation of this scoliosis or reconstruction of this diseased joint.
The joy of medical practice is seeing them in clinic six weeks later with a big smile on their face and you are allowed to forget the sweat in the operating room and share in their happiness. I could not have chosen a better professional and indeed a better specialty.
NCNC: You recently conducted a hip replacement surgery in Abuja, Nigeria on a 39-old lady. Reports have it that no one was willing to do it. What gave you the courage to conduct the surgery? How would you describe the process? And how did you feel when it turned out successful?
Dr. Tari: Thanks for asking me to talk about my latest surgery in Nigeria. I asked for the permission to talk about this from the patient and the Cedar Crest hospital. This case highlights the state of health care in Nigeria that needs a critical shake up.
The young lady had an injection induced iatrogenic abscess in her buttock which was badly managed when she was twelve. After decades of no definitive treatment she developed osteomyelitis which damaged her femur and her hip joint. She has sought help from several medical institutions over the decades including my Alma Mater the UCH Ibadan and was advised to seek help in the USA where she was referred. She could not afford the cost and I was approached. I am pleased I took the trips to Nigeria and after two operations she is doing well. I hope to return next year after my winter migration down south to follow her up. The process was frightening as most orthopaedic surgeons would understand with the deformities and degeneration of poorly treated decades-long chronic osteomyelitis for which everyone who saw her suggested A-Total femoral transplant the cost of which is enough to break a bank. It was a Hail Mary situation and there were no good options. In those circumstances you ask for divine interference, find the hero inside of you and go for it. I thank Cedar Crest for accepting this case and my able assistant Dr. Kumar a transplanted Indian doctor who loves Nigeria. We are still watching her like a hawk and I can’t wait to return to see her next time I am in Nigeria.
NCNC: Aside being a medical practitioner, what other things do you do?
Dr. Tari: My other passion is Education and as Chairman of Maple Education Canada, I am proud to say we are the premier organization that has established a one stop shop for assessing and preparing candidates for admission to Canadian institutions for secondary and tertiary education. The passion brought to the job by the President Mrs. Ebi Obaro and the hard-working staff have helped thousands of students, who have returned to help grow Nigeria’s economy or remained as proud Canadians contributing to life in Canada. We now have a Maple Canadian College, educating Nigerians to Canadian grade twelve levels and most are admitted to Ivy League institutions in Canada, USA and the UK. We are going further, we are in the process of acquiring land to build the new Canadian College and are well advanced in our process of establishing a campus of a Canadian university in Nigeria. I am very excited.
My other passion is travel and sports. In my retirement years I travel a lot and my golf clubs are not far behind me as I weave my way around airport terminals and sea ports. Shout out to my Ibadan UCH alumni buddies, retired surgeons like me, who junket around the world on yearly golf trips to golf resorts. I am in the process of taking that to Nigeria with talks are underway to set up a diaspora fund to help develop tourism and economic growth as other countries like China are doing, tapping into their diaspora to come invest at home. I have plans to build a resort in Nigeria and I have great partners to do it and we will make that happen. I am also involved in a tech start-up which is still in its infancy. As you can see I am a busy man and proud of it.
My biggest pride though is my family without them all this would have been a pipe dream and they are contributing their own quota to make the world a better place. That is a story for another day.
NCNC: How often do you visit Nigeria?
Dr. Tari: My visits to Nigeria are dependent on the need for my services. Since my retirement in Canada I have been spending more time in Nigeria.
NCNC: What is your advice for those that are considering going into medicine as a career?
Dr. Tari: In the last eight years, the best thing you could have spent your money in training is to go to medical school. It is recession proof and it is the most emotionally rewarding jobs you can do. It comes with huge responsibilities but after the rigorous training you will be ready for it.
Since there are few spots for the numbers applying you must work hard to be a ‘local champion’ as one of the professors at Ibadan called us but that counts for nothing when you step foot in the hallowed cadaver rooms of the anatomy department. This, however, is not to discourage you. If I could do it in 1970, you can do it in 2022.
Dr. Tari can be contacted on WhatsApp through +1 (250) 782-0178 or through Cedar Crest Hospital, Abuja and Maple Canadian College, Lekki.
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