A tale of two Nigerian doctors in the USA

“Medicine is one of the major areas where Nigerians have excelled.”

Nigerian professionals are famous for being highly accomplished in the USA. Demographic analysis of racial and ethnic groups shows that people of Nigerian origin are among the most successful educationally and academically. Nigerians are also beginning to insinuate themselves into the political system, running for elective offices at different levels, and here and there occupying service and legislative positions.

Medicine is one of the major areas where Nigerians have excelled. In many of the frontline institutions, Nigerians occupy highly visible positions and are associated with notable feats, such as Dr Oluyinka Olutoye who operated on a baby in the womb and subsequently managed the pregnancy safely to term.

The COVID-19 pandemic was a traumatic experience all over the world. It was a dangerous time filled with uncertainty, and the world was under the regimental control of public health physicians, who were required to provide guidance to the population about how to protect themselves and their households.

It was also the period when political divisions finally invaded the sacred territory of Science. For the first time, in the USA and then elsewhere, public safety concerns and restrictions began to clash with some people’s understanding of individual freedom and liberty.

The stories of two Nigerian Public Health Specialists illustrate some of the drama surrounding the issues.

Ngozi Ezike was born in Los Angeles, California to Nigerian parents. She was a precocious child, and in 1994 she graduated from Harvard with a Chemistry degree. She studied Medicine at University of California, San Diego, graduating in 1999. She obtained Diplomas of the American Boards of Medicine and Paediatrics and worked for several years at the Cook County Department of Public Health.

In January 2019, Ngozi was appointed as Director of the Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH). She was the first black woman and only the second female to head the one and a half century old government agency.

Beyond the celebration, she could not have imagined what she was letting herself in for. Within one year of her appointment, the COVID-19 pandemic struck America. The responsibility of protecting the lives and well-being of 12 million Illinois residents fell on her shoulders. Illinois is a racially diverse state, with large populations of different races, including Latinos. Ngozi, who speaks several languages, including Igbo, English and Spanish, had a prime duty not only to protect the people, but to communicate effectively with them on a 24-by-7 basis.

The most frightening aspect of the situation, for her, was that COVID-19 was a new disease, and the Science to contain it could not be read from the books. It had to be invented afresh, in a frantic rush, on a day-by-day basis, under the urgent pressure to save lives.

According to Ngozi, ‘We were flying the plane as we were building it…I was at the Governor’s office every single day…It was just high-stakes, high-pressure, with new information coming out every second…’

Ngozi’s voice and visage beamed from television, radio, computers and mobile devices daily all over the state of Illinois as she stood with the Governor to update citizens on the toll taken by COVID-19 and measures for further containment. The people found her expertise and empathy very reassuring. Her regular updates were translated into Spanish for the benefit of the Latino population.

The Illinois public health response was judged highly successful. It slowed the spread of the virus, equitably distributed vaccines, and managed threats from opponents of lockdown. It curbed mortality and guided the state through the worst pandemic in its history.

Ngozi left the position of Director of Illinois Department of Public Health after three years, amidst widespread public accolades and commendation.

After a brief break to spend time with her family, she reemerged in public in June 2022 as President and CEO of Sinai Chicago, the largest private health system in the state of Illinois.

To Ngozi, the public reaction of the people she touched was ‘all approbation, no controversy’.

The same, unfortunately, cannot be said of the second Nigerian Public Health Specialist in focus here.

Joseph Abiodun Ladapo was born on 16th December 1978 in Nigeria. He emigrated to the USA with his family when he was 5 years old. His father was a Microbiologist. He obtained an MD from Harvard Medical School and a PhD in Health Policy in 2008. He worked at New York University School of Medicine, and later received tenure at David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA.

He acquired public visibility for his Op-Eds which were published in The Wall Street Journal in 2020 as COVID-19 was emerging. He was sceptical of mainstream strategies for prevention and treatment of COVID-19, questioning the effectiveness of vaccines and promoting the use of hydroxychloroquine and ivermectin.

On September 21, 2021, he was appointed Surgeon General of Florida by Governor Ron DeSantis, a Republican.

Ladapo promised to move Florida public health ‘away from over-focus on vaccines towards total health’. He repealed quarantine rules for schoolchildren exposed to COVID-19 and played down the need to wear face masks. In 2022, he recommended that healthy children should not be vaccinated against COVID-19, contradicting the authority of the Centre for Disease Control (CDC). He quoted dubious science to suggest that men between 18 and 39 years of age should not be given mRNA vaccination because it was dangerous to their health.

He opposed Transgender Healthcare and hormonal therapies.

In March 2023, he was rebuked by CDC and FDA for spreading vaccine misinformation.

In 2024, during a Measles outbreak, Ladapo contradicted the standard advice that unvaccinated children should observe a 21-day quarantine at home, effectively saying parents of such children could send their wards to school if they chose.

Joseph Ladapo remains a controversial Surgeon General, staunchly defending the Republican health agenda in Florida, even as the USA heads to a do-or-die election between Donald Trump, and Kamala Harris.

Two Nigerian Public Health experts, Ngozi and Joseph. Same Science. Different attitudes. Different impact.