By Chioma Obinna
President of the Nigerian Academy of Pharmacy (NAPHARM), Prof. Lere Baale, has challenged healthcare professionals and leaders across Nigeria to abandon the pursuit of titles and personal success in favour of integrity, purposeful service and institution-building, warning that only leaders who leave lasting impact will be remembered.
Delivering the inaugural Sir Ifeanyi Atueyi Memorial Lecture in Lagos, Baale said Nigeria’s healthcare sector urgently requires leaders whose influence is measured not by the offices they occupy but by the lives they transform and the institutions they strengthen.
“Success asks, ‘How much did I achieve?’ Legacy asks, ‘How much did I give?’” Baale declared.
According to him, while success may bring personal fulfilment, “legacy impacts generations.”
Speaking on the theme, Legacy Beyond Life: Leadership, Integrity and the Power of Enduring Impact, Baale described integrity as the currency of leadership, stressing that credibility, rather than visibility, remains the true measure of influence.
“Talent may open doors, intelligence may create opportunities and influence may attract followers, but only integrity builds lasting trust. Visibility without credibility is fragile, influence without integrity is dangerous, and power without character becomes destructive,” he said.
Using the late pharmacist, publisher and founder of Pharmanews, Sir Ifeanyi Atueyi, as an example, Baale said the deceased demonstrated that genuine leadership is about creating enduring institutions rather than seeking personal recognition.
He noted that long before healthcare communication became a recognised field, Atueyi understood the power of credible information in improving health outcomes and established Pharmanews as a platform that amplified professional voices, promoted healthcare advocacy and inspired generations of pharmacists.
“Sir Ifeanyi did not merely establish a publication; he built an institution. He understood that information saves lives and created a platform that continues to strengthen healthcare communication and professional development today,” he said.
Baale described the memorial lecture as a fitting tribute to a man who occupied several historic positions, including serving as the first Vice-President of the Nigerian Academy of Pharmacy, the first Fellow of the Academy to receive a valedictory session and the first pharmacist to have a memorial lecture instituted in his honour.
He commended the Atueyi family for preserving his ideals, saying the greatest tribute to the late publisher would be to uphold the values he represented.
The NAPHARM President urged professionals to redefine success beyond wealth, titles and social status.
“Ask yourself: How many lives became better because you existed? How many opportunities did you create? How many dreams did you nurture? How many institutions became stronger because you passed through them?” he challenged.
He also urged young professionals to see their careers as a calling rather than merely a pathway to personal advancement.
“Do not simply climb ladders; build platforms that enable others to rise,” he advised.
Baale further stressed that the highest expression of leadership is multiplication, raising others to become leaders rather than individual accomplishment.
Concluding the lecture, he said although no one controls the length of life, everyone has the power to determine the quality of their impact.
“Sir Ifeanyi Atueyi showed that a life guided by purpose, integrity, service and excellence continues to speak long after the voice has fallen silent.”
He urged participants to move beyond celebrating Atueyi’s memory and instead commit themselves to building institutions, mentoring future generations and leaving legacies that will outlive them.
Speaking, former Minister of Health and Chairman of the occasion, Prince Julius Adelusi-Adeluyi, described the establishment of the memorial lecture as a fitting tribute to a man whose contributions to pharmacy and healthcare journalism remain unmatched.
According to him, Sir Ifeanyi was not only a distinguished pharmacist but also a man of strong character whose dedication to excellence, diligence, discipline and integrity earned him the respect of professionals across different sectors.
Adelusi-Adeluyi commended the Atueyi family for sustaining the vision of the late publisher through Pharmanews and for creating platforms that would continue to promote the ideals he stood for.
In his welcome address, the Executive Director of Pharmanews Limited, Barr Dozie Atueyi, said the memorial lecture was conceived not merely as an event to remember his father but as a platform to preserve, promote and advance the principles that defined his life.
He described Sir Ifeanyi as a visionary leader, mentor, publisher and bridge-builder whose lifelong commitment to healthcare communication, professional development and societal impact created an enduring legacy.
He said the values of integrity, excellence, humility and service which guided his father’s life remained relevant lessons for current and future generations.
Barr. Atueyi further disclosed that the Sir Ifeanyi Atueyi Memorial Trust was launched as part of efforts to sustain and expand his father’s legacy.
He explained that the Trust was established to preserve and advance Sir Ifeanyi Atueyi’s ideals by promoting and supporting initiatives in education, healthcare, leadership development, humanitarian services, community empowerment, research, entrepreneurship and the recognition of outstanding contributions to society.
He noted that through the Trust, the family hopes to continue the late publisher’s passion for developing people, strengthening institutions and contributing positively to national growth.
