As a means of paying homage to an Icon of Pharmacy, the executives of the Association of Industrial Pharmacists of Nigeria (NAIP) paid a courtesy visit to the corporate head office of Pharmanews in Mende, Maryland, Lagos, to intimate the Pharmanews Publisher, Sir Ifeanyi Atueyi, with the activities of the association and appreciate him for his support to the group.
Speaking on the purpose of their visit, the National Chairman, NAIP, Pharm. Ignatius Anukwu said this crop of executives, which assumed office since 2017 have been looking for the best opportunity to visit Pharmanews, and their national executive meeting scheduled for Thursday in Lagos, put paid to the visit.
Expressing his delight to make the courtesy visit a reality, he said Sir Atueyi was one of the founding members of the association, who received the Icon of Pharmacy recognition from NAIP in 2013, of which they have a total of nine pharmacists with the award now.
Explaining the activities of the association so far, he said they have been doing well in the areas of corporate social responsibility, training of young pharmacists, Pharmacy students, national sales managers training, and advocacy.
He narrated further how they conducted a medical mission in Lagos State last year, precisely in Ogba area, in deworming children, and this year, they were also in Anambra State, in Omor community to carry out same activity for the benefit of the residents.
On Pharmacy project, the NAIP Chairman, said the association is working out modalities to establish partnership with some state governments for the establishment of pharma parks, which will minimize the cost of production for pharmaceutical companies operating from there.
According to him, “NAIP is preparing a proposal for this pharma parks establishment in states like Anambra, Oyo, Kano, and Jigawa”. He also hinted on their plan to partner with pharmacists in the academia, for the development of their indigenous research.
Pharm. Anukwu also noted that another purpose for their visit was to felicitate with Pharmanews, for clinching the Nigerian Healthcare Media Excellence Award consecutively from 2017 to 2019, also to partner in the celebration of the 40th anniversary of Pharmanews.
In his response, the Pharmanews publisher, expressed his delight towards their visit, saying it was a very memorable one. Commenting on the Icon of Pharmacy recognition conferred on him by the association, he recalled how the association was formed in 1978 with four founding members of Pharm. A.O. Odusina–president; Pharm. H.B.K Bob-Manuel –treasurer/financial secretary; Pharm. Nath Akobundu, secretary; and Pharm. Ifeanyi Atueyi.
However, he said the founding members mobilised others into the association and there was an election in 1979 which brought up the foundation executives of the association including: Pharm. A.O Odusina–president; Pharm. Y. Arogundade- vice-president; Pharm. I. Atueyi –secretary; Pharm. (Mrs) R.O. Britto – assistant secretary; Pharm. H.B.K Bob-Manuel –treasurer/financial secretary; Pharm. F.A.G Ogunledun- publicity secretary; Pharm. L.B.R Adeeko- unofficial member; and Pharm. S.I.M Braide- unofficial member”.
Being the only one still alive among the founding members of NAIP, he urged them to give their best to serving humanity, because they can never tell, where their impacts will be felt and the number of lives they will touch through their services.
Atueyi also commended the executives for training others, saying without training, there can be no improvement in service delivery, and that was why he went into training and consulting in 1993, when there was dearth of training in the industry, in fact, he said no one was conducting training for pharmacists then.
He concluded by charging the pharmacists to give quality services to the people while in office, because they can never know if God will test the quality of services they are providing, and it could an open door to launch into their own life-time career, as it happened to him.
“I don’t know what my life would have been, without passing the commitment test posed before me in 1974, with the assignment of editing the Pharmacy Journal. So whatever your hands find to do, do it with all thy might”, he charged them.
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