• TONY RAPU

Not a few people have asked me if I really know Dr Phyl Ozuah. Yes, I do.

Indeed, we attended medical school together at the University of Ibadan, Nigeria from 1980 to 1985. When we graduated, I went to do my Housemanship at LUTH, while Phyl did his outside Lagos. A few years later, he traveled abroad to begin a distinguished career in Medicine.

After a Master’s Degree in Education in Los Angeles, and a postgraduate degree in Educational Leadership and Administration in Nebraska, he started his Paediatric Internship and Residency at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine at Montefiore. His Post-Doctoral Fellowship in Medical Education was at the University of Southern California School of Medicine, Los Angeles.

Dr Phyl quickly rose to become the President and CEO of Montefiore Medicine, the umbrella organization for the Albert Einstein College of Medicine. Today, he leads about 10,000 physicians and 53,000 employees serving a diverse group of patients.

Back when we were in medical school, Dr Phyl and I studied and prepared for exams together, laughed together and played together. He happens to be a Karate Master and Black Belt holder and taught me a bit of karate in our preclinical years, when we had a little more time outside of studies. I’ve never seen a sharper mind or keener intellect than Dr Phyl’s nor a more generous person.

There was never a dull moment with Phyl with his great sense of humour. He would turn everything into a joke and we would often sit and laugh heartily over everything. We did ward rounds together and I remember us travelling to our outside rural posting at Igbo-Ora in Oyo state.

Dr Phyl was best man at my wedding in 1987. I visited him in Enugu at the time and remember we went shopping together for our wedding suits a week before the wedding. He was the coolest and most accommodating best man.

In 2010, we both joined our former classmates at Center Parcs Conference Centre in the UK where we gathered to celebrate 25 years since graduation, grateful for the excellent foundation we received in UCH. It was a meeting of brilliant academics, professors and consultants of various disciplines in medicine, with many now scattered across the globe making a strong impact in their own spheres. I’m grateful for the solid foundation we had in Ibadan.

When I visited Phyl in New York at the Albert Einstein University in 2015, we sat in his office and compared notes on what we were both doing. He spoke about his desire to give back to Nigeria; and has since then been doing quite a bit behind the scenes supporting many worthy causes and initiatives.

I truly celebrate a great man and loyal friend in the person of Dr Phyl; it gives me hope for a better Nigeria where geniuses like him who have excelled will like Nehemiah, join hands to build the Nation of our dreams.

Dr Phyl Ozuah

Not a few people have asked me if I really know Dr Phyl Ozuah. Yes, I do.

Indeed, we attended medical school together at the University of Ibadan, Nigeria from 1980 to 1985. When we graduated, I went to do my Housemanship at LUTH, while Phyl did his outside Lagos. A few years later, he traveled abroad to begin a distinguished career in Medicine.

After a Master’s Degree in Education in Los Angeles, and a postgraduate degree in Educational Leadership and Administration in Nebraska, he started his Paediatric Internship and Residency at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine at Montefiore. His Post-Doctoral Fellowship in Medical Education was at the University of Southern California School of Medicine, Los Angeles.

Dr Phyl quickly rose to become the President and CEO of Montefiore Medicine, the umbrella organization for the Albert Einstein College of Medicine. Today, he leads about 10,000 physicians and 53,000 employees serving a diverse group of patients.

Back when we were in medical school, Dr Phyl and I studied and prepared for exams together, laughed together and played together. He happens to be a Karate Master and Black Belt holder and taught me a bit of karate in our preclinical years, when we had a little more time outside of studies. I’ve never seen a sharper mind or keener intellect than Dr Phyl’s nor a more generous person.

There was never a dull moment with Phyl with his great sense of humour. He would turn everything into a joke and we would often sit and laugh heartily over everything. We did ward rounds together and I remember us travelling to our outside rural posting at Igbo-Ora in Oyo state.

Dr Phyl was best man at my wedding in 1987. I visited him in Enugu at the time and remember we went shopping together for our wedding suits a week before the wedding. He was the coolest and most accommodating best man.

In 2010, we both joined our former classmates at Center Parcs Conference Centre in the UK where we gathered to celebrate 25 years since graduation, grateful for the excellent foundation we received in UCH. It was a meeting of brilliant academics, professors and consultants of various disciplines in medicine, with many now scattered across the globe making a strong impact in their own spheres. I’m grateful for the solid foundation we had in Ibadan.

When I visited Phyl in New York at the Albert Einstein University in 2015, we sat in his office and compared notes on what we were both doing. He spoke about his desire to give back to Nigeria; and has since then been doing quite a bit behind the scenes supporting many worthy causes and initiatives.

I truly celebrate a great man and loyal friend in the person of Dr Phyl; it gives me hope for a better Nigeria where geniuses like him who have excelled will like Nehemiah, join hands to build the Nation of our dreams.