Dora Akunyili as a delegate at the National Conference and before her illness
Some people live to leave behind everlasting legacy, one of the people I have keen interest in what they lived for is Williams Shakespeare, a writer and poet. He had many quotes to his credit but I will just carve this write up around one which is succinctly suitable for the topic of discussion. It takes me several months before coming to term with this quote, “men live as if they will never die and died as if they had never lived”. The death of the former NAFDAC Director General and Minister of Information in India last week has brought this quote to back to my memory. It also brought to the fore what the woman stood for in her life time. I remember the time of Dora Akunyili as Director General at National Agency for Foods and Drugs Administration Control, the fear of Akunyili was the beginning of wisdom. There was no news caption on any media house around back then that will not feature one or more activities by the agency. In fact, she made NAFDAC looked like her own image, fake drug dealers were exposed right to the source. She followed many shady deals back to India, Germany and other countries where many atrocities perpetrated by Nigerians in alliance with their foreign partners against the Nigerian consumers were exposed to the world.
At
that time, much legislation was enacted to curb the future occurrence, no
wonder the successor(s) have been so anonymous. It is on record that she
survived many assassination attempts on her life and her family was not spared
by the mafias that feast on the pains of others. She was denied normal life of
being around her husband and children. I recall one of her numerous campaign
against fake and adulterated drugs on
Television where she was interviewed, Dora became emotional and broke down in
tears, decrying the lost of her normal lifestyle as a result of her service to
her fatherland. Nigeria is indebted to her. The support for her grew by the day
and it is no doubt she got encouragement from the appropriate quarter, the
masses. The masses rallied round her against the very few powerful but callous
people who called for her removal. She could not be removed by the government
of the day, so she was allowed to complete her term.
However,
Dora second stint in the corridor of power as the Minister of Information was a
blemish on her plain garment. It served to be banana peel for her, her
utterances and positions on some critical national issues brought out the fact
that we humans are truly imperfect. Dora fell flat at the aftermath of the
rerun election in Ekiti State in 2009. The election itself has become a sort of
national embarrassment and a rape on democracy before the power that be in
Abuja showed to the world that impunity reigns to the highest level in this
clime. I was devastated when Akunyili allowed herself to be used by the Federal
Government to truncate the people’s wish in Ekiti. She spearheaded the
abduction of the State’s Resident Electoral Commission chairman’s son. The REC
chair had tendered her resignation and taken to her heel when she realized that
it was practically impossible to play out in the aftermath of the rerun
election the script written for her from Abuja, she confessed that her religion
conscience did not allow such ungodly act. The former NAFDAC, our very own
Dora, threaten the woman with her only son and forced her to come out of her
hidden place. She also accompanied the REC, Madam Adebayo Ayoka, who rescinded
her resignation, back to Ekiti State where the script was read to the
astonishment of the people and keen watchers of political development across
the world. It has gone on to be Ayoka-gate in Ekiti State’s politic, but began
the journey into political oblivion of once vibrant woman in Nigeria, Dora
Akunyili. Dora became embarrassment to those who used her and she felt the
knock on her own head so soon. She left the Federal ruling party, People
Democratic Party and joined the ruling party in her state, APGA, where she
contested against Dr. Chris Ngige for senatorial seat at the National Assembly.
She lost.
It
is obvious that the goose has come home to roast. It is very easier to become a
political appendage in Nigeria than to be a force of reckoning, not much was
heard from Dora until her pale picture surfaced online. Alas! It was a
different Dora seen at the National Conference meeting going on in Abuja. Another
grapevine posited that she was dead but was rebutted forcefully by her media
aid and the woman also confessed that she had battle undisclosed illness and
she was back on her feet as we can see her representing her State, Anambra at
the National Conference as a delegate.
The
whole cover story did not last long. She was flown to India to treat cancer. Akunyili
died in the Indian Specialist Cancer Hospital on Saturday, June 7, after a
two-year battle with cancer. It was pathetic news for us, we had hoped for the
best but Dora completed the battle with a bow last week. She had passion for
the masses, which may be accounted for her readiness to serve her people. We need
to forget some things about our friends if we cherish our friendship with them,
no man is perfect. The incident at Ekiti should not deny this woman her place
in our national history, especially, when the transformation of health sector
is discussed. To Dora Akunyili, it’s goodbye. We pray that her family and
community will receive the fortitude to bear this loss of an illustrious
daughter and icon. She has closed her eyes and it will be like those round eye
balls were never twisted, indeed, “men live as if they will never die and die
as if they had never lived”.
