Regarded as one of the most successful doctors from Nigeria, Godwin Maduka a pharmacist cum physician has had a notable career and indeed an inspiring one.
About 38 years ago, he was just a schoolboy from a humble background in the remote and impoverished community of Nkerehi (now Umuchukwu), in Orumba South Local Government Area of Anambra State, with no means of paying his school fees to attend medical school in the University of Port Harcourt.
Today, Maduka has risen to become the MD and CEO of one of the biggest pain and medical institutes in America, the Las Vegas Pain Institute and Medical Centre, in Nevada.
He is indeed acclaimed as a renowned expert in pain management, critical care and anaesthesiology. He is a clinical faculty supervisor and adjunct professor of pain management and anaesthesiology at Touro University, Nevada. He is also a clinical assistant professor of surgery at University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) School of Medicine.
Quite interestingly, Maduka is also a very successful businessman, who is well known for his philanthropism, as he has uplifted thousands of lives in Nigerian communities. His success has also changed the fortunes of Umuchukwu, his native community, which has been predominantly transformed by his initiatives into a very popular community in Anambra State.
Maduka has invested over $20 million in various community development projects in Umuchukwu. Through his foundation, which he established over 17 years ago, he built houses for the poor, churches, a modern market, schools, a community town hall centre, a police station, a police academy and college, a post office, barracks for civil defence staff, a magistrate court and a high court for the Anambra State government.
He also built a 17-floor multiplex medical research centre in Umuchukwu. It was due to his transformative efforts that the Nkerehi Community was renamed Umuchukwu by the state government.
Background and Education
Godwin Maduka was born in 1959, in Nkerehi (now Umuchukwu) community of Anambra state. His mother was a petty trader and farmer, while his father was a traditional herbalist. As a child living in a community that thrives on agriculture, his parents had to struggle to cater for him and his siblings. At some point he had to engage in some agricultural activities to assist his parents in paying his school fees and that of his siblings. He had his secondary education at Nawfia Comprehensive Secondary School and All Saints Grammar school, Umunze, before getting admission to study Medicine at the University of Port Harcourt. He however couldn’t join his peers due to lack of funds.
Maduka, against all odds, overcame all the challenges on his journey to success. He got an opportunity through a friend to study at Rust College, Mississippi, on a scholarship that covered half of his tuition. He also got some monetary support from his younger brother and uncle and moved to the United States in 1982.
In 1984, Maduka graduated summa cum laude in Chemistry from Rust College and later got another scholarship to study Pharmacy at Mercer University, Georgia, where he graduated in 1988 as a doctor of pharmacy (PharmD). After graduation, he worked as a pharmacy technician, before getting a full scholarship to study Medicine at University of Tennessee, where he completed an internship and graduated in 1993.
Having fulfilled his childhood dream of becoming a medical doctor, Maduka opted to specialise in anaesthesiology and pain management as he has exceptional knowledge in Chemistry, Pharmacy and Medicine. He gained admission for his postgraduate medical training in Harvard University School of Medicine, Boston, Massachusetts, USA, where he graduated in 1997 as an anaesthesiologist. He also completed his residency in anaesthesiology, critical care and pain management at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Centre in 1997.
In 1997, after his education, Maduka moved to Las Vegas and got a job, in which he was paid $8,000 as advance payment. This windfall marked the turning point for his career which enabled him to save and prepare as an entrepreneur. Maduka worked as an anaesthesiologist at Desert Spring United Methodist Church, Nevada and other hospitals, before starting his own practice at Red Rock Medical Group, Nevada.
In 1999, he founded Las Vegas Pain Institute and Medical Centre, before expanding it to other six locations in Southern Nevada. Today, Las Vegas Pain Institute has one of the biggest medical facilities in USA. He has invested over $4 million on building expansion of the institute, which has over 80 employees.
Awards and recognitions
In 2015, Life and Times magazine featured Maduka on the cover of its Winter 2015 Edition. In 2017, he received Africa’s Most Inspirational Developmental Entrepreneur and Philanthropist Award at the 2017 Pan Africa Business Leadership Summit & Merit Awards.
In 2019, he was honoured with a chieftaincy title as Okeosisi Orumba by Orumba South in Umunze, alongside his wife, Stella, who was honoured as Ugo ka ibe ya mma. He also received the Man of the Year award at the 2019 Igbere TV Leadership Excellence Award. In December 2019, he was honoured at the 2019 Nigeria Entrepreneurs Award. In January 2020, Attention magazine placed him on its cover, featuring him atop its “2020 Impression” edition.
Maduka is happily married to Stella Maduka and they are blessed with five children.
