“Initiative” is his middle name; or should be. It is difficult to describe this person in an anonymous way due to the nature of what his role is in the health department of the National Assembly. Dr. John Alfa is the Director of Pharmaceutical Services at the National Assembly.
The Kogi State born is best described as an anomaly of Pharmaceuticals that has over the years proven his worth in the field. Even at his present age of 57years, he is still a household name in Pharmaceuticals in the National Assembly of Nigeria and beyond.
His name has barely left the lips of people for his doggedness and outstanding effort in research and production of NASSMETISAN which is a very effective analgesic, and also for the production of affordable and good quality hand sanitizer and only but recently did Dr John bag another outstanding award, as Africa’s Patriotic Personality and Corporate Mandate Delivery Certificate to Management and Staff Directorate of pharmacy, NASS Abuja by the League of African Development Students (LEADS, Africa).
Dr John Alfa is a qualified Pharmacist with manifold scholarly publications in the field of Pharmacy and has bagged many prestigious awards as well as degrees. He has his Bachelor of Science in Pharmacy from Ahmadu Bello University in 1981, Masters in Pharmacy (M.Pharm)- Tech and Industrial Pharmacy from the University of Nigeria, Nsukka in 1990 and Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in Industrial Pharmacy also from University of Nigeria, Nsukka. He has also bagged the degree of M.HEcons & Pharmacoeconomics from PumpeuFabra University, Barcelona, Spain in 2009.
It will be recalled that the tireless researcher whom has carved a niche for himself in the pharmaceutical field was recently honored and decorated with an award of National Productivity Order of Merit (NPOM). An award he described as a call for higher productivity and higher service.
He revealed to Congresswatch in a recent interview that the achievement was as a result of self-will and service to God and humanity. He said thus “I was able to achieve this through self motivation and the need to impact on the larger society. Yes, the resources are limited but in Health Economics, the principle is that in the face of limited resources, you look for the most cost effective way to still provide services. Yes, there are some up and down sides when it comes to funding the perception of people in the National Assembly but I normally tell my Staff, that wherever you find yourself, do your services as unto God and this profession we are called to, is all about serving humanity. People are in distress at the moment and you want to bring them out of that distress by solving their disease conditions, their disease problems and so it is self motivation that pushes me to excel and make a difference in the life of my fellow human beings.”
Dr John has been described by co-workers as very good at prioritizing work resulting in his ability to accomplish extra tasks and take care of unforeseen problems in his areas of responsibility and as one who has the kind of positivity that is very contagious!
The League of African Development Students (LEADS Africa) has also described Dr Alfa to be proficient in corporate leadership and innovations and proven to be sagacious, ingenious and possess rare and exquisite skills of ideas generation and innovative development and implementation, equipping him for the immense and outstanding services he has hitherto rendered to fatherland.
Dr John demonstrates his dedication to work by performing beyond expectations in all areas. He can be said to lead by example in attendance, responsibilities and personal qualities.
As a team player he is always willing to use his skills and abilities not just to train but to teach and help younger ones learn the right way to do the job. He has touched so many lives through mentoring and is still doing so. In a chat with the Congresswatch, he was quoted saying “There is a young man who I recommended and when he came back, because of his peculiar specialty, we have created a unit for health policy research and development. So, in the area of research, we are also looking at research initiative that the outcome would be able to help shape the policies as it relates to healthcare delivery and in the service in general. We also have the unit for quality control and compounding. As we speak, one of my staff is currently doing his masters in the area of Pharmacytics. So, I believe in as you are leaving, you should also leave some people behind who are skilled to be able to carry on the service. I have some people who are specializing in the area of Clinical Pharmacy. Right now, two of them are doing the West African Postgraduate College of Pharmacy to also be fellows in that area.”
The Patriotic Technocrat has forged unique collaborations within and outside the National assembly to advance the goals and objectives of his area of responsibility.
