Faculty of Dentistry

This written piece of history is the original work of the first Dean of the Faculty, Professor Hector O. Olasoji, with little modifications. It is an attempt to tell the story of the first dentistry programme in a university located in northern Nigeria.

Reports indicate an acute shortage of dental surgeons in Nigeria, with a little over 3,000 registered to serve a population estimated to be over 200 million people, the North-East constituting only 5% of dentists. Furthermore, oral health professionals are poorly distributed in Nigeria, considering that at the time of the establishment of the dentistry programme at this University, all five dental schools in the country were located only in universities in the southern part of the Nigeria, namely the University of Lagos, the University of Ibadan, Obafemi Awolowo University Ile-Ife, the University of Benin and the University of Nigeria, Nsukka.

As the nation perceived the problems posed by the acute shortage and uneven distribution of dental surgeons and other oral health professionals, and the need to meet the ever-increasing demand for the services of these health care workers in northern Nigeria, the concept to commence the dentistry programme at the University of Maiduguri was conceived in 1998 by the Academic Board of the College of Medical Sciences. The Provost, Professor M. I. A. Khalil, invited Dr H. O. Olasoji, a consultant oral and maxillofacial surgeon at the Department of Dental Surgery, University of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital, to write a proposal for the establishment of the programme. Based on the proposal, the Department of Dental Surgery was established by a Senate resolution in the 2001/2002 academic session, with the admission of the first set of students (10 in number) into the programme in 2002.

Dr A. Olaleye, a consultant in conservative dentistry, joined the Department as the second permanent academic staff. These men thereby formed the nucleus of the new dentistry programme of the University.

In a bid to provide the necessary clinical facilities for the effective take-off of the programme, a working relationship was established with the Borno State Government to give the proposed School of Dentistry access to the Borno State Dental Hospital, located on Damboa Road in Maiduguri metropolis. A bipartite agreement was entered into by the College of Medical Sciences and the Borno State Ministry of Health, granting permission for full access to the hospital for clinical training activities.

The University of Maiduguri Senate in 2001 passed a resolution to establish the Faculty of Dentistry, College of Medical Sciences, and Dr H. O. Olasoji was appointed as the Acting Dean of the Faculty.

Due to a shortage of academic staff, the Faculty commenced operation with three departments, merging four of the departments into two. The first Heads of Departments were Dr. T. O. Ligali — Preventive Dentistry and Child Dental Health; Dr H. O. Olasoji — Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Oral Pathology and Restorative Dentistry — and the late Dr O. A. Olaleye. The Department of Preventive Dentistry was later separated into a stand-alone department in 2023, with Dr. Lawan Gana Balami as the new head.

The current Heads of Department are Dr Taofeek O. Ligali (Child Dental Health), Dr Paul Ikhodaro Idon (Restorative Dentistry) and Dr Mukhtar Ahmad Modibbo (Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery and Pathology).

With immense support from the University, the Faculty of Dentistry has succeeded in various accreditation exercises, including those of the National Universities Commission (NUC) and the Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria (MDCN).

The Faculty of Dentistry has successfully graduated 15 sets of dental students, and the majority of the first three sets have become consultants in various dental specialties. The majority of the current lecturers in the Faculty graduated from the University, with many more willing to join.