•My NUJ Man of the Year award has increased my visibility, popularity

From Aloysius Attah, Onitsha

Dr Chinedu Anthony Umeadi is a Nigerian-Canadian mental health consultant, public health specialist and philanthropist. He is also a political figure who has served as the state leader for the Young Progressives Party (YPP) in Anambra State. His philanthropic work is conducted through the Dr Chinedu Umeadi Foudation, which focuses on education and poverty alleviation.

Last year, Umeadi, who holds the traditional title of  Agunaechemba Abagana emerged as the NUJ (Nigerian Union of Journalists ) Anambra State Council Man of  the Year. His choice was determined by the people through a transparent process. 

In this interview, he spoke on his life trajectory, what the NUJ award meant to him and on ways he has touched life with his foundation.

Recently, you celebrated your golden age.  As a fulfilled medical doctor, how do you feel about this milestone of your life and what do you think will be your focus going forward?

In June this year, I climbed to the fifth floor of my life, getting to the fifthth decade of my life. I thank God for His kindness and blessings on me over the years. I have done my best as a human being, worked hard, done everything I was taught to do by my good parents and good people around who trained and nurtured me into a full adult, God-fearing and a man who is respectful to the rule of law. I thank all of them and I am grateful.

As I get into the fifth decade of my life, the most important thing I ask of God is continued good health, which is the most important thing to me in my life. And God has been faithful and good to me. With good health so far, I have been able to work hard, make good amount of money to be able to take care of myself and support people. As I get into the fifth floor, I can say that I have done well over half of my life. I will now start winding down, hoping to retire from active medical service in the next few years and focus more on services to humanity and getting involved in governance in Nigeria and contribute in making our place a better place in whatever capacity I can.

I have a foundation which I am already using to support humanity. We will continue expanding that and do more work.  I also hope to get into some political position. I have contested before but it didn’t work out and I will be going back again. I am interested in making Anambra State a better place and I will do that in whatever capacity I can. My focus, going forward for the remaining of my life, is supporting my community, humanity and help to make my Anambra state and Nigeria better. I have mentored younger people for quite some years now since I became a consultant in medicine and I will continue to do that. I will continue to do that not just in the medical field but in other areas of life. These are my focus in life and I thank everyone who have supported me over the course of my life. I remain grateful.

You have been in the spotlight since 2024 for winning the NUJ Anambra Man of the Year Award.  What does the award mean to you, and why is it significant?

It is a significant honour to be honoured by the Nigeria Union of Journalists, Anambra State Council as the Man of the Year in Anambra State. So, the recognition, the honour means a lot to me.

What’s the impact of the NUJ award on your credibility and influence?

Of course, I have said it earlier that it is a thing of honour to me being NUJ man of the year. People now respect me more, some people now start checking me up, reading about me, trying to find out why I emerged the NUJ Man of the year 2024. Surely, it increased my visibility and popularity in Anambra State and across the media world. It puts me in the good books of most people because I emerged the 2024 NUJ Man of the Year because of my charity work. People are now more aware of the charity work I have been doing and how I have been supporting my people and community.

Your foundation has been touching lives.  Are there new things we should know you are embarking on or planning to do?

Dr. Chinedu Umeadi Foundation is a foundation that has been going on for over six years now. We support people in education, carry-out programmes, and treat people free. We do health outreach programmes and support people in poverty. We have an ongoing quiz competition. Some people were thinking that what I was doing in 2023 when I contested for the Senate in Anambra Central through the Young Progressive Party was for politics. That gesture will not end. It will continue every year.

The next event is already happening and was just concluded. We only have the finals of the quiz competition coming up. The award presentation ceremony is coming up too. So it will not end there, we will continue our charity programmes. What the award has done to me is encouragement. It is a pat on the back, which means to continue with the good work we are doing. Just as I will say that everything depends on the resources available to me. So long as God continues to bless me with funds, I will continue to expand what we are doing through the Dr Chinedu Umeadi foundation.

You are into human empowerment and educational promotions. What informed that in your NGO? What have you done so far, and what’s your vision going forward?

I have always been a person who helps other people. That has been my hobby as a human being, starting from when I was in primary school, secondary school when I always shared my things with people. I always feel bad when I see other people suffering. Any little I had in those days, I shared it with people. When I got into the university, I was involved in different groups and associations, trying to ensure fairness and equity. It is always very important to me. Seeing people being treated unfairly upsets me. Then I went into being a medical doctor. Training as a doctor on its own is charity work because it’s a way of helping and supporting people and that is exactly what I do.

So, when I started earning some money, I decided I would be setting aside some of my funds for supporting the less privileged in the society and that is what I have continued to do, hoping that more money will continue coming my way so that I will continue supporting people. And when I do this, I always expected that there will be other people who will be looking at me and see what I do, and I will be able to inspire them so that they can also join me in supporting others. No one deserves to go to bed hungry. At Chinedu Umeadi Foundation, we are committed to breaking the cycle of poverty by providing essential resources and opportunities for a better future. Together, we can make a difference.

How has receiving the NUJ award contributed to your personal growth, professional development or societal influence?

Of course, it has contributed to my personal growth and professional development. It is an accolade that people get and this one is the greatest of them all. Anything that has to do with the whole state is a big one. The Nigeria Union of Journalists is a great body, they are media people. So if the media people say you are the man of the year, that is a big honour. It has been added to my CV where people see it.

So, to me, it is an honour to my professional career. What it has added is that I do some extra things outside my profession and my own people, people from Nigeria and across the globe, people in my community, people here in Canada and Nigeria recognise what I do. It is a simple description that I am an honourable man and that I do a lot for the society at large.

What’s your political ambition like in this dispensation and what informed the decision?

I am currently the leader of the Young Progressives Party (YPP) in Anambra State. My focus now is to put my party in order, making it a formidable party and a strong platform for people that want to contest election in Anambra State. For now, that is my role in politics. I will make statements when I want to air my views regarding what is happening in our community.  I contested for Senate in Anambra Central during the last general election. I still have an eye on that but yet to make final decision. At the right time, I will make it public.

What is your message to your successor as the NUJ Man of the Year 2025?

I wish my successor, Arc Okey Ezeobi the best. The honour is great and whoever wins NUJ Anambra State man of the year never remains the same. He is lucky to have won. He should do greater exploits to bring goodwill to the union better than I have done. I appreciate the NUJ Anambra State Council for the insights and focus. I appreciate the solidarity and support of the union since I emerged in 2024 till the ceremony where I’m handing over to my successor. It has been wonderful. I urge the union to sustain the solidarity.  I urge support for all the things the union does. We shall continue to support the union under the leadership of Comrade Odogwu Emeka Odogwu to do more exploits.