There was a Dora: A tribute

EXACTLY two years ago, precisely on June 7th 2014, a day after my

birthday, in far- away India, the cold hands of cancer snatched my

second mother, former NAFDAC DG and Minister of Information and

Communications, Professor Dora Nkem Akunyili, OFR. She was 59. For me,

she was a mother of the motherless, activist in government, a

courageous turn-around expert, uncommon anti -fake drug czar,

anti-corruption crusader, a disciplinarian, a compassionate public

servant and a devout Christian of catholic faith!

Going by what I know about her medical history, particularly her

proactive regular medical check- ups abroad, it was difficult for me

to accept her passing. Even after I had joined her husband, siblings,

and her former governor, Mr. Peter Obi to deposit her remains at the

National Hospital mortuary, Abuja, it was difficult to grapple with

the irredeemable reality of her death. I continued to wallow in this

state of disbelief even after she was laid to rest on August 28, 2014

in her Agulu country home, (Anambra State). I waited in vain for a

miracle. I had thought that one day, I would see her. Two years down

the line, when her early morning calls ceased coming, I accepted the

reality of her death. Indeed, I now know I can only see Dora in the

hereafter because there is life after death!

I joined Dora on the 6th of January 2009 as one of her media aides.

Before I got to her office on the eight floor of Radio House, Garki,

Abuja, she was already on her table treating files and dishing out

instructions to staff of the Federal Ministry of Information and

Communications. I had thought that she would be struggling to fully

settle down to work having been sworn in as minister in December 2008.

But I saw a confident and passionate woman who took charge of her

responsibility as if she had held the portfolio for years! She had

commissioned a media guru and a well-respected editor to hunt for a

Special Assistant that would manage her image. Though I had been

interviewed and selected for the job by the consultant and my CV sent

to her, Dora still went ahead to interview me. She then congratulated

me after our interaction and allotted an office to me that same day. I

was lodged in Chida International hotel, Utako until I was given a

place in Wuse 2 both in Abuja. One thing that struck me on the 6th of

January was that apart from me, many journalists were recommended by

her kinsmen and friends in the media industry to work with her even

for free. And those who couldn't pass the Dora test left unhappy

because many professionals especially journalists wanted to manage

Prof. Akunyili to among other things, tap from her media savvy and

fountain of knowledge.

She was very close to her aides and staff of the ministry; she even

called us by our first names. She called me Francis my son. In spite

of her busy schedules, she kept tab with our birthdays and

congratulated us on our birthdays, in some cases, bought gifts for us.

It was also on record that as minister, she personally wrote letters

to senior journalists and correspondents covering the ministry on

their birthdays. The letters were also followed by birthday gifts.

This superb public relations sense, passion for Nigeria, uncommon

courage, brilliance, industry, syllogism and patriotism endeared her

to Nigerians and made her the reporters delight any day. Unknown to

many Nigerians, this was why President Umar Yar' Adua of blessed

memory appointed Dora the spokesperson of the Federal Government of

Nigeria. And she used her goodwill and towering image at NAFDAC to

shore up the battered image of the government, having been produced by

the controversial 2007 general elections, conducted by Prof. Maurice

Iwu's INEC and adjudged to be a charade.

The negative image of Nigeria at the time and Dora's love for

fatherland propelled her to initiate an image programme, tagged

National Rebranding Campaign. Her target was to reposition the image

of the federal government and restore the dignity of the Nigerian both

locally and internationally so that the green passport could be taken

to the bank. The campaign came with a bang but not without efforts of

some Nigerian brand eroders who did so much to return Nigeria to

Egypt! Whether the campaign achieved the set target is an issue for

another day. What was however glaring was that there were conscious

attempts at attitudinal change, re-orienting Nigerians and Nigeria had

a brand new logo: Nigeria, good people, great nation. And many

scholars across the globe wrote their thesis on Rebranding Nigeria.

Dora's exploits in the ministry earned her local and international

awards and attracted positive stunt to the country in those days

before her successor, Mr. Labaran Maku who had endorsed Rebranding

when he was her junior minister suddenly jettisoned Rebranding with a

wave of the hand. What a country of discontinuity!

I enjoyed every bit of my association with her. Dora cared about my

family. She facilitated the employment of her female personal

assistants and our spouses who had no job at the time before she threw

in the towel in December 2010 to contest the senatorial election in

Anambra State. She asked for a 'favour' from me before we left the

ministry which was that I should name my daughter after her which I

did. I could see the happiness on her face when she attended the

naming ceremony in June 2013.

Prof. Dora Nkem Akunyili was born into a family of workaholic,

baptized and ushered into hard work. Hard work, passion, uncommon

courage and her creativity were the propelling forces which enabled

her to safeguard public health at NAFDAC, rebrand Nigeria and indeed

turned around every institution she was privileged to superintend!

Dora, my daughter's name sake was an international figure and a

workaholic of inestimable proportion. I remember those days of

rebranding, Abdulmutalab terrorism saga and the President Yar'Adua

health crisis. We would work round the clock and retire to bed at

ungodly hours. But by 6;00 am, when people of her age should still be

sleeping, Dora would be on her feet working, calling me on phone to

wake up to continue working. For this departed amazon, the reward for

hardwork was more and more work! Having worked with her closely till

death did us part, I know she loved mankind and served Nigeria with

passion, served the nation dutifully and died on a national service at

the National Conference as a soldier in her boot!

Many Nigerians still remember how she averted the looming

constitutional crisis in the President Yar'Adua days through her

letter, urging the Federal Executive Council to pass a resolution to

make the then Vice President, Dr. Goodluck Jonathan, acting president

pending the recovery of Yar'Adua. This show of uncommon courage

further endeared her to world leaders and earned her the sobriquet:

hero of constitutional democracy.

We cannot question God on this unfortunate loss to humanity. Nigerians

should Weep not for Akunyili for she played her part extremely well.

She was simply a change agent on our planet and not many change agents

are fortunate to die at the ripe age. But my consolation is that there

is life after death and I believe, Dora, my mother who fondly called

me ''my son'' will continue to render selfless service in the

hereafter!

My only regret is that she didn't live for my daughter, Dora to know

her and tap from her tank of knowledge. Two, she passed on at a time

when religion and ethnicity had more than ever before become the

deciding factors in Nigerian politics. Now that Dora is dead who will

now speak truth to power and the secessionist groups springing up in

today's Nigeria? Three, her vision, the Drug Mart in Bayelsa State

will be commissioned in Yenagoa without the cameras beaming on her

elegant face. Oh death, thou is truly a bad reaper! Dora conceived the

Drug Mart project to phase out fake drugs and substandard products

from the market in her days as DG NAFDAC but no government had the

political will to execute it until the Governor of Bayelsa State, Hon.

Henry Seriake Dickson came to judgement and funded it. Four, she would

have loved to live to see the Chibok girls released from captivity and

peace returned to Nigeria. Five, her pet project, National Rebranding

project was abandoned by her successors; and the resultant effect of

it is that, Nigeria of today is more divided than when there was a

Dora!

The lesson to be drawn from Dora's demise is that: death is no

respecter of persons. The Federal Government of Nigeria must

immortalise Dora so that her spirit will live on. And the best way to

do this is to name a national institution after her, deepen democracy

with its attendant dividends, properly safeguard our public health and

of course, release the Chibok girls.

Mr. Francis Agbo, SA Media Relations to Governor Dickson of Bayelsa

State was SA Media to Prof. Akunyili.