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From: Sani Gazas Chinade, Damaturu
In a landmark stride for science and public health, Mai Mala Buni has commissioned Nigeria’s pioneering Biomedical Science Research and Training Centre (BioRTC) in Damaturu, positioning Yobe State at the forefront of homegrown biomedical innovation.
Located at Yobe State University, the state-of-the-art facility is designed to tackle pressing local health challenges through cutting-edge, context-driven research. Governor Buni said the project gulped over $800 million, including more than $10 million worth of advanced equipment donated by the centre’s Director, Professor Mahmoud Bukar Maina.
Unveiling the centre, the governor disclosed that BioRTC’s first major investigation targets the alarming prevalence of Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD) in riverine communities, with early findings suggesting possible environmental triggers. He added that the centre has already produced low-cost, battery-powered microscopes to strengthen diagnostics in rural healthcare settings.
“This investment will make Yobe a reference point for world-class biomedical research and global collaboration,” Buni declared. “For too long, Africa has relied on studies conducted in distant environments that ignore our genetic diversity. BioRTC will help correct that imbalance.”
The governor also highlighted ongoing state interventions, including dialysis support for kidney patients and plans to establish a new dialysis centre in Gashua this year. He appealed to the Federal Government to site a Federal Kidney Disease Centre in Yobe, citing the high burden of cases, and urged the Federal Ministry of Health to partner BioRTC on affordable diagnostics for malaria and other endemic diseases.
In his remarks, Professor Maina described the commissioning as “the opening of a possibility,” marking Nigeria’s transition from a consumer to a producer of world-class science. He revealed that international scientists, including those from the Janelia Research Campus, have praised BioRTC as a model for building research capacity in underdeveloped regions.
Professor Maina further disclosed that the centre is conducting a large-scale CKD study across the Bade Emirate, with over 3,000 samples already collected, and has launched Nigeria’s first BioRTC–University of Maiduguri MSc and PhD Neuroscience Programme.
Calling for sustained government backing to expand staffing and infrastructure, the appeal was promptly approved by Governor Buni.
“With a strong sense of fulfilment, we celebrate this commitment to ‘Yobe State First,’” Professor Maina said. “This is responsible governance—policy guided by evidence and investment driven by the health needs of our people.”
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