Late Professor Dora Nkem Akunyili
Former Director General of National Agency for Food and Drugs Administration and Control (NAFDAC)
Professor Dora Nkem Akunyili (OFR) was born in Makurdi, Benue State on July 14, 1954, to Chief and Mrs Paul Young Edemobi, but was brought up in Nanka, Anambra State of Nigeria. She was blessed with six children and three grandchildren.
Her educational career began when she passed the First School Leaving Certificate Exams with distinction at St. Patrick’s Primary School, Isuofia, Anambra State in 1966, and the West African School Certificate Exams with Grade 1 distinction in 1973 from Queen of Rosary Secondary School, Nsukka, both in Nigeria. Her exceptional grades in both exams earned her the Eastern Government Post Primary Scholarship and the Federal Government of Nigeria Undergraduate scholarship.
Professor Dora Akunyili kick-started her pharmaceutical career as a Hospital Health Care Provider from 1978 to 1981 at the University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital (UNTH), Enugu. Afterwards, she worked as a Graduate Assistant (Research Fellow) at the College of Pharmaceutical Sciences, UNN, from 1982 to 1986.In the university system, she advanced steadily from Lecturer 1 in 1986 to Senior Lecturer in 1990. She was transferred to the College of Medicine, UNN, in 1992, where she was appointed Consultant Pharmacologist in 1996, a position she held until April 12, 2001. She was also a part-time lecturer at the West African Postgraduate College of Pharmacists, Lagos, Nigeria from 1992 to 1995, because of her love for teaching and nurturing young people.
Prof. Akunyili was a postgraduate fellow of the University of London and a fellow of the West African Postgraduate College of Pharmacists. She was also a fellow of the Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria, a member of the New York Academy of Science, International Narcotics Control Board, United States Pharmacopeia Expert Committee, Association of African Medicinal Plant Standards, Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition, Medicines for Malaria Venture and International Council Control.
As a Scientist and Scholar, she presented more than 20 research papers at various local and international scientific conferences and published a book and 18 journal articles.
In 1988, Akunyili lost her sister to a bogus insulin injection and that was the motivation she needed to fight against fake and non-standard food and drugs.
President Olusegun Obasanjo decided to name a Director-General for NAFDAC in 2001 and asked for the advice of an honest Nigerian pharmacist. Akunyili’s name came up easily. Opposition and protests were raised against the president that the minister of health at the time; Professor ABC
Nwosu, was from the same state as Akunyili. Nevertheless, President Obasanjo dismissed the findings and appointed Akunyili in April 2001, the Director-General of NAFDAC.
She served as Director-General of the National Agency for Food and Drugs Administration and Control (NAFDAC) from 2001-2008 where she recorded outstanding successes. She brought in a new culture of excellence and honesty and as a result, the level of fake and counterfeit drugs in circulation dropped by a measurable degree. Her influence also infused the culture of excellence and honesty to NAFDAC and the entire Nigerian public service. As a result, the level of fake and counterfeit drugs in circulation dropped to 16.7 percent with vast improvement in the food and other regulated sectors.
From December 2008 to December 2010, she worked as the Honourable Minister of Information and Communications, Federal Republic of Nigeria. As the Honourable Minister, Prof. Akunyili anchored the Re-branding Nigeria Project driven by the slogan, ‘Nigeria Good People, Great Nation’. The programme was conceived as an internal process to address Nigeria’s negative image both at home and abroad.
Prof. Akunyili has proved her versatility in all areas of human endeavour as she also ventured into politics when she aspired to serve her own people in Anambra State as a Senator of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. She resigned her appointment as Minister of Information and Communications on December 16, 2010, after two years of service to run for office as Senator representing Anambra Central in the National Assembly for the APGA in April 2011 but was defeated by Chris Ngige of the ACN. She immediately sent a petition to the Independent National Electoral Commission disputing the result. On the 13th of July, 2013, while preparing to travel to the United States of America to receive an award the next day she fell ill. However, she still travelled and that was where she was diagnosed with uterine cancer.
She has gained both local and international recognition and has won numerous awards for her work in pharmacology, public health and human rights.Prof. Akunyili, during her lifetime, had the highest number of awards-930 received by any Nigerian living or dead, some of which include; Order of the Federal Republic, OFR, Time Magazine Award 2006 ("One of the eighteen heroes of our time"), Person of the Year 2005 Award, Award of Excellence – Integrated World Services (IWS), December 2005, Award of Excellence – Advocacy for Democracy Dividends International, 2005, African Virtuous and Entrepreneurial Women Merit Award 2005 – African Biographical Network, An Icon of Excellence Award – The African Cultural Institute and Zenith Bank Plc, 2005, Integrity Award 2003 – Transparency International and more.
Her last public appearance was at the National Conference in Abuja in 2014. News of Prof. Akunyili’s death hit the nation on the 7th of June 2014. She died of uterine cancer in India at 59. Even in death, Akunyili has earned the respect of many, both at home and abroad, and this could be attributed to the number of awards she did receive at national and international levels. It was this great achievement that won her the portfolio as a full cabinet minister in both Presidents Yar'Adua and Jonathan administrations.
In August 2021, Prof. Akunyili’s daughter, Chidiogo Akunyili-Parr announced that a book on her mother’s story titled ‘I am because we are; An African mother’s fight for the soul of a nation’ would be available for publication on 4th January 2022.
Sources: Biography.hi7.co, Princeton University, wikipedia, historyville.
