By Tobe Momah

Deborah Bako-Odoh graduated from the University of Ilorin in 1999 and immediately took up employment at the Federal Ministry of Health (FMOH) office at Onikan, Lagos State. We had had passing interactions while at Our Saviour’s Church, Marina, where her father – then Venerable George Bako – was the officiating minister.

During that time at Our Saviour’s, we had both been part of the youth group and got better acquainted in 1993 during the June 12 saga where I embarked on a 40-day fast that irked my parents and drew the ire of her Dad. Deborah, on the contrary, was supportive and seemed to understand the premise of my fast (which was to pray God’s hand upon the Nigeria situation).

Our paths were to cross again at the 1995 Christian Union (CU) National Conference in Ilorin, Kwara State, where we served our respective CU fellowships in some leadership capacity. Our fortuitous paths were to later cross again in 2001, when she was a newly recruited medical officer serving at the FMOH in Onikan, Lagos while I was a house officer at the Military hospital, Yaba Lagos.

At that time, I was a preliminary supernumerary intern/house officer (which meant I was not yet on the payroll of my hospital) and was taking my United States Medical Licensing Exams (USMLE). The cost of taking these exams were quite pricey, and because I was still not being paid, I had no money to pay for my USMLE.

I had very supportive parents, and they had been enthusiastically supporting me with everything I needed financially. I needed between $100 and $150 to complete my registration for the USMLE, and instead of troubling my parents, I decided to ask friends in the area including Dr. Deborah Bako-Odoh.

I walked into her office, and after broaching the reason for my visit, she responded heartily and gave me the necessary funds on the spot! I asked her how and when she would want to pay her back, and in her usual unassuming and no-frills manner she simply said don’t worry. I went on to register for the USMLE, and by 2005 I had passed all the necessary exams and was practicing in Brooklyn, New York.

Deborah, on the other hand, was rising through the ranks at FMOH. In 2005, she attended the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and obtained a Master of Public Health (MPH). She pursued another MPH from the University of Ibadan with specialization in Field Epidemiology, and served in the National AIDS/STIs Control Program of FMOH.

Her career trajectory continued upward as she rose to be Deputy Director of the Occupational Health, Safety and Environment division in the office of the head of civil service of the Federation and an Aig-Imoukhuede Group (AIG) Public Leaders program participant in 2023/2024. She was also national co-ordinator for Non- Non-Communicable Disease, FMOH between 2021 and 2023.

At the same time Deborah Bako-Odoh was climbing ladders in the workplace, she was receiving laurels outside the workspace as well. She got married to her heartthrob, Pastor Odoh, and became the first lady (acronym for Pastor’s wife) at Family Worship Center, Kubwa, Abuja. She, also, had three lovely children and remained a dotting daughter to her parents (Bishop and Lady George Bako).

In November 2023, the culmination of a life of dedication, hard work, generosity, compassion, and integrity was capped by her appointment to the position of Permanent Secretary in the Nigerian Federal Civil Service by the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. For someone who prides herself as the great-granddaughter of a Martyr, and the daughter of a former Director General of the Voice of Nigeria, achieving such heights was a significant achievement.

To the one who stayed, Deborah Bako-Odoh, and to this one who has held faith, family and fortune together as a daughter, wife, pastor and public health advocate we celebrate you. The Nigerian project will only get better with people like Deborah Bako-Odoh at the helm of affairs and trust that the numerous seeds she has sown on her journey (such as to your truly in 2001) will come back to her in a robust harvest during her tenure as Permanent Secretary, FMOH.