TRIBUTE TO THE.           PIONEER OPHTHALMOLOGIST, DEPARTMENT OF OPHTHALMOLOGY, UCTH CALABAR.
DR UDUAK EDET ASANGA

The news came as a shock. We cannot question God for He alone knows the end from the beginning. You worked single handedly and tirelessly to get the Department of OPHTHALMOLOGY to stand. You loved your profession with a Passion. Your strick set of rules on what you believed and acted on paid off.
Your good work on Earth will never be forgotten as many ( clients and doctors) benefitted from you. Rest in peace Dr. We shall meet again when all shall be at rest. Goodbye, goodbye, good bye.
     Louisa Antia-obong
Retired ophthalmic nurse.

Dear sir,
I heard people some staff of the department of Ophthalmology, UCTH asking who you were and I realised how privileged I was to have met and worked under you.
Thank you for all you stood for. Continue to rest in the bossom of our Lord Jesus Christ.
John Ale

Great teacher, astute academician. With him you'll always work out Ophthalmic problems from first principles and then find out 'waow it was easy'. We will miss you here sir. Thanks for impacting our lives.
Dr Okwejie

I first met the ‘’Óbong of Calabar’’ as he was fondly called by his colleagues in Ophthalmology in 1993. I was in my final year of residency at the University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital, Enugu. We bonded rather easily. It was not possible to miss his passion for Ophthalmology and love for the Department he founded and nurtured back in Calabar. He immediately invited me to join him as a Consultant at the end of my residency programme. I assured him I would give it some thoughts, but Uduak Asana was not one to forget or give up. By 1995 I received an appointment letter from the University of Calabar for a position I never applied for, thanks to Uduak Asana. A year later, I joined him as the second Consultant in the Department of Ophthalmology he founded, nurtured and so loved. One could easily tell from the passion with which he worked that this was a man who had found his life’s purpose. Dr. Asana was hard working, witty, meticulous, thorough, fearless, punctual and painstaking. He was uncompromising, when it came to giving excellent care to his patients. Teaching was his life and in it he really excelled. It was therefore not surprising that the department he nurtured, grew and blossomed. It stands today as a legacy and testament of his unsurpassable commitment and leadership.

Dr. Asana will be sorely missed by all who had the opportunity of knowing him. Rest in Peace, my Chief,Clinician, Surgeon, Teacher of Teachers. May the Holy Spirit comfort your family, Amen. 

Dennis George Nkanga

Obong,
I am somehow at a loss for words. The news of your demise is a shock. You have left rather early although longevity time analysis is not for any mortal.
Your confidence, objectivity and straight-forwardness during our residency training at Guinness Eye Unit Ahmadu Bello University Teaching Hospital Kaduna led me to call you Obong, a name that somehow stuck.

You brought the first Sight Savers Cataract Outreach to Imo State using my humble self as a conduit. You could have chosen not to. I thank you very much for this noble gesture.

Dr. Asana, I pray that the good Lord grants you peace and eternal rest in His bosom and comforts your family, friends and well wishers. Rest in perfect peace; Amen.

Dr Florence Nkwogu

Adieu, Dr Asana
Very sad news! I recall the early days of our Eye clinic which quickly progressed into the Department of Ophthalmology. Your meticulous strides were obvious to all and how well we worked together then.
So sad that you left so early. When the day is over, a man is only remembered by what he had done for humanity. Thank you for your hard work in blazing the course that led to the Department attaining its place as a training centre for eye care practitioners. Thank you, on behalf of the many lives you reached.
The Bible teaches that "it is better to go to the house of mourning than to go to the house of feasting, for the day of death is the end of every man, and the living will take it to heart and solemnly ponder its meaning. (Eccl 7:2 AMP)
Adieu, Mbakara Dr Asana

Our beloved teacher has gone. May your hard working soul and spirit of excellence rest in peace.

A gentleman dedicated to Ophthalmology. Caring and humorous. Indeed our Obong of those days at Kaduna. Rest in perfect peace. May God Almighty console and strengthen your loved ones.

Dear Asana, this and other tributes is not really for you to read as your end has finally come and you are unable to read now. I learnt from you to be fearless, humble and to speak my truth at all times. I pray to show the same commitment you showed to educating and training other residents. I remember you often for this. Above all , I pray to leave a befitting legacy as you have done, since this is the way to truly live on in the hearts of those you have touched as you walked the path of this mortal world. Hopefully we shall meet again in the life after , to part no more. Adieu sir.

I met Dr Asana in 2007. As a colleague I found him to be frank and upright. He was very interested in teaching. I sensed the mutual respect among colleagues and residents.
He will be sorely missed by all who had opportunity to interact with him.
Condolence to family.

Dr Uduak Asana a quintessence of all that a clinician, surgeon, trainer, molder should be. You were fearless in the defence of excellence. Your passionate love for the department of ophthalmology, University of Calabar and it's Teaching Hospital was beyond question.
From 1987 to 2011, we partnered for the same cause and post my retirement you welcomed me back with open arms. You withdrew soon after, greatly missed.
Gone too soon with still so much we give, may you rest in perfect peace. We shall not fail to love the department you loved so much. It is the least we can do.

A committed, disciplined and exemplary teacher who gave his all to the practice and teaching of Ophthalmology..
You will indeed be remembered for your good works..
May your soul find rest in the bosom of the Lord!

Tribute to a Great teacher!
Adieu to a great teacher of teachers, father and mentor!

To a great icon who gave ‘his life’ as it were, to ensure best practices in Ophthalmology!

Adieu to my trainer, who reminded us at every opportunity to be meticulous and excellent in our practice!

Adieu to a great teacher who would not give in to mediocrity and indiscipline, who insisted we were thorough in all we did. Who worked so hard to ensure that training of residents was properly done; in character and learning!

Your teachings will not be forgotten in a hurry, I hear your voice ‘eh! Did you examine the iris?...and that is one ocular structure we quickly hurry past but you drew us back to its importance..
You ensured patients were well attended to by residents, no putting off of what could be done at a particular clinic visit for the next visit… You insisted and checked to ensure that ‘gonioscopy’ and ‘dilated fundoscopy’ was done as at when due. You insisted that we did things right and you did same.

You had a special way of getting the truth from some patients who were not so forthcoming with information, you were a super-detective! You cared greatly for your patients.

In theatre, you insisted that we performed the surgeries in the actual sense of it… for which I am glad… at intervals you would call out ‘eh! Be gentle with the tissssues(tissues)- for you had a special way of pronouncing it, ‘ have respect for the conjunctiva’… and the eyes and body as a whole, always reminding us that the eyes are part of the body.

Our excuses for coming late for departmental activities could never be tolerated, through it you made us tough and ‘hijacked’- as it were, our souls from the path of ruin…’please sir, my car had a problem’…’you should have flown’, you would say… It sounded hard but as we grew, we understood that those excuses were lame and would not take us to enviable heights! We hope to also help the younger ones who take excuses for every and anything, for therein lies the pathway to failure!

Residents and medical students alike had to learn, actively learn as you were always available to teach and drill! You taught us to spell ‘Ophthalmology ‘correctly and any student needed to get that right before proceeding.
You taught us to take a good history, you insisted that a doctor should write and speak good English…
No loitering around the corridors was allowed…

You told us to ‘stagger down’ when we complained of illnesses… You made us more resilient to stressors than we probably would have been…
You came for daily seminars, everyday for several years and you came on TIME!!.. what a sacrifice!!! Not to mention weekend rounds!!

In the last few months, when you had to leave town, you still called to find out how the residents were doing, how the training was going us and you made your inputs on how it should go.

You taught and taught until we learnt! You drew up guidelines on training which we have had to use for several years. Your work in drawing up the ‘medical students posting in ophthalmology booklet’ gave us a solid framework for which a recent review by a number of great minds could be done.

This space would not be enough to write about all your positive impact but we cherish your sacrifices.

Adieu Baba!! Adieu Dr Uduak Asana!
You will be greatly missed!
May your soul rest in the bosom of the Lord.

Fondly remembered by:
Dr. Martha-Mary Udoh
Department of Ophthalmology,
University of Calabar Teaching Hospital, Calabar.

Dr Asana was my teacher. With diligence, thoroughness and discipline he taught me Ophthalmology hands-on. I didnt know how much he had infused in me until I became an Ophthalmologist. I had shed secret tears to mourn he that sacrificed his life to mould me. I had wished such tears would assuage the World beyond to grant my beloved teacher extra terrestrial life of self-less service. He was painstaking, he was punctual, he was principled and unshaken. These were features glaringly displayed in his demeanour; they were not concealed.
Dr. Uduak Asana, my mentor, I sorely miss you. I missed your 8am supervision of our daily seminars. I missed your erudite review of patients in clinics. I missed your meticulous theatre teachings of how gentle ocular tissues should be handled. You had sad, "in trabeculectomy, conjunctiva is king, it should be handled with care".

Now I am consoled as I remain your replica in thorough and humane patient-care. These were the attributes you bequeathed to me. Be assured I will pass them them on. Rest on my dear Chief.

Dr Uduak Asana was a serious scholar . He was interested in fine details of the subject of study.
He had a good sense of humour and so had everyone laughing at his down to earth rhetorics. This gave him the popular nickname of Obong.
I will miss your frankness and honesty.
Rest in perfect peace good friend.

A gentle and disciplined soul has left. Dr Asana was a gentle but disciplined soul. In his life time, he would not tolerate any nonsense. We will miss you. We love you but God loves you best. Sleep on Dr Asana. You are fondly remembered. Prof Adeoti CO

Life is short. Everybody will die one day weither will like it or not. Sir, we remember your contributions to ophthalmic world.
The patients and students who benefitted from your immense knowledge will continue to feed the world from your blessing.

Adieu to my senior colleague and mentor – Dr Uduak Asana. Your passion for nurturing junior residents made it easy for me to settle down into Ophthalmology Residency at Guinness Eye Unit, A. B. U. Teaching Hospital, Kaduna in the late 1980s. The indelible good record that you left behind at Leicester Royal Infirmary, UK, facilitated my being employed as a Honorary Registrar in 1992/1993 at a time when even a white South African Ophthalmologist with a PhD to boot, had to start as a Senior House Officer. Later on, I learnt how to be a fair minded but thorough examiner of residents as I was lucky to be paired with you on numerous occasions during Fellowship examinations in Lagos. May your soul rest in perfect peace. Amin. Prof. Abdulraheem Mahmoud, UITH, Ilorin

I feel perplexed that you have moved on to be with your creator. Your exemplary lifestyle will ever be remembered. You were a trustworthy friend and colleague especially during the various NGO programs. May your disciplined soul have eternal rest. Adieu my dear friend.

What a loss to the medical community! He was an astute physician/surgeon, a disciplinarian and a courageous man. He has left a big vacuum in the department of Ophthalmology that may be difficult to fill. Who will ensure doctors and all come at 8am to work and must see every patient up till 5-6pm. Who will monitor the activities of doctors in the department?

God knows why he has to go at this time and we cannot question HIM.

May his soul find rest in the Lord and may those he left behind be consoled that he lived well serving humanity. May the Almighty God grant the entire family the fortitude to bear this loss. Amen.

A passionate, patient, painstaking and committed teacher. Meticulous to the core. Teaching was your life and you loved doing it even at the expense of your health. You gave yourself so unreservedly to it. You never allowed us to leave a patient without knowing why 6/6 or 20/20 vision could not be achieved. It didn't matter if medical science had a solution or not but the mystery must be revealed. From the classroom to the clinics, wards and theatre you insisted on excellence. From history taking to examinatikn to treatment whether medical or surgical you were a maestro. 'History taking is like a story telling you would say. On examination of the posterior segment you would say 'look consciously behind the opacity. On fundoscopy when we say that we are unable to see what you have asked us to examine, I can still hear your voice 'you don't just peep in and out eh you study the fundus'. Never in a hurry with your trainees whether residents or medical students. Until the last person has seen what you want them to see or learnt what you have thought you wouldn't leave the scene. What a sacrifice! You would read our proposals and dissertations line by line! You would not only make the corrections and suggestions but would go the extra mile of writing out almost all the expected corrections. You were an exemplary professional. I had so many issues bothering on the practice of Ophthalmogy yet unresolved that i had planned to discuss with you on my next visit to your home but that was not to be as the news of your demise interrupted that mission. During Calls and visits, the greater part you spent on discussing training matters and how things could be done better for greater outcome of the trainee. You were always open to new knowledge and loved to be challenged by your trainees on this. For you it showed that they were studying.. You insisted on proper decorum from dressing to carriage to communication and relationship with other members of the health team. You would tell us stories of how the doctor was once highly regarded in this country and the possible reasons for the plunge in the society. From the stories of your days as a student in University of Lagos to your residency life to when you got your first car and your visits to the banks. All these was to help mould us to be better persons. Some of these lessons began to make sense years after. You did everything the best way you knew how to. So much to say but this page isn't enough..
May you find peace in the bosom of your maker.. RIP