Lagos has been doing a yeoman’s job in the war against coronavirus. And Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu’s squadron leader in this combat is Professor Akin Abayomi, the honourable commissioner for Health, Lagos State.

Below are 17 facts that make him “tick”.

1.He is a Professor Emeritus of Medicine

2. His full name is Prof Akin Emmanuel Abayomi

3. He is 68 years old

4. Prof Akin Abayomi is a specialist in Internal Medicine, Haematology, Oncology, Environmental Health and Biosecurity.

5. Akin studied at the Royal Medical College of Saint Bartholomew’s Hospital in the University of London where he attained his first graduate degree in Medicine and progressing to obtain fellowships from both Royal College of Medicine in the United Kingdom and the College of Medicine of South Africa.

6. Akin has worked in several countries around the world in Internal Medicine and has been exposed to a variety of geographical variations of disease patterns within the discipline of Internal Medicine.

7. Abayomi also trained in ecosystem integrity, wilderness management and biosecurity and has a special interest in environmental health and passion for ecosystem integrity and the impact of environmental degradation on human health, practicing holistic organic agroforestry in combination with ecosystem conservation.

8. Akin manages a 300 Acre organic bio habitat forest conservation project in his spare time in Osun State on the banks of Osun River.

9. Professor Abayomi’s focus has mainly been on the concept of emerging infectious diseases and the development of laboratory and clinical capacity in Africa.

10. Professor Abayomi was a PI on the H3Africa Genomic project, Director of the Cape Haematology Bone Marrow Transplant Unit and adviser to the Royal College of Pathologists for Africa.

11. He was the president of the South African Society of Haematology and serves on council of the International Society for Clinical Cytometry and the European, Middle East and Africa Bio-banking Society.

12. Professor Abayomi until his appointment as the Commissioner for Health in Nigeria’s most populous city – Lagos was a Professor of Clinical Medicine at the Nigerian Institute of Medical Research, Emeritus in the Department of Pathology, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Stellenbosch in Cape Town and Principal Investigator of the Global Emerging Pathogens Treatment Consortium or GET, which was established at the height of the Ebola Outbreak to address bio-security concerns in Africa.

13. Before his appointment as Lagos state Commissioner of Health, Prof Akin Abayomi was working with the Nigerian Institute of Medical Research (NIMR), Yaba, Lagos, Nigeria.

14. In his words: “My focus has mainly been on the complications of HIV and the development of laboratory and clinical capacity to rise to the challenge of the HIV epidemic in the developing world and Africa”.

15. A recap of his qualifications. Prof Akin Abayomi, Emeritus Professor, internal medicine – hematology, oncology, environmental health and biosecurity. Royal College of Medicine UK, advisor royal college of pathologists for Africa, Principal Investigator H3Africa genomic project.

16. He is the Principal Investigator Global Emerging pathogens treatment consortium, ebola biosecurity concerns in Africa, Professor Nigerian Institute of Medical Research, Professor Emeritus, department of pathology, University of Stellenbosch, Cape town.

17. Right now, he is the man charged with the responsibility of tackling the deadly coronavirus in Lagos and Nigeria at large.

Credit: Olatunji Ola Babalola