What Is Wrong In Naija? Has Akunyili Lost It?

What Is Wrong In Naija? Has Akunyili Lost It?
Posted: November 23, 2010 - 15:11

Dr. Kenneth Ngwoke- Queen's University Belfast,UK

I have never met her but like many Nigerians, I admired her to heavens. The closest I have come to her was during a conference where she presented a paper on behalf of the then PCN Chairperson.

She was a ‘nobody’ but her presentation was characteristically personalised even though she was deputising for someone. Her strong personality and independence was etched in every letter of each word she uttered. However, as an active member of the PSN, she made a strong case against drug counterfeiting which was the theme of the conference. Akunyili was part of the delegation sent to Obasanjo to request that the next NAFDAC chairman should be a pharmacist. She was later to become the next NAFDAC chairperson. Naively, I thought as at then that her appointment was due to the strong and articulate presentation she made against counterfeiting. I was later to find out she was recommended by someone who she worked with at PTF. The recommendation according to reports was based on the claim that she returned £12,000 out of £13,000 to the government after a surgical operation she was meant to undergo was ruled out as not necessary. Even this revelation would have forced her enemies into admiration. I was already a fan so you will understand if I told you that I was turned from a fan to a fan-atic of ‘Akunyili will never go wrong’.

Do I need to tell you what she did as the NAFDAC boss?I don’t think so and if you do not know, I cannot help you with this write-up. However the summary of her reign is that she was a dreaded name among the counterfeiters and terror to their accomplices. Her courage was inspiring and her fight against drug counterfeiting exemplary and unprecedented. Her fierce and fearless head-on collision with those rogues and the visible success she achieved carved a niche for her in the international community as well as at home.

The goodwill she enjoyed from all Nigerians with the exception of drug counterfeiters and the likes of the late Godfather of Ibadan politics was phenomenal. Akunyili was synonymous with integrity.

The chess masters in the late Yar’Adua’s administration saw the goodwill she enjoyed and decided to tap into her good name to spice up the sour and illegitimate dish called the Yar’Adua Government because they were desperate to add an element of credibility to a government that had none. She was appointed the information minister to the dismay of many Nigerians –well except the doctors.

I thought like the Akunyili I knew, she would reject the position and head back to UNEC because it was like putting a square peg in a round hole. She happily accepted the position. Remember I was a fan-atic so, I said alright, she could do no wrong. I found a way to excuse her saying she is never a quitter and a resignation is not always the best option after all I had once advised a VP of PANS to resign in protest, an action which I later regretted. I do not mean that she would have listened to me even if I had advised her ;)

The first major test on her integrity as the information was the election saga and the disappearance of INEC commissioner in Ekiti state where Akunyili, functioned effectively as the mouthpiece of an illegitimate government by spewing fallacy. To add salt to injury, she even went as far as threatening the woman involved. I can’t remember if I was able to close my mouth when I first read the story. It was long time ago sha and growing old so I am allowed to forget.

However, when the issue of foreign presidency in Nigeria came up late last year, she spoke up and I thought, maybe she has not lost her mojo after all. Others said she was trying to redeem her battered image while senator Bello and the likes thought she was merely selfish. Unfortunately the little excitement


I had was killed prematurely by subsequent happenings.

Akunyilli was talking to the press without thinking and her manner of press interviews were far removed from the articulate, intelligent and authoritative presentation I listened to in 2001. I excused her for not being a ‘politician’ but how long can I excuse my Idol.

What on earth was she thinking when she condemned the use of Naija by Nigerians to refer to themselves and Nigerian issues? That is a personal issue which should not be made a national issue in the name of rebranding just because one has access to the press.

Nigeria is a name given to this contraption by an alien. Does she mean that we have no right to call our self what we like? Is it the same mentality of everything foreign is superior? The interpretation of her utterance will mean that any local name will remove the class bestowed upon us by wealth grabbing and selfish colonial masters? May be that’s why my Dora was defending the importation of waste bins from UK when we have the likes of GP in the country. In 2001, Dora would kick against that. In fact in 2008 she would have fought against the proposition. Otherwise how could one explain the high registration tariff or outright ban she imposed on importation of OTC drugs that could be produced adequately in Nigeria while she was the NAFDAC boss? Prof., did you just remember that made -in -Nigeria goods and names are not classy? What class are we even talking about anyway?

Is it the class of a politician who finds nothing wrong in embezzling the fund meant to build a road leading to his father’s house while he derives comfort in riding on SUVs through chains of potholes connected by gullies from where he looks down with scorn on the poverty stricken villagers whose money he has stolen or the class of a ten year old who at such a tender age thinks it is right to steal N1bn if he is elected into a position of authority in order to build a gigantic giant-in-the-cemetery like house like our present public office holders? Shall we talk about the class of a mother who thinks it is right to promote her nursery school child even when the baby failed or the class of a father who will pay for her child to sit for WAEC exam in a special centre whilst he is fully in the know of the implication? May be she was referring to the class of a house of rep members that blatantly refused to pass the freedom of information bill for fear of being exposed for they really are or better still the class of an undergraduate student who cannot string a sentence together nor possess any employable, entrepreneurial or innovative skill but wants to own a private jet overnight with no dint of hard work?

A systematically classless society where the thought process has been maligned by the desire for immediate gratification and wealth accumulation by all means, a country where the sense of achievement is judged by how much money one can accumulate through stealing, robbery and fraud that starts from the presidency down to the Yahoo boys and a people that have inadvertently assumed a false identity synonymous with corruption eagerly needs the help of a NAFDAC-BOSS-like madam minister of information. Ma, the word Naija gives us an identity, pride, a sense of belonging and oneness which patches the crack occasioned by ethnicity. Have you heard of the phrase ‘ you be naija?’ before? A yes answer is given by a northerner as well as a southerner and that is priceless.

Madam Akunyili, our minds not nomenculature need reformation and rebirth and the last time I checked, the duty of national orientation lies under your ministry. Remember the jingles of your NAFDAC days madam (saying this with Anambra assent) and the wonders they did. Engage the youths and change their thought process. Engage the public and change their perception about voting and wealth. Tell them to make their vote count. Let them know that they can demand accountability from elected officers and appointees such as yourself. Pharm Akunyili, we need a national rebirth and that rebirth process will be conceived in your board room and the public mind will be the labour room. Professor, these will keep you busy and will make your desire to rebrand a reality. You do not rebrand by criticizing a name that unites and gives a sense of belonging. You rebrand by repairing and rejuvenating a warped and corrupt thought process to make it straight and positive. The durability of a building is derived from the quality of the building blocks and the strength of the foundation and not from the paint colour. Ihe nkapi ji esi isi di ya n’ahu.

I be Naija, everybody say Naija!!!!!!!!!!!!! Say Yes Naijaaaaaaaaa.

Culled from Sahara reporters : http://www.saharareporters.com/article/what-wrong-naija-has-akunyili-lost-it?nocache=1#comment-146255