Paper short abstract:

This work examines the role of indigenous Africans and medical employees in the management and promotion of Western medicine in southwestern Nigeria.

Paper long abstract:

This work examines the role of indigenous Africans and medical employees in the management and promotion of Western medicine in southwestern Nigeria. This will restore agency to the subordinating groups of indigenous African medical workers who were very instrumental in the provision of medical services, especially to rural communities in southwestern Nigeria. As part of this research effort, the ways several African subordinate health workers such as dispensary workers, sanitary workers, sanitary inspectors, nurses, and local health providers collectively or individually worked to contribute to the promotion of healthcare services in most rural spaces in the southwestern region will be examined. This research promises to make a significant contribution to knowledge in terms of providing a new perspective for examining the colonial medical service in Nigeria, especially the roles of the indigenous subordinating Nigerians who have often been overlooked or at best given scant attention, in the works on colonial medical service in Nigeria. By adopting a subaltern approach, my research promises to effectively capture the voices, activities, and agency of the largely unsung heroes of the colonial medical system in terms of providing various healthcare services to rural dwellers who were largely left out of the colonial medical system.