MODUPE OZOLUA

solely funded by the company. At that point, after deliberation, we finally decided on Empower 54. As our organisation conducts humanitarian activities in various African countries, the 54 represents the number of African countries on the continent, thus, translating to ‘Empower Africa’.”

Globally recognised, the organisation provides humanitarian assistance such as medical missions, hunger eradication, educational, women/girl empowerment and refugee programs to underprivileged Africans. It has as its patron the South African icon, Archbishop Desmond Tutu, and recently got the backing of the Ooni of Ife, Enitan Ogunwusi, in one of its poverty eradication programmes.

Through Empower 54, Ozolua’s altruistic nature became even more apparent. It shows a part of her that is in stark contrast to the lifestyle attached to her persona in the past. One of her notable achievements was her involvement in bringing relief to survivors of Boko Haram’s insurgency at the internally displaced persons’ camps collaborating with the Borno State Government to evacuate – to Maiduguri for urgent CMAM treatment – over 1,500 extremely malnourished children rescued from the extremist group’s captivity.

Nothing prepared Ozolua for what she was about to encounter during her visit at the IDP camps. There she saw loss of hope, independence and once ‘free spirits’ caged in a devastating environment.

“It breaks my heart to see anyone suffering. The thoughts and emotions that go through me when I’m at an IDP camp might not necessarily be same others have because I see things beyond the obvious. What I saw was the loss of hope, loss of loved ones that are displaced when fleeing and they don’t know if their children, husbands or wives are dead or alive. I see loss of independence, loss of living in dignity, loss of basic fundamental human rights to choose what’s best for them. I see previously ‘free spirits’ now caged in a necessary system that’s helping them.

“But they have no say in what’s best for them. Some IDPs aren’t even allowed to leave their camps due to security reasons, thus they are prisoners within the walls of hope that shelter them. When I look at situations relating to IDPs or underprivileged people, I see and feel their pains, it drains me emotionally, physically, spiritually and psychologically; but at the same time, they inspire me to carefully review my organisation’s definition of ‘help’ because it is critical to interact with those we want to help for us to prioritise their needs – and not just act on assumptions and perceptions,” she explained.

Often, Ozolua is painfully reminded that she is no superhuman and can only assist within her capacity. In such helpless situations, she feels devastated – sometimes too weak to carry on. On one occasion in 2016 while she and her were preparing for a medical mission in Kwara State and went for pre-mission investigations. The programme was heavily advertised in the media and drew a lot of crowd.

“Many people came and among them was a woman with breast cancer. I was interested in her case and promised we would contact her for surgery when we returned for the medical mission. Such a huge programme required a lot of planning and we experienced a few months’ delay. When we got there, I asked my personal assistant to call the woman with the breast cancer to inform her we had returned and I wanted to schedule her for a surgery. When my PA called, the woman’s daughter answered the phone. After she was told the purpose of the call, the girl started screaming and crying that her mother died a few weeks before we arrived.

“I will never forget that moment. I cried for over an hour because I felt I had failed that woman. I felt we could have probably saved her life if we had come a few weeks earlier. It took over 20 people to calm me down and convince me it wasn’t my fault. They reminded me we came the earliest we could and I had to get it together because I’m the ‘magnet’ that holds the team together. After they reminded me that hundreds of men, women and children were outside waiting for me to flag off the ceremony for them to be treated – my emotional breakdown would let them down – I got up and did the needful,” she narrated.

Another incident that traumatised her was when she met a child with imperforated anus in Kano State. Watching the child walk around with a catheter Ozolua said reminded her of God’s countless mercies in her life. One thing was certain, however, through gripping tales of suffering and pain she has witnessed, Ozolua realises that success is more than material achievements – she is convinced success is a way of helping as many people as one can.

From the being the ‘material’ girl to becoming the humanitarian woman, she is determined not to allow her past glory overshadow her current selfless endeavour. “Why should it bother me to be duly credited as the non-medical personnel who pioneered a highly specialised aspect of medicine in West Africa? Or be duly credited for putting Nigeria on the global map as a location of plastic surgery at the age of 27 years old? It’s an honour, not an insult,” she said without remorse.