March 28, (THEWILL) – In honour of Mother’s Day, prominent herbal medicine practitioner and Founder, Quincy Wellness Centre, Quincy Olasumbo Ayodele and her daughter, US trained biochemist, Dr Tobi Keeney, who runs the Centre, speak with SHADE METIBOGUN about work, mother-daughter relationship and sundry issues. Excerpts:
How does it feel to see your daughter run Quincy Wellness Centre successfully?
It feels great! I feel privileged and I thank God to have at least one of my children who took an interest in my line of work and run it even beyond my expectations. You can be an engineer and all your children may just be interested in studying Law or Medicine or any other discipline. So to have at least one child that has the flair to learn something in line with your own discipline is a blessing. And I am grateful to God for it.
Before handing over the business to her, you must have had some concerns or entertained fear about the future
I was more concerned about the changing environment, the economic situation in the country, trends and current events and how that could affect my business. I was more concerned with how to handle and overcome those challenges than I was of handing over to her. This is because we were in the business together for at least 10 years before she took over. Quincy is a family business and I am just the face of the business. My entire family has been involved in the business in one way or the other since inception. Now my sons in-law are involved, too. So, this handing over thing happened 10 years ago. It is just being publicised now.
What is the most significant thing you have done to support your daughter in managing your business?
Apprenticeship, mentorship and guidance throughout the years, I would say, have been the most significant things I have done to support my daughter in managing the business. So, in essence, all-round support is the most significant thing that I have done for my daughter in handling the business.
If you were to give her one important piece of advice that you should have taken as a younger person, what would it be?
Be a problem solver. Be a solution provider first, then the money will come after.
What has been keeping you busy since she started managing Quincy Wellness Medical Centre?
Medical professionals and healers don’t retire. You must keep helping people to get better until you literally have no strength to heal anymore due to old age. There is a reason why people still seek out very old doctors for solutions to their health problems. We still have some rare or critical cases that my daughter needs to refer to me for guidance and knowledge. So, in terms of that, I am still working. Additionally, I am very involved with my grandchildren, and they keep me very busy. I have also noticed that as I got older, especially after turning 60, I have had to solve even more than health problems. Apparently I have also become an elder. I have found myself helping people with marital advice, business advice, child rising advice and even to be a prayer warrior to intercede on their behalf. In conclusion, I am busier than I ever have been.
Do some clients try to seek your attention instead of trusting your daughter to handle their health challenges?
I get that a lot. Like I mentioned earlier, healers don’t retire. Some cases still need to be handled or identified and solved by me. In natural medicine, you never stop learning. Each plant can have up to 100 active ingredients and we have hundreds of thousands of medicinal plants. So you can imagine the number of decades it will take to amass the vast wealth of knowledge necessary to know just 70 per cent of what is out there.
What is the best thing about being a grandmother?
Being a yummy grandmother is awesome. My grandchildren and I speak the same language and surf the Internet together. We can Facetime each other, enjoy the same food, travel together and can enjoy the same things together. So, I thank God that my father sent me to school when I was young so I can be able to relate with and spend quality time with my grandchildren now.
What do you think is the best approach to motherhood in the 21st century?
From raising my grandkids who are the generation Z and beyond, one must be very involved in their lives. You can’t leave your kids to domestic servants and nannies. You have to be there for them in all aspects of their lives, down to who their friends are. There is the social media and the Internet which is full of different things that I did not have to worry about when I was raising my kids in the 1980s and 1990s. Whatever your mother taught you at the age of 9, you have to teach your child at the age of 6 or even 5 years in this day and age, if not, something else will teach them for you and it can be the wrong way. Don’t approach your children as though they don’t know what is going on around them, they are very much more socially aware of life and current events than we were at their age.
What advice do you have for people who patronise traditional medical practitioners without knowing the fakes and real professionals in the business?
You must first identify who is a qualified traditional medical professional. We have degrees, certificates and licences from government bodies. We at Quincy Wellness Centre have degrees, licenses and certificates from both orthodox and traditional health institutions, since we are a fully integrated medical centre in accordance with WHO recommendations and Lagos State guidelines. It is better to patronise professionals who will not endanger their health and lives.
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