Onche Godwin Daudu

I am a Dad of one, and originate from Nigeria. After working in the Hospitality and Retail industry for well over 26 years, rising to senior management level, COVID-19 redirected my life’s priorities. I decided to give back to a country and community that have been instrumental in my professional success.

I use the people-knowledge and skills from my previous life, along with my lived experience, to advocate on behalf of communities that have been historically marginalised (of which I am a member). 

Bringing change to policy and the level of service for underserved communities can only happen by working in collaboration with service providers and policy makers. Using a football analogy, I need to be on the field of play with the other players to influence the outcomes. But I also need to understand the decision the referee makes.

That’s why the invitation to join the OpenSAFELY project as a Critical Friend was a no brainer; it provides me with this opportunity. 

When we attend our meetings with the Bennett Institute and the OpenSAFELY team, having the  chance to express our views about this innovative project is rewarding. You realise that your opinions or objections really matter. To see that some of those views make it into final decisions is a huge privilege.

Meeting new people, and being in the company of very smart people is reward enough. But the attentive listening to our views by the OpenSAFELY team is very different from other previous groups; with OpenSAFELY we’re a team. I am a jazz (and music) enthusiast and have taught myself to play the Tenor Saxophone. I am also a qualified specialist counsellor and studied Policy Studies from the London Metropolitan University (known as North London Polytechnic in my day), and a reader of history. I believe knowledge of the past shapes the future if we take it seriously and learn from it.  But the essence of my life is being a Dad to my son; doing my best to be the example of the expectations I have of him, and through my community activism, leave a better world for him and his generation.