Uncle Travelling Mack

It just happens that over the last month, my wife has resorted to calling me Uncle Travelling Mack. Not that I look like gobo fraggle (of fraggle rock fame) but because I have been on the road a lot - visiting sales reps across the UK. And what a great experience that has been!

First, it was great to learn about the UK geography. Like most people back in Nigeria (or maybe just the people I know!) I thought England and the UK are synonymous so I have used them interchangeably. And that was better than some of my mates that felt London was synonymous with the entire British Isles (lol!) Anyway, I've been to Glasgow, Edinburgh, Leeds, Newcastle, Bolton, Manchester, Bristol, Hull & travel next to Cardiff. So that has been really fun!

It still baffles me though that people on this small island see themselves as different and yet the same. There was a large debate last week during the Rugby World Cup final whether the British Prime Minister should wear an English jersey. In the end, Mr Brown (being a Scot) decided it was not appropriate dressing anyway (I wish Nigerian politicians would learn to skilfully manage conflict this way!). Scots would get very upset if you called them Englishmen; people in Edinburgh think Glasgow is not very nice; and I have been warned not to call Wales a part of Englan

Well, as much different as these countries/cities are, it is really interesting to see how they still coexist without major issues (beyond jerseys for the PM). And that just heightens the challenge for Africa in my mind. How do we see that the benefits of existing together outweigh the problems and thus focus on being fair to each other?

Will talk about my experience meeting UK surgeons and seeing live surgeries soon!

Launching into new adventures

I am always excited about starting new ventures - particularly the ones that I feel will stretch me. I've done a few of them already: changed careers shortly after my undergraduate studies, packed up my family to study in London and now taking a job to improve healthcare in Nigeria. Writing a blog may seem infinitesimal compared with these, but it is the one that most fills me with dread!

Why does it scare me? Well first, this is pretty public so if I write crap, everyone sees it and can figure out who the blockhead is. Second, it probably serves up my thoughts in a way that I can not easily reverse. Finally, I dread writing from scratch so taking on the challenge to write is not an easy one.

But why do I want to write then? Well, it helps me overcome this fear. The fear that I can't do it. Isn't starting an endeavour the best way to overcome fear? When I was younger, my mom would say "A o le beru okuku ki a to s'ara". Literally, it means we can't be so afraid of going to a bathroom (that traditionally would require one to go out into a dark night) that we would pee on ourselves instead. This has been a philosophy that has guided me most of my life. And that is why I am not stopping now!

So, my latest challenge is working to transform healthcare in Nigeria. This sounds very ambitious, but that is the goal for my new role at Johnson & Johnson. Given that I am not exactly a trained medical professional, this probably sounds even more stupid, but that is probably why I think I can add value to the industry. More than a background in healthcare, I have a passion to be part of making life better in my community. It would be the most incredible feeling to know that I was part of helping people live longer and have better health outcomes when they require medical attention. How do I hope to do this? Well, it starts by going out to pee in the dark. More on that shortly.