By Raimot Odunayo Babalola
Professor Olufemi Olukayode Kalesanwo, from the Health Education Unit of the Department of Human Kinetics and Health Education, Faculty of Education, Olabisi Onabanjo University, has advocated for a national shift from medical treatment to preventive health education.
Delivered on Tuesday, June 9, 2026, at the OGD Lecture Theatre, the lecture titled "Health Education Knowledge and Practice: Pathways to a Healthy Lifestyle" marked the first inaugural lecture from the Health Education Unit of the Department of Human Kinetics and Health Education. Professor Kalesanwo, who made history as the department’s first alumnus to attain the rank of professor, used the platform to present an intellectual testimony of his academic journey while addressing critical gaps in Nigeria's public health approach.
While giving his speech, Professor Kalesanwo highlighted a critical paradox in contemporary Nigerian society, noting that despite advancements in medical science, preventable illnesses continue to claim lives due to a lack of deep-seated health literacy. He declared that "medical care treats diseases, but health education prevents them."
In an interview, Professor Kalesanwo made recommendations to both the government and citizens. He said, "Our government should provide facilities by making facilities available and affordable for people to use. For instance, I talked about the provision of water in schools; many of our schools don't have water, and we are talking about hygiene, how would they maintain that? So, if you desire a healthy lifestyle, you will like to become health educated, and the combination of health education is knowledge plus practice. If you're knowledgeable and you don't practice, you're only health involved, and that is my advice, that every one of us should desire to be health educated."
When asked what influenced his choice of the topic for the inaugural lecture, he explained that it is an attempt to prevent health-related issues from happening and to manage them at the earliest stage. "Well, I'm a health educator and our business is based on the saying 'prevention is better than cure.' We don't want people to spend much on healthcare expenses, and that is the rationale behind it, to create awareness for people."
When asked what opportunities await students studying health education, he said, "There are a lot of opportunities. I mentioned in my lecture that one of our problems is that students run away from the profession. There is a shortage of professionals. As soon as they graduate, they leave, and so, they have better opportunities. We train a lot of them, but they are being hijacked by other developed countries who value the services they are going to render over there."
He advised health education students to distinguish themselves in the profession. "Once they distinguish themselves, they won't have to be looking for jobs, and I am a model."
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