Professor Uche Amazigbo restored my faith in women after Diezani Madueke’s massive corruption in Oil industry – TY Danjuma

A former army chief, Lt. General Theophilus Danjuma (retd.), has praised the achievements of women in various fields.

He said this view which he had shared for a long time was about to change after a former female minister of petroleum “excelled in corruption”, a record he said is yet to be beaten by anyone.

Danjuma was speaking at the inauguration of the Goodwill Medical Centre (GMC) in Enugu, a project funded by his foundation and initiated by Prof Uche Amazigo, a prominent public health expert and former UN agency leader however said Amazigo restored his believe in women.

He said, “I used to say that if you want anything properly done and deliver on time without any excuses, give the job to a woman until we had a female minister of petroleum. That woman excelled in corruption. She set a record that is yet to be beaten by anybody.”

He did not name the former minister, but expressed his admiration for Amazigo, who he said restored his faith in women’s integrity and efficiency.

“Uche and I have been colleagues for many years. After working for the TY Danjuma Foundation, I thought I had seen the end of Uche. I was mistaken.

“In early March 2022, Prof Uche, accompanied by two other female professors, presented to me a request to provide financial support for building and equipping a low-cost high-efficiency medical centre to provide excellent medical services by predominantly female medical doctors, nurses and midwives who chose to dedicate their time to humanity.

“I listened to her carefully and asked a few questions. I wanted to know if they have cash and the name of the organisation. And how she thinks an all-female-staff medical centre will function. She was ready for my questions.

“The result of all these questions is what you see here today. This magnificent edifice can only be built by women at the price they accounted to me. Men will take your money and and you won’t see any building or money.”

He congratulated Amazigo and her team for their remarkable work and hoped they would exceed their expectations.

The Enugu State Governor, Dr Peter Mbah, who was represented by his deputy, Ifeanyi Ossai, also commended Danjuma for his leadership and generosity, and Amazigo for her vision and dedication.

He assured them of the state government’s support and protection for the facility, which he said would benefit the people of Enugu State immensely.

The CEO of GMC, Prof Amazigo, said the aim of the centre was to provide quality healthcare for all, especially the poor and the vulnerable.

She said the centre had a team of seven consultant specialists and professors, and would offer low-cost treatment for indigent patients and standard medical fees for others.

She also revealed that the centre had plans to enroll 1000 or more indigent people from various communities into the National Health Insurance Authority/ Group, Individual, Family Social Health Insurance Programme, which would cost about N15 million at the rate of N15,000 per enrollee.

“This programme will provide comprehensive and robust health care services to the poor,” she said.