A Professor of Physiotherapy, University of Ibadan, Ade Adeniyi, has called on the three tiers of government to take necessary actions to stem the popularity of health tourism in Nigeria.

Adeniyi, who is also the Deputy Provost, College of Medicine, University of Ibadan, made the plea on Wednesday at the fourth Nwuga Physiotherapy Foundation Distinguished Annual Lecture organized by the Nwuga Physiotherapy Foundation in Ibadan.

It was in honor of the first African Professor of Physiotherapy, Late Prof. Vincent Nwuga.

Adeniyi said this would be achieved by ensuring that all healthcare facilities in the country enjoy sufficient funding in order to provide the best services to the population.

“It is also important for the government to improve on the ease of doing business, especially for private entities to run high quality, but affordable healthcare services and ancillaries in Nigeria.

“The wide gap in healthcare inequality must be closed immediately,” he said.

In his lecture entitled: “Reaping The By-Product of Investment: The Gains of Sustainable Physical Activity in a Depressed Economy”, Adeniyi urged Nigerians to engage in prescribed exercises to improve their health and fitness.

He said that regular physical exercise had been proven to prevent and manage non-communicable diseases such as heart disease, diabetes, and cancers.

He said having ailments do not stop anyone from exercising.

According to him, prescribed exercises will help various conditions such as body joints, hypertension, diabetes, and other non-communicable diseases.”

He said that the general public needs to participate more actively in what concerns their health.

“Fitness is not achieved by sitting down on one spot, people need to work for it.

“So, anything that has to do with fitness has to be earned by actually working it out.

“In order to be fit and able to live a good quality of life, people have to keep moving, they have to exercise.

“The exercise can be in any form not necessarily that you have to acquire sophisticated devices to exercise.

“Whatever they can do within their homes and office space would give them improved health; they just need to ensure that the muscles of their body are contracting.

“Move your arms, legs, and also cover spaces and not just move on the same spot. While that is better than doing nothing, it is also good that you cover space as it is very beneficial to the body,” he said.

In his remarks, the Acting Gov. of Oyo State, Mr. Adebayo Lawal, said the lecture was apt as it coincided with the discussion at the just concluded meeting of the Nigeria Governors Forum.

Lawal said that the promotion of health was important to healthy living, which informed the allocation of a huge sum of the state government’s budget to the health sector, next to education.

In their separate goodwill messages, Provost College of Medicine, Prof. Yinka Omigbodun; Chief Medical Director, University College Hospital, Prof. Jesse Otegbayo; Vice-Chancellor UI, Prof. Kayode Adebowale and President, Nigeria Society of Physiotherapy, Dr. Nnenna Chigbo, eulogized the virtues of the late Prof. Nwuga.

They stressed the need for everyone to invest in their health.

In her response, Mrs. Olapeju Nwuga, wife of the late Prof. Vincent Nwuga, appreciated the organizers of the lecture, enjoining physiotherapists to practice with joy and love.