Age: 23
Occupation: Doctor/ Author/Entrepreneur/Trainee Pilot
Salary: Only my accountant knows that and he’s getting his chest waxed right now so unavailable for comment
Tell me about growing up in England and family background?
I have a white mum! I grew up in a small town on the East coast called Lowestoft (although I was born in London) with my foster parents and about six other children.
I had a wonderful childhood, even though my foster parents working class and money was sometimes tight, we had a beach holiday every year and smart clothes to wear to school.
Neither of my foster parents went to university, but they gave me time, love and an encyclopaedia to look up all the answers to my many questions. A winning formula, if any.
Funnily enough, I never questioned why I had to walk half a mile to school every day, while most children got dropped off in cars or why I never had all the fashionable clothing and gadgets they seemed to.
What were your early ambitions and why? What were you passionate about?
My sister suffered from an inherited disease called sickle cell anaemia. I became fixated on the idea of finding a cure because I saw her suffer a lot with the pain.
We spent a lot of times in hospitals and around doctors and nurses which led me to develop an immense amount of respect for healthcare professionals.
I wanted to be a doctor for as long as I can remember.
I also loved the arts. I listened to a lot of my parents old music on our record player and was an avid reader. Some of my happiest childhood memories are when I was sat in our garden in the sun, reading Enid Blyton, Ronald Dahl or Beatrix Potter.
Tell me about becoming the youngest medical doctor in the whole of England. How did you feel?
I progressed through the academic system so quickly, but I believe intelligence, particularly as it is traditionally defined, does not sufficiently encompass the wide variety of abilities humans display.
I have a great amount of respect for individuals who show gifts in the other intelligences: the artists, architects, musicians, naturalists, designers, dancers, therapists, entrepreneurs, and others who enrich the world in which we live. But remain thankful that I was able to excel in one form of intelligence. A form which perhaps, considering my background, is something of a rarity.
Everyone I meet comments on how young I am, especially since I took a gap year. But when it comes to being successful, I know it’s clichéd, but age is really just a number.
It was the age of 52; Ray Kroc began a new age in franchising when partnered with the McDonald brothers to expand their burger and milkshake business. That is how the little restaurants with the bright yellow arches began.
It’s never to late to become what you might have been
-George Eliot
Tell me what/who inspired you to return to Nigeria and set up Flying Doctors?
I couldn’t agree more with Oscar Wilde when he says,
It often happens that the real tragedies of life occur in such an inartistic manner that they hurt us by their crude violence, their absolute incoherence, their absurd want of meaning, their entire lack of style.
I refer to the death of my 12 year old sister due to the absence of critical care facilities in Nigeria.
It was a horrible way to find out that the nearest air ambulance service was in South Africa, over eight hours away. That the mortality for head injuries in states outside Lagos and Abuja was 100% because there are hardly any neurosurgeons working outside those areas. And that the first time an air ambulance in Nigeria was proposed was in 1960 by the British, then again in the 1980’s, but no one had taken this idea forward. My sister was one of the thousands of sisters, brothers, mothers and grand-parents that died ever day because they couldn’t get to the hospital quick enough.
This was a rude awakening which I took as a personal call to action.
Finally, I read then amazing story of my friends in Mumbai at the 1298 ambulance, who left their jobs in London to start a land ambulance in Mumbai. They have supported me through a lot of the process.
Why was this important to you? What sacrifices did you make?
I felt it was my way of honouring my sister’s memory. She was an extraordinary young girl, full of life and she cared so much about everyone around her. I loved her more than words can express.
At the forefront, on my mind was the theme of one of the CMF (Christian Medical Fellowship conferences) I attended. ‘Live Simply, So Others May Simply Live’
So I did just that.
I saved most of my monthly income after putting my rent and food money aside and worked extra shifts most weekends. I spent money on managerial and medical courses as well as attending various networking meetings in my spare time.
I spent hours in the public library introducing myself to the world of business. I found out about people such as Steve Jobs and Richard Branson who excelled in the world of business and studied every aspect of their lives.
After a year of courses, extra shifts, intense study of finance, promotion, sales, management and leadership.
I brought my first ticket to Nigeria armed with my newly acquired knowledge, my business plan and my dream.
How did you go about this and put your plan into action?
I’ve realised that anything is possible with the right amount of nerve.
It took nerve to stand up in front of governors, company CEO’s and celebrities. I had never had to sell myself in the past. All of my tutors/bosses had heard of me long before I started to work in their departments. They had read my articles in the medical journals, heard about one of my audits or gotten an email from me regarding my role on the board for junior doctor’s education. They knew I was an excellent doctor and my CV spoke for itself.
In the world of business, I was a nobody. I had to speak for myself and sell myself in a completely new way. That took nerve.
It took nerve to step completely out of my comfort zone. From the British Medical Journal to the financial times, from my scrubs to my business suits, from being petrified of heights to flying a helicopter, from consenting to negotiating.
I t was hard work as I didn’t know anyone in Nigeria.
I spent hours sitting outside different offices, obtaining letters of introduction and tracking people down.
I am now a firm believer in the six degrees of separation, they certainly helped me!
What does your role entail? Describe your duties/responsibilities
I am the managing director of West Africa’s first air ambulance service, quoted as the ‘single most influential innovation in the Nigerian Healthcare sector this decade’.
My responsibilities include: providing managerial oversight for the company, expansion, recruitment, designing protocols, developing relationships, liaising with governments and I am also actively involved in the medical care offered.
I worked throughout University and my A-levels. I particularly enjoyed working in a Spa/Hair Salon. I maintained this interest throughout medical school, studying various forms of massage and in-depth dermatology modules with some of the most respected dermatologists in the country.
I presently maintain a specialist interest in aesthetic medicine, certified by the American Academy Of Aesthetic Medicine; working and consulting for various spas/medispa across the world.
I concentrate particularly on burn management and am actively involved in stem cell research looking at the role induced pluripotent stem cells can play in burn healing in children.
What do you most enjoy about your role?
I enjoy the daily challenges I face and the fact that no day is the same. I love acquiring new skills and having the opportunity to meet so many difference people from such diverse walks of life.
I love American history and look up to people like Barack Obama, Martin Luther King, Rosa Parks, Malcom X and Andy Warhol. People who have changed the course of history, through their beliefs, politics or art.
In like manner, I am thankful for the opportunity to be revolutionary in my own way, doing what I am passionate about- Gold Standard Health Care For All!
How has Flying Doctors changed your life?
It’s drastically changed my life. It was a difficult decision to leave my comfortable, above-average salary, my stipulated training, my friends, both sets of parents and move to a country that I barely knew anything about, to start something that no one thought was possible.
But, I haven’t regretted my decision for a moment. I hope my story inspires more young people to realise their potential, to see what is possible rather than what is not, and to take the plunge and follow their dreams.
What is your long-term, career vision?
I want to revolutionise healthcare in Africa as a doctor, an entrepreneur and an innovator.
I envisage myself working with a great number of non-profit organisations over the next few years.
I also see myself with an Angelina Jolie -esq brood of adopted children, wishing my husband looked like Brad Pitt.
Give 5 tips for success?
As capitalism continues to boom, I feel that many people assume that success is directly proportional to how much money you make. However, I have learned that the true definition of success is about the different innovative ways you manage to influence people’s lives for the better. I’ve already given away most of my tips during the course of this interview, but here’s a synopsis.
1) You need nerve! Step out of your comfort zone; if you are not feeling uncomfortable, then you are not trying hard enough.
2) Be passionate. About something......anything. Passion is the source of our finest moments. Passion drives us to succeed.
3) Be lucky. Remember Luck= preparation + opportunity. Make sure that you have done your background research, through reading, attending conferences and speaking to your mentors ,so you are prepared to recognise and take advantage of opportunities when they present themselves.
4) Work hard. If there’s anything I have learned there is no substitute for hard work. Every single person in the world has the innate ability to excel at one thing. Some have the ability to excel at many things. But in my opinion, it takes true diligence to make the most of one’s ability...........I sound like I’m on Heroes, lol
5) Live, love and be loved. I’ve always had an amazing set of friends and family around me. Their lives motivate me and challenge me for the better. Thanks guys for reminding me to take time out to relax.....also very important. You inspire me and I continue to look up to you.
Describe a typical day in your week. Please fill in the time slots or alter where necessary.
There is no such thing as a typical day for me. I’ll do yesterday.
6am: Flight into Tokyo from Singapore after attending a meeting of the American Academy Of Aesthetic Doctors as well as various business meetings with experts with a view to developing the emergency services in Ondo State.
7am-9am: En route to research hospital, vigorously checking emails on the bus and discussing with staff in Nigeria about the coming week.
9am-11am Arrive in research lab in Tokyo, thank my lab assistant for kindly taking care of my growing stem cells for me.
I subculture my cells and change the growth medium of some of my others.
Then my phone rings. It’s an American journalist wanting to schedule an interview with me before I go off back to Nigeria at a Medicine and Art exhibition that I’ll be speaking at, cells in hand I flick through my diary and give him a date.
Phone rings again, it’s my PA phoning about an email from one of my old bosses in Birmingham. He wants a copy of a clinical paper I wrote on HIV......since the tragic death of my one and only external hard drive (RIP) under a high speed train in Prague, these requests have become increasingly difficult to deal with. I tell him , I’ll get back to him.
Lunch: Business lunch with the Nigerian ambassador to Japan telling him all about our progress so far and looking at ways we can work together.
I’m freezing as I leave the restaurant as I left my coat in Singapore, the hotel say they’ll post it to me, hopefully I’ll get it before I leave to Nigeria, especially since I have the keys to my flat in Nigeria in the pocket of that coat!
2pm-4pm: Back to the lab, brief trip to the animal room
More looking at cell, reading papers, answering emails.
I note I’m supposed to be speaking to Tim Campbell (Apprentice Winner) tomorrow. Singaporean phone: check, Japanese phone : Check. Nigerian phone: Check. But where is my UK phone? But he’s calling me on my UK phone!
4pm-6pm: I join the professor’s ward round on the intensive care unit. I since my first trip to Japan nearly five years ago. There are some students from the UK on the round, I translate the various presentations from Japanese to English, briefly explaining what’s going on.
6pm: Back to the lab, I clean up my work desk, write up my experiments, steal some Pringles from the staff room due for dinner with investor at 8pm
8pm: Meet lovely Nigerian-Japanese gentleman, who is a senior executive at his company and one of my finest mentors. Our conversation carries on till about 11pm, the waiter complements us both on our excellent Japanese.
‘mada, mada chotto’(it’s not all that) I reply, bowing in the typical, modest Japanese manner.
1130pm: Home at last!
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