Dr. Ugochukwu Chukwunenye, is the Medical Director of Optimal Specialist Hospital Limited, Gbaja Surulere, Lagos state. He is the patron to many groups and has received multiple awards. The medical director is grateful to the Almighty God that the hospital has not recorded any death since 25 years of operation. To underscore this, the medical director decided to give back to the community by offering free medical tests and treatment to some persons with minor sicknesses and announced a 50% discount to those with serious sicknesses that may be diagnosed by the hospital.
Interestingly, members of the Ohanaeze Ndi Igbo Political Forum, Women Wing benefited from the free treatment.
Publisher of The Unique Model, Felix Mbata had a chat with Dr.Chukwunenye and he spoke more on the treatment, his relationship with Ohanaeze Ndi Igbo and lots more.
Excerpts:
Doctor, can you introduce yourself sir?
Good afternoon, I am Dr. Celestine Ugochukwu Chukwunenye, the Medical Director of Optimal Specialist Hospitals Limited, Gbaja Surulere, Lagos. I am also Omeziri Ndi Igbo I of Ejigbo Lagos State, the Garkuwa Matason Nigeriya of the Northern Youths Forum, and a Senior Advocate of Youths in the Archdiocese of Lagos.
Today, 14th October, 2023, the Ohanaeze Ndi Igbo Political Forum Women Wing are in your hospital receiving free diagnoses and going with some drugs, can you explain the type of diagnoses, treatment and other conditions attached?
Thank you very much, we actually carried a medical outreach for the community, and also included Ohanaeze Ndi Igbo as part of the community in Surulere. The reason behind it is that we are celebrating 25 years of no pregnant woman dying in this hospital, and we are a maternity hospital, we deliver pregnant women in this hospital, that is our major activities, to God be the glory for 25 consecutive years from 1998 till date, no pregnant woman who registered here or who came here alive died. So we are very grateful to God for this wonderful grace he has bestowed on us.
Because of that we decided to have this medical outreach. While we offer free registration, free consultation, free urinalyst test for all who bother to come to the hospital today and then we are also doing free Postmil for the 20 Women and free Prostrate Specific Antigen test, that is a test for a Prostrate health, for the first 20 Men, then any other person that wants to do any other test that are done in this hospital we are giving 50% discount across board, all in thanksgiving to God. Thank you.
What is your relationship with Ohanaeze Ndi Igbo Lagos State as an Igbo man that inspired you to include them for the free diagnoses and treatment?
I am a very active member of Ohanaeze Ndi Igbo by the Omesiri Ndi I, title which was given to me by the World Wide Youth Wing of Ohanaeze Ndi Igbo. They came all the way from Enugu State, where their headquarters is to confer me with the title.
I subsequently took it at the Palace now at Obi Ndi Igbo Ejigbo. So it’s Ohanaeze Youth that first conferred me with that title, Omesiri Ndi Igbo. I have played active roles in Ejigbo in Lagos State Ohanaeze activities. The only thing is that I have not taken any official position. But I have been a major supporter of Ohanaeze activities.
Dr. Chukwunenye, you have stayed long in Ohaneze Ndi, and played significant roles in promoting Ohanaeze, what advice would you give to majority of youths that are reluctant to join Ohanaeze, believing that Ohanaeze is for the advanced men in Lagos State?
Thank you very much for that question, the Ohanaeze Ndi Igbo, the way it was started, it was started by people in their middle ages and it stays at that level, but definitely it is for all Ndi Igbo and like I pointed out earlier, there is a youth wing. My advice should be that the leadership of Ohanaeze Ndi Igbo in Lagos state, should emphasize in developing the youths wing, both at the state level and all the Local Governments, they should develop Youth Wing of Ohanaeze Ndi Igbo, and then for the youths, it is good for them to belong and to associate, that is the way the culture of our forefathers can be handed down to them. And that is the way they can know much about their roots, because anybody that doesn’t know about his roots is lost in this world because there are so many cultures, so many roots, but if you don’t know your root, it will be difficult for you to identify yourself properly, or to belong in this world. So my advice to our youths and children is that they should take cultural activities very serious and imbibe them, so that in their own days as elders, they will have something they can pass on to their own children too.
Conclusively, you are giving drugs as I said earlier, what if after diagnosis and a serious disease is discovered, will you still offer drugs to treat them?
Yes! We are not only examining people and doing some tests, the ones that require some treatment, we give drugs for simple treatment, but the ones that require more complex treatment, and they have to take care of themselves. We cannot afford to take care of everybody with serious ailment.