Dora Nkem Akunyili (14 July 1954 – 7 June 2014) was the Director-General of the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) of Nigeria from 2001 to 2008.
Early Life and Education
Dora Edemobi was born in Makurdi, Benue State, Nigeria, to Chief Paul Young Edemobi, who hailed from Nanka, Anambra State. She received her First School Leaving Certificate from St. Patrick's Primary School, Isuofia, Anambra State, in 1966 and had her West African School Certificate Examination (W.A.S.C) at Queen of the Rosary Secondary School Nsukka, Enugu State, in 1973, graduating with Grade I Distinction. Consequently, she won the Eastern Nigerian Government Post Primary Scholarship and the Federal Government of Nigeria Undergraduate Scholarship. She went on to study pharmacology at the University of Nigeria (UNN), graduating in 1978 and received her Ph.D. in ethnopharmacology in 1985.
Career
Akunyili served on several State Government Boards and was named Supervisory Councilor for Agriculture in a Local Government unit in Anambra State. She worked as a hospital pharmacist at the University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital (UNTH), Enugu State. In 1981, she became a Graduate Assistant in the Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, UNN. By 1990, she was a Senior Lecturer, and in 1996, she was made a Consultant Pharmacologist at the College of Medicine.
In 1996, Akunyili became Zonal Secretary of the Petroleum Special Trust Fund (PTF), coordinating projects funded by oil profits in Nigeria's South Eastern States. In 2001, President Olusegun Obasanjo appointed her as the Director-General of the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC).
NAFDAC
Akunyili served as NAFDAC DG from 2001 to 2009. She had a personal motivation for tackling the country's counterfeit drug problem, having watched her sister die in 1988 after being given fake insulin injections as part of her diabetes treatment. She led a team of mostly female pharmacists and inspectors, initiating a war against counterfeit drugs, which resulted in the closure of many open-air medicine markets across Nigeria. The agency, under her leadership, aired public awareness campaigns and regularly published lists of counterfeit products in newspapers.
In July 2003, the International Children's Heart Foundation visited Nigeria to operate on sick children at a teaching hospital in Enugu. After four children died due to counterfeit medical supplies, Akunyili confiscated supplies and found fake adrenaline, muscle relaxants, and infected intravenous drips. By June 2006, she had secured convictions for 45 counterfeiters with 56 cases pending. Her efforts significantly raised public awareness about counterfeit drugs and improved surveillance at Nigerian customs.
Assassination Attempt
On 26 December 2003, while traveling to Anambra State, gunmen fired on Akunyili's convoy. She narrowly escaped, with a bullet passing through her headscarf and windscreen. Prior to this incident, she and her family had received constant death threats. In 2014, at least six people were charged with conspiracy and attempted murder but were acquitted.
Politics
In 2008, Akunyili was appointed Minister of Information and Communications. She resigned from this position on December 16, 2010, to run for the Senate representing Anambra Central in the National Assembly. She ran for this position in April 2011 under the APGA but was defeated by Chris Ngige of the ACN. She contested the election results, sending a petition to the Independent National Electoral Commission.
Personal Life and Death
Dora Akunyili was married to Dr. Chike Akunyili, and they had six children: Ijeoma, Edozie, Somto, Njideka, Chidiogo, and Obumneme. In 2017, her daughter Njideka Akunyili Crosby was awarded the prestigious Genius Grant from the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation.
In 2012, her book, The War Against Counterfeit Medicine: My Story, was published. Dora Akunyili died at a specialist cancer hospital in India on 7 June 2014, after a two-year battle with uterine cancer. Her funeral took place on 27 and 28 August, attended by many dignitaries from within Nigeria and beyond, including former President Goodluck Jonathan and former Nigerian military ruler General Yakubu Gowon. She was laid to rest at Agulu in Anambra State.
Assassination of Chike Akunyili
On 28 September 2021, her husband Chike Akunyili was killed by gunmen in Nkpor, Idemili North Local Government Area of Anambra, on his way back from an event honoring his late wife organized by the University of Nigeria Nsukka Alumni Association (UNAA). The Federal Government of Nigeria alleged that IPOB was responsible for his death.
Awards
Dora Akunyili received over 900 awards throughout her career, the highest number ever received by any Nigerian. Some of the notable awards 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 – Silverbird Communications Ltd, Lagos
- Award of Excellence – Integrated World Services (IWS)
- Award of Excellence – Advocacy for Democracy Dividends International
- Meritorious Award 2005 – St. Michael's Military Catholic Church, Apapa, Lagos
- African Virtuous and Entrepreneurial Women Merit Award 2005 – African Biographical Network
- Award for the Best Government Parastatal – National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS)
- An Icon of Excellence Award – The African Cultural Institute and Zenith Bank PLC
- 2005 Grassroots Human Rights Campaigner Award – London-based Human Rights Defense Organization
- Most Innovative Director Award – Federal Government College, Ijanikin, Lagos
- Integrity Award 2003 – Transparency International