Knowledge Foundation Interview: Transcript

Tell us about your childhood?

I grew up for the most part in a little town called Lowestoft with my foster parents. So I actually have four wonderful parents.
I lived with my Caucasian parents, my biological sister, my two Indian brothers, my two Caucasian brothers and our poodle Benjamin (named after Benjamin Britten one of Lowestoft’s most famous exports). There were a few other temporary foster siblings’ in the house over the years as well.
Lowestoft is in my mind one of England’s finest seaside towns, my earliest memories are of chimneys, sea air, punch and judy shows and our amazing beach.
I had a wonderful childhood and I’m grateful to my four parents for that.

Who is your biggest inspiration?

Unfair question!! *smile* I don’t think I could just choose one person because so many people inspire me in such different ways.

My parents- I use that term to refer to the entire multiracial quartet, inspire me. I have an uncle who I also refer to as my father, Mr Dele Adesina, he reminds me of the value of hardwork, integrity and determination, he is one of the foremost lawyers in Nigeria and one of my most valued mentors.

I have a research interest in stem cells, so Professor Yamanaka from Japan is my medical research role model. When he and his team discovered how to re-programme normally functional cells back into stem cells he changed the face of stem cell research forever. He is an innovator and a visionary.

I am also very inspired by the arts. Andy Warhol, Damien Hirst, Takashi Murakami are a few people I rate extremely highly.
In politics, Ingrid Betancourt, Aung San Suu Kyi , Condelleza Rice, Hilary Clinton and Angela Merkel continue to challenge my thoughts, opinions and aspirations as they raise the bar for women in general.

But what characteristics bring all these people together? I suppose I’m inspired by dedication, persistence, strength of character and intelligence. And these are traits that all of these amazing individual’s possess.


What does Flying Doctors Nigeria do?

The Flying Doctors Nigeria has already been quoted as the ‘single most influential innovation in the Nigerian healthcare system this decade’. It is the first social enterprise in the whole of West Africa to provide cost-effective, rapid, effective critical care solutions via air ambulance to the medical emergencies across the country.

With our helicopter and four doctors we aim to save 1000 lives this year alone.
1000 children, fathers, best-friends, uncles, cousins, grandparents and sisters.
I’m just thankful for the privilege of being involved. But I can’t thank those that have supported me enough. From my board of directors, to the BBC, to Virgin Unite, to the UK schools that have put on fundraisers for us, to the doctors/medical students and professors that have helped us design protocols volunteering their time and energy.

Thank you all!


How did your interest in being a doctor begin?

Mainly because my younger sister suffered a lot with sickle cell anaemia as a child and I was around hospitals and doctors a lot.

Through school I was a science geek and in many ways still am.

As a teenager, I never dated or went out to parties. I loved the textbooks! I read so much in school that I actually became popular for my geekiness. I studied so much that I ran out of textbooks to read.

I live with my best friend now and it’s perfectly normal for him to come in from work and find me practicing my tiny sutures with a magnifying glass and a bloody pigs foot.

What do you like to do to relax?

I’m a big formula 1 fan, I love going to watch the races if I can. If I don’t I never miss the live race on TV.

I like spa therapies: massages, facials, pilates, I think this are important for overall well-being as I take a holistic view to health in general.

I like music; Jazz and soul in particular. I suppose it’s part of the reason why I love Tokyo and Prague so much.............because of the Jazz clubs. They tell me the best Jazz scene is in New York though. I’ve never stepped foot on American soil, believe it or not, but I’m looking forward to exploring the New York jazz scene at some point.

I’m a massive foodie and an extremely bad example for my patients in terms of my diet. I love cheeses, Italian, Tapa’s, Brazilian BBQ’s and Japanese food especially tempura.

I only recently realised the enormous value of having a good work life-balance. I have also realised the value of having a good set of friends around you (Helen, Odera, Kana, Wole , Kemi, Sharmin, Petra ,Thank you!), to tell you when work is taking over and remind you too relax.


Do you think it is important to be ambitious?

Ambition is the desire to be rich, successful or powerful. It’s a word that is subject to various interpretations.

I think personal happiness and fulfilment are important. True success is about a
passion to create a better world, live a life that you can look back on and be truly proud of.

Ambition may be an extremely valuable tool in achieving this.

How does the health emergency system in Nigeria compare with the UK?

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.

As I researched further, I realised that I could apply many of the skills I learned in the UK to the Nigerian healthcare system.

Our business model is already being talked about as a potential solution for providing critical care solutions in countries across Africa, Asia and Latin America.

Compared to the UK? We’ve got a lot of catching up to do. Flying Doctors is just the beginning of a massive overhaul of our emergency care service in Nigeria.

Nigeria is in the news for many negative reasons what are the common misconceptions and indeed what do you love about Nigeria?

My first trip back to Nigeria since I was a child was last year. It was my first time back since my sister died and I had as much of a culture shock as any other visitor would.

My initial impression was that the entire country operated in a moral vacuum, where anything goes. My first impulse was to run back home to my comfortable NHS job, with all its familiarity and calm. I think that feeling is natural, we have to force ourselves out of our comfort zones to really challenge ourselves.

It was only after I got over this initial hurdle that I was able to see what Nigeria was really about. I’ve lived in all over England and in Japan and I’ve travelled Asia, Europe and other parts of Africa. If there is one thing I’ve learn it’s how much we have to gain from learning about other cultures, each culture having its own unique set of weaknesses and it’s own astounding strength’s.

Nigeria is a breath-takingly beautiful country with a wealth of natural resources. People are extremely open and go out of their way to help. The adult literacy rate as estimated by UNICEF is nearly 80%. Nigeria is spewing with highly educated, bright young graduates from both the sciences and the arts.

Nigeria is also a country with incredibly rich culture particularly with regard to the arts. Its inhabitants are extremely diverse; the plethora of different backgrounds and traditions is paraded proudly in cosmopolitan centres such as Lagos State.

Nigeria’s problems centre around poor leadership, but having met several state governor ‘s and heard their plans for the healthcare systems in their states, I think we’ll begin to see some real positive change over the next few months to years.


What is your current career, where are you working?

I am a doctor trained at the University of York, I did my post-graduate training in the West Midlands. I have a specialist interest in Pre-hospital and Trauma care, but I also hold membership with the American Academy of Aesthetic Medicine.

I was awarded the prestigious MEXT government scholarship this year and am working in Tokyo doing stem cell research, where my team and I are making unprecedented breakthroughs in the field of regenerative medicine.

I have an office in Nigeria with several members of staff and travel there regularly for meetings and negotiation regarding my Flying Doctors service. I manage the Flying Doctors Service currently and consult for various government agencies and private companies on both aesthetic medicine and emergency medicine.



Where do you see yourself in 5 years time?

Hopefully married. I love to travel, I’d like to adopt a few kids, but most of all in five years time I like to be able to look back, by that time a fully-fledged diagnostic savant and know I’d been instrumental in changing the face of healthcare in Nigeria for good.

Do you get back home often?

I try, I really do.....although I suspect my mum would beg to differ.