The family, friends and well-wishers of Chief Peter Eberechukwu Nwosu, managing director of Clinix, would have today organised a big social gathering to mark the golden jubilee of this unassuming man. They are happy and thankful to God, but they would respect the protocal outlined by government in this period of the coronavirus pandemic.
They have every cause to be happy. Nwosu is a quintessential businessman/entreprenuerial icon, philanthropist par excellence, dedicated servant in the Lord’s vineyard and a reverred community leader in Nanka town, Orunba North Local Government Area of Anambra State. He has done well in life and, therefore, at 50, the people rejoice for him.
A great achiever by all standards, who, over the years, has contributed significantly to the growth of the Nigerian pharmaceutical sub-sector and also in generally bringing quality and affordable healthcare services to Nigerians, Nwosu obviously ranks as one of the few standout performers in the nation’s healthcare delivery system. His track record of achievements marks him out as one worthy of celebration.
To show his passion for the healthcare sector, the only event he earmarked for his 50th birthday today is the “turning the sod” ceremony for his proposed world-class cancer centre, with on-site groundbreaking event at Gbagada, Lagos. The event will also witness the unveiling of the project’s architectural design.
Since the turn of this millennium, when Nwosu announced his presence in the highly competitive Nigerian pharmaceutical industry as co-founder of Greenlife Pharmceuticals Limited, he has never looked back in his quest to be at the forefront of the private sector challenge for a much improved and qualitative healthcare delivery system in Nigeria. As managing director of Greenlife Pharmaceuticals, he grew the company exponentially in all facets within a very short period of its existence. With his rare entrepeunerual acumen, he effectively positioned the company to become one of Nigeria’s most trusted and respected indigenous pharmaceutical organisations. Greenlife Pharma is arguably a household name in Nigeria today, boasting of several brands that are market leaders in their respective therapeutic classes.
Driven by his undying passion for excellence and burning desire to build some best-in-class healthcare facilities in Nigeria, Nwosu, with support from his foreign technical partners, launched Clinix Healthcare in Nigeria in 2014. Clinix is a reputable global brand with about four decades of distinct experience in the medical and diagnostic arena.
With the establishment of Clinix Healthcare, where he is also managing directior, Nwosu effectively changed the nation’s narrative on quality medical and diagnostic service delivery for good. His world-class medical and diagnostic centres are strategically located across Lagos State and beyond to bring quality healthcare services of proven international standard closer to the doorstep of Nigerians. Some of the centres were recently fitted with state-of-the-art molecular laboratories, which are NCDC-approved centres for COVID-19 testing.
The story of the founding of Clinix deserves repetition here. Nwosu, who is a pastor, was afflicted by a debilitating illness that almost took his life about 15 years ago. His condition at that time was made worse by the fact that it defied accurate medical diagnosis locally. After surviving the illness, Nwosu, knowing that accurate diagnosis amounts to about 75 per cent cure for any medical condition, was fired up by an uncommon zeal to impact the Nigerian healthcare delivery sector in the area of diagnosis most positively. He conceived Clinix Healthcare with his partners and they established diagonistic centres with top-class ultra-modern equipment.
Following his success trajectory in delivering quality healthcare facilities, Nwosu has not rested on his oars. In the last few years, he has been working silently and assidously on the project to bequeath Nigeria with a world-class cancer centre that will rank among the best in the globe. The menace of various forms of cancers, particularly among the Nigerian populace, has become a source of great worry for the nation and its citizens. The disease in any of its forms imposes enormous burdens on not just the sufferers but also the patients’ family members and other caregivers. The fatality rate among Nigerians is also high.
More often than not, patients who can afford treatment embark on medical tourism abroad for the detection and management of various cancerous conditions. This is due basically to the limitations imposed by lack of quality facility and manpower expertise locally in this very specialised medical field of oncology. The drain on the nation’s scarce foreign exchange resources from such medical tourisms is humungous and inflicts further injury on the domestic economy.
The proposed world-class cancer centre, which will serve as centre of excellence for the entire West African sub-region and beyond, shall, when operational, help on one hand to significantly reduce the level of mortality associated with cancer diseases through early detection, treatment convienience and affordability when compared with treatment abroad. On the other hand, the facility will enable the nation conserve needed foreign exchange, which could be deployed to drive development and growth in other key sectors of the economy.
The proposed ultra-modern cancer centre, with capacity for 90 beds, shall be equipped with the best facilities that the world of oncology practice has to offer. The centre will draw its specialised and other key manpower from Nigeria and abroad.
Nwosu is evidently a man imbued with an uncommon passion to dream great dreams. And he says he has only started to drive his great vision of turning Nigeria into a preferred destination for medical excellence on the whole continent of Africa. He certainly has a lot more up his sleeves to offer Nigeria and Nigerians.