Ibrahim Wada, Entrepreneur-Doctor who founded the Nisa Group of Hospitals

In 1998, History was made in Nigeria with the birth of the 1st government-authenticated In Vitro Fertilization (IVF).

But this would not have been possible without the presence of the internationally acclaimed Gynaecologist and fertility expert Dr Ibrahim Wada, who also founded Nisa Premier Hospital where this historical event took place.

Wada was also the pioneer in a public-private partnership (PPP) with the government to deliver better healthcare in Nigeria.

Early life and education

Ibrahim Wada was born in 1957 at Ayangba in present-day Kogi State, to Pa Wada Ejiga and Rekiya. He attended St Charles’ College, Ankpa and later the Government Secondary School, Dekina. He then proceeded to the School of Basic Studies, Ahmadu Bello University (ABU) Zaria for his secondary education. By the year 1980, he had bagged his MBBS from ABU, Zaria.

On his career choice, Wada recalls that he had always known he would become a doctor. It was a passion that he caught on very early in life, right from his primary school days.

Upon graduation, he went to Jos for his Housemanship and later served the National Youth Service Scheme (NYSC) in the same Jos. Much later, he would attend the Frankfurt School of Finance and Management, Germany to bag a Master’s Degree in Business Administration (MBA) with a core speciality in International Hospital and Healthcare Management, in 2008.

Career start in Nigeria, UK and back

Residency training for Wada was at the Jos University Teaching Hospital, where he joined the Obstetrics & Gynaecology in 1982. He passed the primary and post-graduate examinations at first attempt, and by 1985, he had become a Senior Registrar at the age of 28.

One such point in time was when I opted to accept a post in Cambridge whilst I was a Senior Registrar in Jos. The need to improve my knowledge base was the main consideration rather than creature comfort!

But in 1986, he left the comfortable position of a paid Senior Registrar and accepted the supernumerary (unpaid Senior – SHO) position in Addenbrookes Hospital Cambridge, in the United Kingdom. He passed the part II final exams for membership of the Royal College of Obstetrics & Gynaecologists (MRCOG) in 1988.

“I arrived in England in the year 1986 at Addenbrooke Hospital in Cambridge and then started the advanced learning processes that led me to Queen Elizabeth Hospital in King’s Lynn. After passing the examinations of the Royal College of Surgeons in 1988, I started looking for opportunities to study and acquire skills in invitro fertilization, which was a very new subject then.

“I was lucky that one of the places I applied to was Manchester Fertility Services owned and operated by Dr. Brian Liebermann we spoke on the phone before the interview and I had a good recommendation from my consultant in King’s Lynn. I was very lucky that out of 99 applicants including the British, Indians and Africans, I was selected.”

In 1989, Wada became a Clinical Fellow in Assisted Conception and Reproductive Medicine in Manchester, Manchester Fertility Services (MFS) BUPA Hospital and later at the Regional in-vitro fertilisation (IVF) unit, St. Mary’s Hospital. It was a career choice that came with a 50% salary cut, but he would recount that the “pursuit for excellence and knowledge prevailed over financial considerations and comfort”.

By 1992, he was appointed as a Consultant Gynaecologist at Bourn Hall Clinic Cambridge. Wada recounts his UK sojourn thus;

In 1994, when he returned to Nigeria, he took up a role as Consultant Obstetrician & Gynaecologist (Specialist Grade 1) and Head of Department, at Gwagwalada Specialist Hospital (now known as the Abuja University Teaching Hospital).

The decision was a tough one, as he recalled that at the time, the political instability in the country did not make returning home an attractive option.

“I was able to make the decision based on the fact that I wanted to give back to the society that had allowed me to become a doctor in the first place! I also looked far ahead and saw that opportunities in the growing economy of Nigeria had greater potential than an already ‘grown’ one. This was where I could effect a true and positive difference.”

In 1997, Wada became the pioneer Medical Director of Garki Hospital Abuja and was there for a couple of years. He was appointed Chief Consultant Gynaecologist and Head of the Department National Hospital, Abuja in 1999. He rose through the ranks to become the Clinical Director and Chairman Medical Advisory Committee (CMAC) of the National Hospital from 2002 to 2006.

After his MBA in Germany in 2008, Wada returned to the National Hospital in 2009 and served till 2014, when he resigned from public service in 2014.

Founding Nisa Premier Hospital

In 1996, Dr. Ibrahim Wada founded the Nisa Premier Hospital. What started in a 3-bedroom flat with just 8 beds in Gwagwalada, is now housed in a 3-storey building complex in Jabi with fittings of international standards and over 100 beds. Nisa Premier Hospital has several buildings in Jabi, from where it provides its first-class patient service.

In 1998, Nisa Premier Hospital marked an attendance history with the birth of the baby Hannatu, through the 1st government-authenticated In Vitro Fertilization (IVF). Since then, the hospital has made major strides in fertility technology and over 2000 IVF and intra cytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) live births have been recorded in the hospital.

Since its founder is an OB/GYN, it made sense that Nisa Premier Hospital has had a strong bias for obstetrics & gynaecology, and paediatrics, in its operations over the last two and half decades. It is recognized as a reputable international fertility and IVF centre.

Wada named a building in the hospital the “Lieberman Building”, after his friend and mentor Prof. Brian Lieberman.

“I think my life wouldn’t have been the same if my path didn’t cross Prof. Brian Liebermann’s and I’m grateful to God that it happened. Everything I knew that helped me to overcome the obstacles towards IVF in Nigeria came from him” he said at the unveiling.

Nisa Hospital won the Nigeria National Productivity Order Merit Award in August 2013. In 2016, the Hospital won the African Achievers Award for the Healthcare Organization of the year, and the 2016 Award for Medical Excellence.

Nisa Premier Hospital also emerged winner of the 2017 & 2019 African Entrepreneurs Merit Awards (AEMA) for Excellence in Quality Medical Services.

Partnering with the Government to Deliver better healthcare

Ibrahim Wada was again a pioneer in trying out a public-private partnership in healthcare delivery. In 2007, Nisa Group entered a Concession Agreement to manage Garki Hospital owned by the Federal Capital Administration. Within a couple of years, the hospital had been transformed both in physical infrastructure, and quality healthcare delivery.

Garki Hospital Abuja is owned by the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA). A Concession agreement for the management and operation of the new Garki Hospital Abuja was signed between FCTA and Nisa Premier Hospital, following a competitive bidding process. In line with the Federal Government’s Public Private Partnership (PPP) Policy in Nigeria, Garki Hospital Abuja became the first to be selected for the Government’s initiative of running its hospitals through PPP. Today

Garki Hospital Abuja stands out as a huge PPP success story with over 100 beds for patients and supports the less privileged patients in the FCT as they receive treatment in the hospital through the Social Welfare Unit jointly set up by Nisa and the FCT Administration.

Achievements and Awards

Dr. Ibrahim Wada received the “Physician of the Year 2022” Award at the 4th award ceremony by Premier Medical Systems.

Wada set up the “Baby Hannatu Foundation” a non-governmental organisation (NGO) to offer subsidized IVF services as well as general education and support of fertility challenged patients.

Dr Wada is also a member of the National Advocates for Health.