By Bimbola Segun-Amao
The spirited Dora Akunyili is dead.
She was born in Makurdi , Benue State as Dora Edemobi on July 14, 1954 into the family of Chief and Mrs Paul Young Edemobi. Dora attended the University of Nigeria, Nsuka, where she made first class in pharmacy in 1978 and PhD in 1985.The deceased was elevated to the rank of professor of Pharmacology in October 2000 by UNN, where she taught for many years. She was appointed director-general of NAFDAC in April 2001, a position from which she served notoriously, sanitising the country of fake drugs and contraband food items. Before her time at NAFDAC, NAFDAC was an existing non-functioning body as Nigeria was a dumping ground for substandard foods and drugs. In a hugely tribe-conscious country, Dora Akunyili waged a war on the unwholesome business interests of her own people when she closed down Onitsha Market for many months due to the heavily presence of sub-standard products. AS NAFDAC DG, she would go on air at radio stations in Anambra and beg her people to stop importing or producing fake drugs.
Very few Nigerians have bestrode public service with the same passion and sense of patriotism like Prof Dora Akunyili, she was reported to have returned a $12,000 health allowance to PTF for a surgery she was meant to have but discovered unnecessary in 1998. Dora took on the challenge of getting rid of substandard product without leaving any stone untouched. For her, it was like fighting in a war and one that almost cost her life as assassination attempts were made at her. She left the DG position of NAFDAC in 2008, and wrote a book in 2010 on her ordeals at NAFDAC ‘The war against Counterfeit Medicine…My Story’.
Professor Dora became the darling of the commoners; she was simply Dora to many, a defender of public health and food safety. Everyone would ask before buying or consuming ‘is this drug/food NAFDAC approved?’
She was Minister of Information from December 17, 2008 – December 15, 2010, and was responsible for The Rebranding Nigeria Project with the slogan ‘Nigeria, Good People, Great Nation. A woman with strong convictions and a firm unwavering voice for uprightness, Dora challenged her colleagues to do the right thing and swear in the acting president in 2010 after President Umar Yar’adau passed on. She left government in 2010 to contest election for Anambra Central Senatorial seat on the ticket of All Progressives Grand Alliance then lost to Dr Chris Ngige.
Dora was properly diagnosed of cancer in July 2013 (she was misdiagnosed in 1998, read here ) and lost the battle for her dear life in the morning of 7th June, 2014 in an India Hospital.
Posterity will be kind to Professor Dora Akunyili, an Amazon once lived here.