Nigeria’s first reported tele-robotic surgery highlights medical potential

Professor Obi Davies-Ekwenna has led a team in a tele-robotic operation connecting medical facilities in Ogun State and Abuja, in what the institutions involved described as Nigeria’s first such procedure and the first in West Africa. According to the supplied Punch Nigeria commentary, Davies-Ekwenna operated from a Toumai robotic surgical console at Redeemer’s Health Village in Mowe, Ogun State. He remotely performed a robot-assisted right radical nephrectomy on a patient at Nisa Premier Hospital in Abuja, about 500 kilometres away.

The operation removed a cancerous kidney tumour. The surgeon’s movements were transmitted in real time to the robotic system at the Abuja hospital, requiring specialist staff and equipment at both locations. The procedure depended on several conditions working together, including an experienced surgeon, a functioning surgical robot, medical teams capable of supporting the patient, suitable hospital facilities and a reliable communications connection.

The commentary said the Nigerian professionals had the necessary expertise and, on this occasion, also had the technology and institutional support to use it in the country. The achievement has also drawn attention to Nigeria’s wider health system. The article argues that the country has doctors, engineers, scientists and technology professionals capable of international-level work, but often lacks the laboratories, hospital facilities, electricity and funding required to sustain that work at home.

It cites a 2026 review in Human Resources for Health linking physician migration to chronic underfunding and insecurity. A separate 2026 study involving health-sector stakeholders reportedly found that emigration reduces workforce strength, increases workloads for remaining staff and weakens access to care. The World Health Organization’s African Health Observatory is also cited as identifying poor remuneration, weak working conditions, uneven distribution of health workers and limited strategic coordination as major challenges.

The commentary says Davies-Ekwenna’s contribution demonstrates a possible model for diaspora engagement: professionals can remain internationally connected while helping Nigerian institutions, training local staff and transferring technology. It argues, however, that private initiative and individual patriotism should support public systems rather than substitute for government responsibilities.