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By Chinelo Obogo
The executive chairman of Greenlife Pharmaceuticals, Dr. Anthony Chukwuka, has urged the Federal Government to among other policies, clamp down on counterfeit drug dealers so that genuine Nigerian companies can make profit.
Speaking recently during his 60th birthday celebration and launch of his autobiography, ‘My Wilderness Journey’ which was held this week in Lagos, he said there needs to be severe punitive measures taken against counterfeiters to serve as a deterrent to others.
“I expect the FG to be more serious in clamping down on dealers of counterfeit drugs because they are so many. I didn’t say they are not giving laws but if they are punished severely, then no other person can try to do that again. If one, two or three people are punished for selling counterfeit drugs, then others would learn. The profit has not been so good because of the economy but all the same, we are doing well and we are trying our best,” he said.
On his autobiography, he said that one of the reasons he wrote the book is so that the younger ones will know that they must start life with a vision.
“You have to know where you are going. If you have a vision, you will not deviate. That is why someone who came from a background like mine could still succeed despite all odds. When I say wilderness experience, I am looking at my experience when I finished my secondary school and despite my father being a teacher, my parents could not afford to send me to the university. I had to attend the university at 40 years of age. That is why I called it a wilderness experience. I really thank God for giving me the courage to do what I did.
“Going into pharmaceutical business was a vision I had when I was five during the civil war. I had hepatitis while other kids had kwashiorkor and there was no drug , but we were helped by the Red Cross. That year, I promised my God that any time I grow as an adult, I must be a member of the Red Cross so that I can treat others. That is what gave me the inspiration to go into the health sector,” he said.
The book reviewer, Prof. Ngozi Osarenren, said the title of the book captured the author’s journey through life and that through his resilience, confirmed that if life gives you lemons you should make lemonade out of it.
“The book opens with “Chronology of Events” beginning with 1963 when the author was born and stopped in 2023 as he clocked 60 years. This wilderness journey of Dr. Chukwuka is a must read for everyone that honestly cherishes truth and goodness because hard work does not kill and success has many relations but failure has always remained an orphan.
“The choices we make matter. Decisions have consequences and sacrifices and self-denials will eventually lead to self-fulfilment. The author advised that any individual desirous of success must be strategic, avoid procrastination,
identify your potential and prepare for success. The author recognised that all he has is given to him by God therefore, it is only fit and proper that he shares with other children of God through service to humanity.
“He has touched so many lives and communities because of his conviction that the story of his life is simply the handwork of God. As he succinctly observed “my journey traversed from the ghetto of Ajegunle as an apprentice to my relocation to Coker Village in Orile-Iganmu, then to Oke-Afa, Isolo, to Magodo and finally to my Ikoyi residence where I met men of influence and authority. By the time you read through chapter 11 you will be amazed at some of his activities in this area.
“The author has elected to retire from active business life as he has turned 60 years – in other words he is retired but not tired. He longs to be somewhat passive and step aside from Greenlife Pharmaceuticals administration. This assertion comes from a man who is successful in the full ramification and meaning of the word – success. He has mentored many, who also allowed themselves to be mentored, who he is confident will sustain his legacies. It is not enough to build but more gratifying to consolidate and sustain what has been built,” she said.
