Pelican Valley Nigeria Limited, a leading real estate development firm, has initiated high-level discussions with Nigerian medical specialists in the diaspora, particularly in the United States, to attract a $100 million healthcare investment to the Kobape corridor of Ogun State, Southwest Nigeria.
According to a recent statement, the ambitious healthcare project, which will span 100 hectares of land upon completion, is poised to transform the delivery of medical services in Ogun and beyond.
The initiative also aims to curb the prevailing trend of medical tourism among Nigeria’s affluent class by establishing a world-class healthcare facility locally.
The visiting medical experts, hosted at the Pelican’s Ecostay Apartments in Kobape, were received by the Chief Executive Officer of Pelican Valley Nigeria Limited, Dr. Babatunde Adeyemo.
The team expressed their readiness to contribute meaningfully to their homeland by leveraging the success they have achieved abroad.
One of the delegates, Tolu Badejo, who resides in the United States, offered insight into the motive behind the proposed healthcare initiative.
“When we started talking about what is happening in Ogun State, we had a vision to develop the health sector in this area (Kobape) right. And I started to look and ask, ‘Who can we talk to?’ So, I found you through a gentleman on a YouTube (platform) and also Google, and then we went through your profile independently,” Badejo explained.
“I think it is not lost on anybody that the need for good and quality health care in Nigeria, you know, it is not lost on anybody. Everyone knows that Nigeria is way behind when it comes to healthcare as far as the global standards of quality healthcare are concerned… And a few of us are thinking, meditating and researching the third world. This is 2025, right? Why can’t Nigeria, a quality country like this with so much potential, people and capital, human potential and financial potential, have a state-of-the-art, world-class healthcare system that it can command as its own? Not something brought in from somewhere else that is built and run by Nigerians…”
Dr. Ehri Badejo, another member of the visiting team, echoed similar sentiments, emphasizing the untapped brilliance of Nigerian healthcare professionals abroad.
“Nigerians are brilliant. We are a brilliant group of people, but many times you find people succeeding individually, but as an organisation, as a group, or as a society, it is not happening. How about doing that in healthcare? When we go to many of our teams out there, many of them are Nigerians. We are talking of surgical specialities; you have all Nigerians; you begin to ask, who is left at home (Nigeria)?”
“So, our hope is that we are able to transit back and forth; we are able to create a system that helps people, an ecosystem, so to speak, where you bring everything, you need, the nurses are inbred, the physicians are inbred, and yes, the specialists just come with a whole lot of service. It is a $100m (healthcare project) to start off with. This is one of the projects in position and a few other things that come along with it. And the other concept is medical tourism… If you have a specialist, you already have the expertise and you have the level of excellence; why not do it right here (Nigeria)?”
Dr. Adeyemo, who played host to the diaspora team, said he would engage Abike Dabiri-Erewa, Chairperson of the Nigerians in Diaspora Commission to rally support for the initiative, citing her track record in championing diaspora-driven development projects.
Reflecting on his entrepreneurial journey, Adeyemo shared, “I started my real estate business from extremely difficult terrain that even the giants in the real estate industry in Nigeria might not be able to start business there. And I started it there with less than N2.5m, but the only magic that I did was just being patient, being honest and buying time with my investment and always adding value. That is the only thing. No magic, just financial prudence, discipline, and patience.”
The proposed Kobape healthcare hub represents a visionary leap toward medical excellence in Nigeria, driven by diaspora collaboration, local commitment, and strategic partnership.
