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By Bianca Iboma-Emefu
Former managing director of Cosmic Insurance Brokers, Dr. Teslim Sanusi, celebrated his 80th birthday in style recently. The octogenarian entertained friends, family, the Lions Club and the underprivilege to a lavish banquet in Ota, Ogun State.
Dignitaries from many spheres of life attended the event to honour the insurance guru. Apart from the glamour and glitz at the event, a medical outreach and some humanitarian activities were rendered to the needy and underprivileged.
Sanusi said he offered free medical services like distribution of eyeglasses, conducting free eye screening and treatment, free cataract surgery and tutorials on prevention and management of diabetes.
He said: “I decided to show love to my country people by bringing basic medical services to their doorsteps and enlightening them on the need to be health-conscious at all times. I feel very sad each time I see the indigent trying to survive, yet faced with some health challenges. It is necessary to put smiles on the faces of this category of people.
“Over the years, I have been celebrating my birthday like any other person in the form of a party, but on my 70th birthday, I decided not to be doing parties anymore. I decided that the best way to celebrate was to reach out to those who needed help and how they could benefit, and provide free health care to people at the grassroots.
“I asked my friends, family and associates to contribute and we aggregated all that was given to organize the medical outreach.”
He urged the elite to give to the needy, adding that no one gets poorer by giving and the more one gives, the more he or she gets in return.
Mrs. Ekeoma Ezibe, the chairman of the central planning committee for the “Teslim Adekunle at 80” event, said the celebrant loved to give to the needy and that was what the committee did.
Ezibe, vice-president of the Nigerian Council of Registered Insurance Brokers, stated that eye tests were conducted on people and those who needed glasses were given spectacles and those that needed surgeries had operations performed on them.
She said many were screened for diabetes and those that required medication were given some, adding that they were counselled on how to live right and manage the disease.
She disclosed that eyeglasses were given to at least 800 people and surgeries were performed on more than 100 people, adding that thousands of people were fed during the exercise.
Ezibe said all this was done in different centres, namely, the Insurance Brokers’ House, Lagos, General Hospital, Erin-Ile, Kwara State, Lions Eye Centre, Ota, and Lagos State University Teaching Hospital, Lagos State.
Also speaking at the event, Prof. Idowu Obasa, a friend to Sanusi, described the celebrant as a person who loved to give to the needy and people who could not repay him.
Obasa listed many projects the celebrant executed to benefit the poor in society and urged the rich to emulate him.
The event was jointly organized by Lions Clubs International, District 404B2, Nigeria, the Nigerian Council of Registered Insurance Brokers and others.
