Modupe Ozolua

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Modupe Ozolua
Modupe Ozolua 02.jpg
Modupe Ozolua
Born (1973-10-10) 10 October 1973 (age 47)
Benin City
NationalityNigerian-American
OccupationEntrepreneur, philanthropist
Known forPioneering cosmetic surgery in West Africa
Spouse(s)Divorced
Children1

Modupe Ozolua (born 10 October 1973, in Benin City, Nigeria) is an American-Nigerian philanthropist and entrepreneur. She is the former CEO of Body Enhancement Ltd, and is the founding president of Empower 54 Project Initiatives (Empower 54) formerly known as Body Enhancement Annual Reconstructive Surgery (BEARS) Foundation.[1][2]

Early life and education[]

Ozolua is a direct descendant of the Oba (King) Ozolua of the Benin Kingdom, Edo State, Nigeria.[3] Ozolua is the youngest of four siblings born to Prince Julius I. Ozolua, an educationist, and Princess Olua Mary S. Ozolua (née Otaru), a princess and entrepreneur from Ososo, Akoko-Edo LGA, Edo State.[1] Her name "Modupe" means "I thank you" in Yoruba.[4]

She grew up in the Royal House of the Benin Kingdom where her great grandfather Oba Ozolua was the legendary Benin warrior king.

Ozolua studied business management in California, USA. At Southwestern College, she was inducted into the Alpha Pi Epsilon, chapter of Phi Theta Kappa and recognized as an outstanding student by the Southwestern Dean's Honorary List and the National Dean's List (1994 - 1995).[5]

Personal life[]

Ozolua has a son, Prince Oluwaseun Ozolua-Osunbade, and moves between Nigeria and Atlanta.

Career[]

Ozolua returned to Nigeria in 2001, and founded Body Enhancements Ltd,[6] a cosmetic surgery company and the first of its kind in West Africa.[citation needed] Despite the challenges of having a controversial service in a very traditional African country, Body Enhancement Ltd revolutionized the beauty and health sectors in Nigeria.[citation needed] Ozolua used the platform that her business provided to educate about the safety of plastic surgery, breaking prevalent myths of the time.[citation needed]

In 2003, she founded Empower 54, formerly known as Body Enhancement Foundation, or Body Enhancement Annual Reconstructive Surgery (BEARS),[5] an international humanitarian organization dedicated to providing humanitarian assistance such as medical missions, hunger eradication, education, female empowerment and refugee programs to underprivileged Africans. Archbishop Desmond Tutu is a patron of Empower 54.

All humanitarian aid rendered through Empower 54 is free to the beneficiaries. Under Ozolua's leadership, Empower 54's "Rise Above Terror" initiative[7] has been active in rehabilitating women and children survivors of the Boko Haram terrorist group in Nigeria, through self-employment and education for the children at the IDP camps. Ozolua personally leads the Empower 54 team into communities attacked by Boko Haram in remote parts of North East Nigeria to help survivors of terrorist attacks.

During one of the foundation's missions, she discovered the extremely malnourished children rescued from Boko Haram's captivity and facilitated the collaboration between Empower 54 and the Borno State Government in evacuating them to Maiduguri for urgent CMAM treatment. 1,500 children were evacuated from Bama, along with their families.[8]

Projects[]

  • Niger Delta and Kano State: Bringing Hope to Nigerian Children Suffering From Birth Defects (2003)
  • Edo State, Nigeria: Reconstructive surgery of victims of contaminated kerosene explosions (2004)
  • Niger Delta, Nigeria: Reconstructive Surgery for underprivileged children (2004)
  • Niger Delta, Nigeria: Reconstructive surgery for underprivileged children (2005)
  • Kwara State, Nigeria: Free National Medical Mission (2006)
  • Tabora, Tanzania: Medical Mission (2007)
  • Free medical missions in Ethiopia, Mali, Niger Republic and Zambia (2010 to present)[when?]
  • Adamawa State: Establishment of school at IDP camp (February 2015)
  • Gombe State: Rehabilitation of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in Gombe State, North East Nigeria ( February 2015)
  • Adamawa and Borno States: E54's RISE caps pilot scheme (April 2015)
  • Adamawa, Gombe and Borno States: Inspection of communities destroyed by Boko Haram (May/June 2015)
  • Government Junior Secondary School (GJSS) renovation of schools destroyed by Boko Haram in Uba, Adamawa State (July 2015)
  • Malkoi Camp & NYSC Camp, Adamawa State, Nigeria (September 2015)
  • Rise Above Terror..What Happens Next? Abuja, Nigeria (9 October 2015)[9]
  • Empower 54 Annual African Art Gala, Atlanta, Georgia (30 April 2016)[10]
  • Evacuation of extremely malnourished children from Bama, Borno State, Nigeria. (June 2016)
  • Building of two classrooms for IDP children, Bakasi IDP camp, Maiduguri (June 2016)
  • Donation of 40 foot container of medication and nutritional meals to IDPs, Borno State, Nigeria (January 2017)
  • Establishment of small-scale Ready-To-Use-Therapeutic-Food (RUTF) production facility in Abuja, Nigeria (March 2017)
  • Donation of paint and computers to schools in Mai-Ndombe Province, Democratic Republic of the Congo (May 2017)
  • Provision of Vitamin A and Albendazol medication for 620,000 children in Mai-Ndombe Province (September 2017)
  • Provision of Vitamin A and Albendazol medication for 5 million children in the oil producing states of the Niger Delta, Nigeria (February 2018)[11]

Awards[]

Award of Excellence
Obafemi Awolowo University, Moremi Hall Executive Council, Ile-ife
Beautician of the Year
5th City People Award for Excellence
Excellence in Enterprise Award
Dr Kwame Nkrumah International Award, Ghana
Female Achiever of the Year, (2001)
City People Award, Nigeria
Humanitarian Service Award
Rotaract Club of Nigeria (Rotary International)
Merit Award
Lagos State Aids Control Agency Governor's Office (LSACA), Outstanding Nigerian Woman, Nigerian Women's Award, 5th Annual Ceremony
Young Manager of the Year (2005), Nomination
This Day newspaper, Nigeria
SheRose Awards (2018)
SheRose, Ireland

References[]

  1. ^ Jump up to: a b Onche Odeh (28 April 2018). "Why I Stopped Body Enhancements – Modupe Ozolua". Independent. Nigeria. Retrieved 30 September 2020.
  2. ^ "AS MODUPE OZOLUA TURNS 42". The Nation. 24 October 2015. Retrieved 30 September 2020.
  3. ^ "Modupe Ozolua:A life of service to humanity". My Lifestyle. 2 March 2016. Archived from the original on 14 May 2016. Retrieved 27 October 2016.
  4. ^ "Modupe". Online Nigeria. Retrieved 12 November 2014.[unreliable source?]
  5. ^ Jump up to: a b "Princess Modupe Ozolua with Empower 54, Sean Henry Founder/CEO of Stord and Tony Sakich Director of Marketing for Augur". Business RadioX. Retrieved 9 July 2018.
  6. ^ "Drop Dead Sexy Modupe Ozolua Still Rocks At 40". The Octopus News. 8 November 2011. Retrieved 25 July 2021.
  7. ^ Conference (14 April 2016). "Princess Modupe Ozolua, the Benin Kingdom, Nigeria makes Atlanta debut with spectacular African Art". Empower54. Retrieved 9 July 2018 – via PRLog.
  8. ^ "Children of Sambisa Forest 1 & 2 with new video footage", YouTube, Empower54, 1 July 2016, retrieved 9 July 2018
  9. ^ "Empower54's "Rise Above Terror...What Happens Next? The Exhibition-Abuja". Stelladimokokorkus. 25 October 2015. Retrieved 26 July 2018.
  10. ^ "Princess Modupe Ozolua brings Empowerment and healing through Art". Lenox+Parker. 15 April 2016. Retrieved 26 July 2018.[dead link]
  11. ^ Ben Bassey (2 August 2018). "Modupe Ozolua partners with Edo monarchs to help 271,000 children and women". Pulse. Nigeria. Retrieved 30 September 2020.

External links[]

"Official website". Empower 54.

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