Professor Hippolite Amadi's Dedication to Premature Babies Exploited by Nigerian Hospital Leadership

This may sound like another story of a Nigerian in the diaspora who trusted friends or relatives to manage his hard-earned investments in Nigeria, only to discover he had been swindled.

However, this story goes beyond such a familiar scenario.
Professor Hippolite Amadi, an internationally recognized expert in neonatal care, has been left on the brink of financial collapse after his efforts to help save premature babies in Nigeria were callously exploited by the Chief Medical Director of a federal medical center in Owerri.

Professor Amadi, who has dedicated his life to developing life-saving technology for premature infants, took out a loan of £98,000 (about N82.3 million) to equip a neonatal care unit at the Federal Medical Centre Owerri (FMCO).

Despite completing the project in May 2022 and the unit being operational for over 30 months, the hospital has yet to pay him a single kobo for his work, leaving him in debt of nearly £175,000.

Professor Hippolite Amadi’s passion for neonatal care stems from his engineering background.

Educated in Nigeria, Amadi had long recognized the lack of suitable incubators and equipment designed for Nigeria’s climate, which led to the high mortality rate among premature babies. His dream was to create cost-effective and sustainable neonatal solutions tailored to Nigeria’s needs.

Despite early resistance from local hospital administrators, who favored importing expensive foreign equipment, Amadi persevered.

After gaining global recognition and expertise through his work at Imperial College London, he established the Neonatal Concerns for Africa Organisation and worked tirelessly to reduce neonatal mortality across Nigeria and other developing countries.



Professor Amadi’s goodwill and dedication to saving lives were manipulated by Dr. Kingsley Achigbu, the Chief Medical Director of FMCO.

Despite having successfully collaborated with previous medical directors, Amadi faced deceit when Dr. Achigbu persuaded him to refurbish and expand the hospital’s Special Care Unit for premature babies.

Amadi designed and directed the construction of a new neonatal unit at FMCO, securing funds to equip it through a personal loan.

Upon completion, Dr. Achigbu assured him that payment would be made within four weeks. However, after the unit’s unveiling and CNN’s coverage of the project, FMCO failed to honor its financial obligations.

Despite numerous petitions to the Federal Ministry of Health and other government bodies, Professor Amadi’s appeals for payment have been ignored. Attempts to recoup funds have been met with silence or token efforts, leaving him facing mounting debts while the neonatal unit, which he funded, continues to operate without compensation.

Professor Amadi’s case raises alarming questions about how Nigeria treats its diaspora professionals who invest in the country’s development. He has been forced to endure extreme financial hardship, while the hospital enjoys the benefits of his work.

As Professor Amadi struggles to repay a loan taken to help save Nigerian babies, the question remains: Is this how Nigeria rewards its patriots? The international community and concerned Nigerians must demand that FMCO and the Federal Ministry of Health rectify this injustice and pay the debts owed to Professor Amadi for his selfless service to the nation.

https://www.legit.ng/nigeria/1620937-professor-hippolite-amadis-dedication-premature-babies-exploited-by-nigerian-hospital-leadership/

God help us in this country

Sometimes this country just breaks your heart

Sense is not common among humans.

Sense is not common among humans.
Working for the vulture

Sense is not common among humans.
Working for the vulture.
Factory reset will follow
They have thought a lesson in the mother land

The average Nigerian is a thief. Know this and have peace.

It is a sorry case but this is still one sided story. The public can be easily misled

This will somehow discourage some people from coming to Naija to invest in Government establishment

Really disheartening.

atobs4real:
Sense is not common among humans.

Especially Nigerians

Who invests in Nigeria again ? When you're not in total control of the enterprise.

The devil is a Nigerian.

So Professor Hipolite Amadi took a loan to invest in an already existing Nigerian hospital in the hopes of making profit, got outsmarted by other crooks and now claims he did it for charity? PROFESSOR HIPOLITE IS A HYPOCRITE

This will just discourage others from investing. God help us in this country.

There should be a limit to corruption, children should be the limit.

Afrowits:
This will somehow discourage some people from coming to Naija to invest in Government establishment

This has reinforced my conviction not to dare tie my project to government establishments when setting up a Children and Adolescent Mental Health facility in Nigeria, it will be independent and would get to work with them as a third party.

What are the terms of the agreement? Dont tell me he build a structure on govt property without an agreement and permission.

He should clear the debt first, and then take up FMC owerri.

The hospital has a name, Federal Medical Centre Owerri! Don't log all Nigerian public hospitals together!

Wetin sef? If una never generalize, una never deliver news? Just about anything to paint the country black will be utterly exploited. My greatest wish is that this country splits and everyone bears his/her father's surname.

Mindlog:


The medical centre is under the Federal Ministry of Health, let them come out and state their position. If they have made provisions for the repayment and the Medical Director and his management, misappropriated the funds, they should get called out, arrested and prosecuted.

I don't care at all about Owerri, Imo, neither do I care about the said hospital or its management team one bit. But I care about the light that's shed on the status of Nigerian hospitals. I am educated enough to know that if FMC Owerri is faulted for a thing then FMC Abakaliki or FMC Akure don't deserve to be painted for the said fault. Federal Medical Centre Owerri has a name and should be singled out for its crimes than making a headline about Nigerian Hospitals by making news sensitive, so that ignorant people can keep pointing fingers at Nigerian medical institutions for weeks. It's a disservice to the other uptight and upright institutions, if people will see them in the same light they do an erring institution. Everyone has to be accountable for his actions.

Professor, why didn't you go where you are needed and appreciated?

Pls,start a go fund me,Nigerians in diaspora will settle that bill for you within one week.

I feel like crying

Half Story.

Expecting a response to from the other side.

Mindlog:


This has reinforced my conviction not to dare tie my project to government establishments when setting up a Children and Adolescent Mental Health facility in Nigeria, it will be independent and would get to work with them as a third party.

My dear, everyday, my dream of coming down to Nigeria to contribute my qouta just dey diminish.
I no wan wahala honestly.
We had a family history of one who left a lucrative job cos the president called him to come and serve his country but they used tribalism to deny him many things.
Tribalism didn't start today.

haybhi1:
The hospital has a name, Federal Medical Centre Owerri! Don't log all Nigerian public hospitals together!

Wetin sef? If una never generalize, una never deliver news?

The medical centre is under the Federal Ministry of Health, let them come out and state their position. If they have made provisions for the repayment and the Medical Director and his management, misappropriated the funds, they should get called out, arrested and prosecuted.

One sided story.

Let us hear the other side

haybhi1:
n

Waiting...