When Integrity Spoke Louder Than Corruption: The Unforgettable Legacy of Prof. Dora Akunyili
In 1998, when President Olusegun Obasanjo asked Prof. Dora Akunyili why she refunded £12,000 meant for her medical care as a staff of the Petroleum Trust Fund (PTF), her response was pure grandeur:
“Because whether we like it or not, to steal, especially from the poor, we will destroy everything and everyone.”
As the South-East Zonal Coordinator of the PTF under General Sani Abacha, Akunyili was diagnosed with a malignant tumor and was given £17,000 to undergo treatment in the UK. However, after a second medical opinion revealed it was only a minor bowel obstruction, she spent £5,000 on treatment and returned the remaining £12,000 to the PTF — a gesture unheard of in Nigeria’s public service.
When the news reached the then PTF Chairman, General Muhammadu Buhari, he invited her, commended her integrity, and presented her with a letter of appreciation. Years later, when President Obasanjo sought an incorruptible person to reform Nigeria’s chaotic drug market, Buhari recommended her. Despite political and ethnic pressures, Obasanjo appointed her as the Director-General of NAFDAC — and the rest, as they say, is history.
Dora Akunyili went on to clean up the pharmaceutical sector with uncommon courage, fighting counterfeit drug dealers at great personal risk. By the time she passed away, she had earned 820 awards, and by 2016, her husband discovered 110 more, bringing the total to 930 — the most ever received by any African.
Prof. Dora Akunyili was not just a public servant; she was a symbol of honesty, courage, and patriotism. In a world where corruption often reigns, her legacy reminds us that integrity still pays — and that true greatness lies in doing what is right, even when no one is watching.
Dora was indeed an Amazon — a rare gem in a generation where honesty has become a scarce virtue.
Comrade Abu Michael(P.Michael), is a social activist, theologian, policy political/political analyst, and blogger from Edo state.
