By Bianca Iboma-Emefu

Former Managing Director of Cosmic Insurance Brokers Dr Teslim Sanusi celebrated his 80th birthday in style recently.

The Octogenarian entertained friends, family, Lions Club and the underprivileged at a lavish banquet at Ota, Ogun State.

Dignitaries from many spheres of life attended the event to honour the Insurance Guru. Apart from the glam and glitz, at the event, a medical out and some humanitarian deeds were rendered to the needy and underprivileged in society.

Dr Sanusi said he offered free medical services like the distribution of eyeglasses, conducting free eye screening and treatment, free cataract surgery and tutorials on the prevention and management of diabetes.

“I decided to show love to my country’s people by bringing basic medical services to their doorsteps and enlightening them on the need to be health conscious at all times. I feel very sad each time I see the indigent trying to survive, yet faced with some health challenges. It is necessary to put smiles on the faces of this category of people,” he said.

“Over the years, I have been celebrating my birthday like any other person in form of a party, but on my 70th birthday, I decided not to be doing party anymore, I decided that the best way to celebrate is to reach out to those who need help and how they can benefit and provide free health care to the people in the grassroots.

“I asked my friends, family and associates to contribute and we aggregated all that was given to organise the medical outreach,” he said.

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He urged the elite to give to the needy, adding that no one gets poorer by giving and the more one gives, the more he or she gets in return.

Also speaking at the event, Mrs Ekeoma Ezibe, the Chairman of the Central Planning Committee for Teslim Adekunle at 80, said that the celebrant loves to give to the needy and that was what the committee did.

Ezibe, who is the Vice President of the Nigerian Council of Registered Insurance Brokers, stated that eye tests were conducted on people and those who needed glasses were given and those that needed surgeries had operations performed on them.
She said that many were screened for diabetes and those that required drugs were given the same, adding that they were counselled on how to live right and manage the disease.

She disclosed that eyeglasses were given to about 800 people and surgeries were performed on more than 100 people and counting, adding that thousands of people were fed during the exercise.

Ezibe said that all this was done in five centres namely, the insurance Brokers’ House, Lagos, General Hospital, Erin-Ile, Kwara State, Lions Eye Centre, Ota, Lagos State University Teaching Hospital, Lagos State.

Also speaking at the event, Prof. Idowu Obasa, a friend of Dr Sanusi, described the celebrant as a person who loves to give to the needy and people who will not repay him.

Obasa listed many projects, he said the celebrant executed to benefit the poor in society and urged the rich to emulate him.

The event was jointly organised by Lions Clubs International District 404B2 Nigeria, the Nigerian Council of Registered Insurance Brokers and others.