In a country where the average life expectancy is just 55 years and over 70% of Nigerians still pay for healthcare out-of-pocket, survival is a privilege, not a guarantee.
Nigeria’s healthcare system, many say, is hanging by a thread, stitched together by a federal health budget that limps at N1.33 trillion, just 2.7% of the N49.7 trillion national budget.
Nonetheless, despite these shortcomings, there are outliers, those not waiting for the system to fix itself. Mrs Tonye Mayomi is one of them.
As the General Manager of Schubbs Dental Clinic, a leading dental care brand with a 38-year history, Tonye Mayomi manages healthcare businesses across three locations; commendably impacting how care is delivered, one facility at a time.
“I see it as giving back to my community,” she says, reflecting on her journey. “When people fall sick, they’re helpless, and setting up a practice that can help them get better—it strengthens the community.”
Her story is built on focus and uncomfortable truths about Nigeria’s broken healthcare infrastructure. For example, the country currently has one doctor for every 5,000 people, far below the World Health Organisation’s recommendation of 1:600. And yet, Tonye Mayomi has managed to build and run successful healthcare operations, even in underserved areas.
Thriving in a Male-Dominated Space
Navigating the medical space as a woman in Nigeria comes with challenges. Mayomi faced them, winning. “Medicine is a male-dominated field in Nigeria. When you’re leading teams with consultants and doctors, they tend to look at you like you’re female, and they think they know more than you,” she shared.
But she never shrank. In fact, she made her presence non-negotiable. “The aspect of patient care is not a one-man system. You have the front officers, the cleaners, the procurement officers, human resources. Eventually, the doctors understood that no one should be looked down on. And they even started giving me more respect than they gave their medical colleagues.”
For Tonye Mayomi, giving up has never been an option. “Maybe because I got into this field at the right age. I was already in my 30s, so I knew it was my calling—to help people feel better and to make healthcare practices function better. Without us as healthcare administrators, doctors can’t function properly.”
Her determination has kept some doctors from fleeing Nigeria’s overburdened system. “Many doctors who have encountered me have always felt a relief. Some of them have even decided not to leave Nigeria.”
That is no small feat in a country where over 15,000 Nigerian doctors have left in the past decade, seeking better pay and working conditions abroad.
The Cost of Care and Customer Service
Speaking about the challenges in Nigeria’s healthcare system, Mayomi said. “Customer care is a major issue. The cost of care is another. When people can’t afford to pay for care, it slows down the entire system—everyone feels it, from the doctors to the front desk officers.”
In Nigeria, less than 10% of citizens are covered under the National Health Insurance Scheme, leaving millions to either self-fund their treatments or go without care.
Mayomi stresses that addressing these two areas, cost and customer service, is highly important. “We need to improve patient management systems. It’s a continuous process, but hopefully, this will result in a healthcare system that actually works for Nigerians.”
Cleanliness, Compassion and Care
While the system’s cracks are glaring, Tonye Mayomi believes there are practical ways to work around them. Her philosophy is fixed on cleanliness, compassion and patient-centred care.
“Sick people don’t want to come into dirty hospitals. They want to feel welcomed. The way a patient is treated is as important as the medicine you give them. If you throw a malaria medicine at somebody, it will work, but they will never forget how you made them feel,” she said, challenging the culture of transactional care with a more humane approach.
Advocating Innovation and Women Inclusion
Speaking on innovations, Mayomi has led and is pushing for full automation. “We use Electronic Medical Records (EMR). Patients can book appointments online, and when they come in, they don’t need to pass files around. Within minutes, they’ve been assigned to a doctor. We also use marketing tools that automatically send out information about our services.”
She insists that technology is not a threat but an enabler. “Doctors need to be humble enough to learn. It’s not a competition with technology; it can enhance their performance.”
And for women’s participation in healthcare, she says it needs to go beyond nursing. “Women are an underserved population in medicine, especially in administration and facility management. But now is the time. If you can hold a screwdriver, you can run a hospital’s facility management gate and you will be relevant for a very long time.”
At the 2023/2024 Medical and Dental Induction Ceremony at the College of Medicine, University of Lagos, Idi-Araba, Schubbs Dental, under her leadership, presented cash prizes to the best graduating student in Dentistry and the best student in Restorative Dentistry.
“It is only reasonable that we support students who are becoming doctors today,” she says. “We will keep supporting doctors in Nigeria and hoping that will shift the middle, so more people will stay or even come back to serve their country.”
Her long-term dream? To see every healthcare facility in Nigeria fully automated. “I advocate automation. I advocate women inclusion. I advocate continuous learning. I advocate best practices in medical care. These are the things I push every day.”
“I would love to see Nigeria become a medical hub, like Turkey. Why can’t Nigeria be where people come for their surgeries, their paediatric procedures? We have more doctors graduating here than anywhere else. This is something I’m actively pushing.”
And her parting advice? “Exercise more. We are seeing more young people who are overweight, and it causes so many other health issues. Wake up in the morning, take a walk. If you can’t run, take a walk. Just move.”
In a healthcare system where most people are struggling just to stay alive, Tonye Mayomi is building and leading to ensure inclusive and working conditions.
