Pelican Valley, a real estate firm, has begun talks with Nigerian medical specialist doctors in the diaspora, especially in the United States, to attract over $100m healthcare investment to the Kobape corridor of Ogun State, Southwest Nigeria.
In a statement, it was noted that the envisaged project, which is expected to sit on 100 hectares of land when finally birthed, would also redefine healthcare service delivery in the state and country as well as end the phenomenon of medical tourism abroad among Nigeria’s privileged class.
The foreign medical team which was received in the Pelican’s Ecostay Apartments at Kobape by the Chief Executive Officer of Pelican Valley Nigeria Limited, Dr. Babatunde Adeyemo, recently revealed that their members were quite successful in their various fields of specialisation in medicine, adding that they were only looking for ways to give back to their country and people out of what providence had made possible for them.
A member of the visiting team and resident in the United States of America, Tolu Badejo, gave an insight into the project.
Badejo said the need for quality healthcare delivery has not been lost on Nigerians but lamented that the country was not yet there in terms of global standards of quality healthcare service.
He said, “When we started talking about what is happening in Ogun State, we had a vision to develop the health sector in this area (Kobape) right. And I started to look and ask, ‘Who can we talk to?’ So, I found you through a gentleman on a YouTube (platform) and also Google, and then we went through your profile independently.”
“I think it is not lost on anybody that the need for good and quality health care in Nigeria, you know, it is not lost on anybody. Everyone knows that Nigeria is way behind when it comes to healthcare as far as the global standards of quality healthcare are concerned. And for many years, I’m sure there have been initiatives to try to improve the quality of healthcare in Nigeria, but not much. Maybe some progress has been made, but there is still a long way to go.
“And a few of us are thinking, meditating and researching the third world. This is 2025, right? Why can’t Nigeria, a quality country like this with so much potential, people and capital, human potential and financial potential, have a state-of-the-art, world-class healthcare system that it can command as its own? Not something brought in from somewhere else that is built and run by Nigerians. Okay. That is where the idea came from, and we believe that Nigeria is not short of the resources needed to accomplish this goal. So, that is why we are here – to learn, to connect with visionaries, both government and private visionaries like you, and to see if there are people like us around here. We believe, so that is why we are here.”
Also speaking, Dr. Ehri Badejo described Nigerian healthcare specialists abroad as a group of brilliant people who are more than determined to give back to people, communities and the country as a whole.
Ehri said, “Nigerians are brilliant. We are a brilliant group of people, but many times you find people succeeding individually, but as an organisation, as a group, or as a society, it is not happening. How about doing that in healthcare? When we go to many of our teams out there, many of them are Nigerians. We are talking of surgical specialities; you have all Nigerians; you begin to ask, who is left at home (Nigeria)?
“So, our hope is that we are able to transit back and forth; we are able to create a system that helps people, an ecosystem, so to speak, where you bring everything, you need, the nurses are inbred, the physicians are inbred, and yes, the specialists just come with a whole lot of service. It is a $100m (healthcare project) to start off with. This is one of the projects in position and a few other things that come along with it. And the other concept is medical tourism. We have a lot of that going on. How about putting an end to that? If you have a specialist, you already have the expertise and you have the level of excellence; why not do it right here (Nigeria)?”
Also speaking, Adeyemo added that he would also bring the proposal to the Chairperson of Nigeria in Diaspora Commission, Abike Dabiri-Erewa, whom he said has a flair for any good thing coming from the diaspora and is always ready to support it.
Adeyemo said, “I started my real estate business from extremely difficult terrain that even the giants in the real estate industry in Nigeria might not be able to start business there. And I started it there with less than N2.5m, but the only magic that I did was just being patient, being honest and buying time with my investment and always adding value. That is the only thing. No magic, just financial prudence, discipline, and patience.”
