By Tope Adeniyi, CEO of AXA Mansard Health Limited
In boardrooms and private conversations across Nigeria, successful people often speak with quiet confidence about healthcare. The assumption is understandable: if the need ever arises, we will handle it. We have the resources. We know the right people. We can travel. We can pay.
Leading Nigeria’s biggest Health Insurance Company over the past 10 years, I have come to see his confidence. While it is comforting on the one hand, it can sometimes be misleading.
Don’t get me wrong; money is powerful. But in healthcare, money isn’t equal to preparedness. That may sound surprising, especially to people used to solving problems with speed, influence, and financial muscle.
In business, those things often work. In healthcare, they are necessary but not always sufficient. A medical emergency does not behave like a delayed transaction or a complex negotiation. It has its own clock. It demands decisions under pressure. It tests not only what you can afford, but what you can access.
Unfortunately, many affluent Nigerians still think about healthcare in terms of payment. Can I afford the best hospital? Can I travel if needed? Do I have enough saved to manage any situation? These are valid questions, but they are incomplete. The more important questions are harder and more uncomfortable. If something serious happens, who is coordinating the next step? Where exactly do you go? How quickly can you get seen? What support does your family have while decisions are being made? What happens when urgency collides with uncertainty?
From my experience, this is where many assumptions begin to crumble under their own weight. I have seen that what unsettles families in a health crisis is often not just the cost. It is the confusion. It is the delay. It is the sudden discovery that being able to pay is not the same as being able to move quickly through a complex system. It is the emotional strain of trying to make the right decision when time is short and the stakes are deeply personal.
For many wealthy professionals, there is also a cultural instinct to believe that mobility itself is a plan. “If it gets serious, I will fly out.” But medical travel is not the same as medical readiness. Access to care is not merely about crossing borders. It is about entering the right system, at the right time, with the right coordination.
This is why I increasingly believe that healthcare should be viewed not as a discretionary lifestyle matter, but as part of serious life planning. Just as prudent people think about succession, liquidity, governance, and risk, they must also consider what happens when
health becomes fragile. Because when that moment comes, it is never only a medical issue. It can quickly become a family, business continuity, and, in some cases, a legacy issue.
The real question, then, is not whether successful Nigerians can pay for care. Many can. The real question is whether they are genuinely prepared for how healthcare actually works when life becomes uncertain.
In my experience, true preparedness is quieter than wealth. It is less visible than status. But in the moments that matter most, it is infinitely more valuable. This is why we have created iMED by AXA – an international health insurance plan that blends preparedness with your lifestyle. iMED doesn’t just give you access to healthcare anywhere in the world; it also matches your lifestyle. Learn more about iMED HERE.
