I was born in Takum town of Taraba State, Nigeria as the first child in a modest family of eight (8). I attended Roman Catholic Primary School and Mbiya Government Secondary School in the same town from 1979-1985 and 1985-1991 respectively. From 1991- 1992, I obtained an interim joint admission and matriculation board certificate from Adamawa State Polytechnic before proceeding to Ahmadu Bello University Zaria, for my medical degree. I worked with Taraba State Health services Management board for three (3) years before leaving for Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital Kano, where I was accepted for residency training in Obstetrics and Gynecology in 2006, which is still on-going. While still in residency training, I won the Ford Foundation’s scholarship award to study Master of Public Health in Global Maternal and Child Health at the Tulane University School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine, New Orleans, United States, a program I am currently enrolled.

Research Statement: Nigeria has the largest population in Africa, and also one of the world’s leading countries in term of Maternal Mortality. While these problems are potentially surmountable if family planning services are available, accessible and affordable, the contraceptive prevalence among married women is only 12%. I, therefore, intend to study the barriers to contraceptive utilization in rural Nigeria, especially in the Northern part, where these services are most needed.