Health care can be free in Nigeria, but… — Andy Akpotive

Andy Akpotive is a medical entreprenuer, social reformer and brand consultant with penchant for helping companies achieve utmost productivity. He speaks, in this interview to ROTIMI IGE, on why basic health care should be very affordable, his recent book, among other issues.

Memories of family and early life?

I have very fond memories of family life. It was a mix of the good, the bad and the ugly, packed full with life’s experiences that have made me who I am today; a believer that all things are possible. Only excuses blind us from really seeing the possibilities contained in everything in life.

What motivates you to be passionate about the things you do?

I am a Nigerian who believes in changing Nigeria one person and one conversation at a time through my social media engagements and programmes in Port Harcourt, Rivers State. I am the General Manager of a highly functional and patient-care focused hospital in Port Harcourt and the lead strategist in a private training/general service firm (Genuine Essence Management  Services).

Social interaction, networking tools razed in UI fire…

You are one Nigerian who believes basic health care should be affordable, available even free at certain stages for all ( regardless of their tribes, religion and economic status) in the society, please explain why you believe this and if it is possible to achieve?

In my over 14 years experience of running hospitals from Lagos, Warri to Port Harcourt, I have seen too many people die from and of conditions that should ordinarily not kill them if we were serious about healthcare in this country. In my observation and studies, I have seen how it is possible to provide qualitative, affordable and accessible healthcare for populations when planned for.

Health care should be seen as an essential social service and not a luxury as it  currently is in our country. With just a few tweaking of the NHIS as we currently have, a very robustly religious and fastidious implementation of the scheme in small segments across the states of the federation, sanctions placed and judiciously  implemented, health care can be cheaply provided for ALL in the population, regardless of their status. I have done a detailed letter to over 26 state governors, including those of Lagos, Rivers, Ekiti, Nasarawa, etc, offering them the solutions for achieving this and how I am even willing to assist in the implementation without collecting salary. Till date, only two states have responded to my letter.

What other ideas, coupled with technology can you identify and prescribe as solutions to the failing health sector in Nigeria/Africa?

The federal, state and local governments must set aside a certain percentage of their budget that would be paid into an account to cater to the health care of their people. Companies operating in certain states must be encouraged in the short run before it is made a law to also pay a certain percentage of their profit after tax into this pool. These amounts should be administered by a restructured NHIS. It would be to attend to all primary health concerns of citizens within local governments and states of the country. The NHIS would be operated as national, state and local government hubs separately.

You have written a book? Tell us about that?

‘Unveiled! How to run a profitable hospital business in Nigeria’ is a 410-page, 10-chapter book that is a compendium of medical and hospital truth captured in very graphic details and lucid language from the lens of experience and exposing the current reality of the health sector and hospital practices in Nigeria. The book also proffers easy to implement solution to optimising efficiency in the sector and ensuring profitability for all who want to invest or have invested in the sector. It is a literary presentation that combines descriptive, analytical and poetic innuendos in addressing the everyday challenges of the sector laced with solutions and ways of implementing them. Four hundred and nine frauds possible in the hospital and their controls is one of the 10 equally intriguing chapters of this book that would bring reading delight and create utility for as many people as would want to relish and devour the appetising content of the book.

Aside being a medical entrepreneur, you are also a political activist, what is the correlation?

Activism is all about campaigning within your sphere of influence to bring about political or social change. Nothing would change for the better and that includes the medical sector and all other sectors that help the vehicle ‘Nigeria’ function properly, If leadership is jaundiced and non functional. Political decisions and policies, whether good or bad, steer the ship of state to greatness or otherwise. Those who ignore policies do so at their own peril.

My venturing into political activism became apparent because of my strong passion and knack for excellence and my belief that a very highly functional medical system that can attend to almost all medical challenges known in the world today and that would equally banish medical tourism that takes 1billion dollars from us annually, is possible in Nigeria and knowing full well that it would take a visionary leadership that is committed to pursuing this cause even if it would cost him/her their life, I therefore decided to get involved to try and contribute to finding that leader or becoming that leader.

What three things do you wish to happen to the Nigerian medical sector as quickly as possible that would make you feel accomplished?

1. Restructuring the NHIS for efficiency and sustainability and commencing the implementation of the new structure and programmes immediately. (National Assembly, other stakeholders and the Executive are to action this plan.)
2. Constituting and empowering a public health bureau for the different local government areas, states and the Federal Government. This bureau must be domiciled within the respective ministries of health with powers to enforce compliance to public health issues and concerns within the population of their respective jurisdictions.
3. Have all medical schools, allied medical schools in Nigeria buy and train their students with my book as one of the mandatory materials that must be studied and understood before graduation and practice.

Would you be able to implement these ideas and some that you canvassed in your book ‘Unveiled! How to run a profitable hospital business in Nigeria’ if called upon by the NHIS and/or the government from any state in Nigeria to implement them?

Certainly.  It is not rocket science to get the health sector running well again. All that is required is the right person (people), the right system(s) and process(es) coming together in great administrative symphony to achieve this.

Like I said earlier, I have already written a detailed letter sent through courier to 26 state governors of Nigeria of my intention to help establish a functional, affordable and sustainable health service system for their states and population without collecting money. I have also written to the new NHIS boss, Professor Mohammed Nasir Sambo, requesting an audience to come share experience with him as a provider, facility and operator, on ways to make the scheme better for all stakeholders. But as we speak, I am yet to get any response from all of them (So how else can I demonstrate my willingness to help implement solutions that would improve the sector if not through some of the actions I have already taken?).