NaYiri’s Address at BMC’s 60th Anniversary

A Speech Delivered by the NaYiri – Naa Bohagu Mahami Abdulai Sheriga, Overlord of the Mamprugu Traditional Area on the Occasion of 60 Years Celebration of Baptist Medical Centre on the 8th November, 2018 at Nalerigu, Ghana.


Your Excellency the Vice President of the Republic of Ghana, Alhaji Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia,
Our own MP for Nalerigu-Gambaga Constituency and Minister for Local Government and Rural Development – Labginsim Pɔ’anaaba, Hajia Alima Mahama, Ministers of State present, Members of Parliament present,
The presence of Ghana Baptist Convention,
Representative of International Mission Board,
Representative of the George Faile Foundation,
The Chairman of Baptist Health Services Council,
The Regional Director of Health Service, CEO of National Health Institution Authority, MMDCEs present,
My revered chiefs of Mamprugu and beyond present,
The management team and staff of BMC, Heads of Departments present,
The security personnel present, our friends, the Media,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

It is my pleasure on my own behalf and on behalf of the people of Mamprugu, to welcome all of you gathered here today, to join in the celebration of 60th anniversary of this great health service institution of ours: BAPTIST MEDICAL CENTRE.

From its humble beginning in the late fifties, it has provided quality health care services to clients from within Ghana and across borders into Togo and Burkina Faso.

As we celebrate the 60 years of providing quality services, I would like to acknowledge the contribution of the founding fathers who contributed so much towards its growth.

In this regard, I would like to mention Dr. George M. Faile II, prominent medical doctor of BMC among others.  My own father, the NaYiri at that time, Naa-Sheriga Abdulai Mahami who readily bought the idea of the hospital when it was proposed and gave out land generously.

As we pay glowing tributes to founding fathers of the hospital I do not lose sight of the enormous contribution of both the past and current crop of workers.

It is they who have made BMC what it is today through their dedication and commitment to service. Through their hard work, BMC stands tall among health facilities in the north in particular and the country as a whole.

In the development arena, BMC has indirectly contributed in no small way towards the development of Mamprugu. The outreach activities of the Public Health Department of the hospital have helped in the opening up of the area particularly in the East Mamprugu Municipality.

Most of the rural communities have been made accessible through the outreach programs. As the then chief of Gbangdaa, in the 80s, the BMC Public Health team visited my community and others regularly for child-welfare clinics when there was hardly any motorable road.

Your Excellency the Vice President, ladies and gentlemen, as we celebrate BMC’s 60 years of service to Mamprugu, I would like to acknowledge the contribution of major stakeholders whose roles I cannot forget to mention.

The people of Mamprugu have contributed to the growth of BMC by ensuring that there has been peace. There is no gain saying that Mamprugu has enjoyed relative peace over the years, and as we look into the future, I would like to take this opportunity to appeal to all the people of Mamprugu to ensure that we continue to maintain the prevailing peace. For without peace there cannot be any meaningful development.

The International Mission Board who initiated the idea of the hospital.  For some period IMB was the main financial supporter of the institution. It is worth noting that even though the administrative responsibility of the BMC is now with the Ghana Baptist Convention, IMB still gives some financial support.

It is my hope that this support will continue in order to enhance its growth.

Since taking over the mantle of running the hospital, the Ghana Baptist Convention through its Medical Services Council, has demonstrated its commitment and determination of making sure that BMC grows through the building of its capacity.

Sometime last year, I was privileged to cut the sod for the construction of new wards. These wards when completed will increase the hospital inpatient capacity. It has come to my notice that the projects is a little behind and I therefore want to take this time to call on the contractor to speed up work so that wards would be completed as soon as possible.

As I mentioned earlier, the founding fathers of BMC gave their best, they worked hard and through that many lives were saved and continue to be saved.

To those of you who are building on what they laid, I would urge you to follow their example so that the enviable reputation their efforts have brought to BMC will not be lost.

For roles played by all other stakeholders to ensure that BMC continues to serve humanity, I say thank you, Mamprugu owes you tons of gratitude, BMC is Mamprugu and Mamprugu is BMC.

I am aware that, there is a shortage of doctors in the hospital. I would want to appeal to both the IMB and the Ghana Baptist Convention to do their best to recruit more doctors into the hospital.

To conclude, I would like to digress a little. In 2017, I petitioned the President of the Republic of Ghana His Excellency Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo Addo for the creation of the North East Region. God being on our side, our petition was granted and what is left is a referendum. By this, we are expected to come out in our numbers to vote YES for the Region.

As a result, I am taking this opportunity to appeal to all sons and daughters of Mamprugu to give me their support by coming out and voting massively YES for North East Region. I cannot wait to see this happen.

On this note, I wish BMC a blessed 60th anniversary celebration, and God bless us all.

Long live Ghana

Long live Mamprugu

Long live BMC

Thank You.