Today, February 9, 2015, Lagos State Commissioner for Health and a shinning light in the medical profession, Dr. Olajide Idris clocks 60
Although, no definite plan has been unfolded, a modest reception is being hosted in his honour this evening.
However, The ELITES gathered that the celebration will be marked in a grand style in the coming weeks. Also, Idris’ close friends and associates are still deliberating on how best to celebrate the man who has impacted so much on many lives, through his sense of commitment and service.
Described as a great team player and a thorough-bred professional, Idris wormed his way into the hearts of most Nigerians through the deft and skillful manner he handled the Ebola crisis that plagued Lagos state last year.
Dr. Olajide Idris was born in Lagos on February 9, 1955. He had his primary education at the Holy Cross Primary School after which he gained admission into the Kings College, Lagos from where he completed his Secondary School and Higher School Certificates education in 1972 and 1974 respectively.
He was at the College of Medicine, University of Lagos to undergo his undergraduate medical training after which he bagged an MB.BS degree in 1980.On graduation as a doctor in 1980, he had his housemanship at the State Hospital, Abeokuta and went through rotational internship in Surgery, Obstetrics & Gynaecology, and Internal Medicine. In January 1982, he proceeded to the then Bendel State for his NYSC posting at Eku Baptist Hospital, Eku (now Delta State).
Further pursuit in postgraduate studies was outside the shores of Nigeria at the Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut, USA, where he enrolled in 1983 and bagged a Master?s Degree in Public Health (MPH) in 1985. On arrival from his postgraduate studies in USA, he worked between April 1985 and 1988 in a senior management position at the foremost private health consulting firm in Lagos i.e. Health Aids Limited. Between March 1992 and 1995, Dr. Idris was a Managing Partner of a private healthcare consulting firm. His stint at the private health sector covered areas such as healthcare planning, consulting/advisory services, hospital management, direct provision of clinical services and research. Thereafter, he functioned as the Medical Doctor-In-Charge of a Company Staff Clinic, providing primary care services to company staff and their families from 1993 to 1995.
In 1995, he returned to the United States of America to continue his medical practice covering Clinical Clerkship with First Care Medical Clinic in Charlotte, North Carolina, Metrolina Nephrology Associates, P.A and Mid Carolina Cardiology. He had his externship at the Presbyterian Hospital (Emergency Room), Charlotte, North Carolina. In 1998, he became a Post-Doctoral Research Fellow, Blood Pressure Research Unit, Irvin Center for Clinical Research, Columbia University, Div. of Cardiology, New York.
In recognition of his experience in areas of clinical practice, health planning, hospital management and health consulting/research, Dr. Idris was appointed as the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Health in June 1999, a position he held till July 2007 after which he was appointed as the Honourable Commissioner for Health.
He is a professional member of the American Public Health Associations; the Nigerian Medical Association; and the International Society on Hypertension in Blacks.