NI Episode 11: Akunyili's Bullets, Nwoko's Talents and English Premiership in Nigeria

://www.nigeriavillagesquare.com/images/stories/article_images_2/s2ep6.JPG style=width: 213px; height: 144px; class=display_img /]Dora Akunyili's war against the counterfeiters has brought her scalp-grazing bullets, but she insists that Nigerians are the most law abiding people in the world. She also talks about future plans, how she relaxes, her family etc. "Nigerians are good foll...Read the full article.

[Mango]

Best NI show, this one. Absolutely fantastic interviews! Incredible people!

[Uche Nworah]

why am i not a model scout? i would have signed/snapped up the presenter of this episode immediately. She should be competing in Nigeria's next top model if ever there was a show like that, following in the footsteps of Oluchi Onweagba and Agbani Darego.

[Sheffer]

Good work!

Very focused program indeed. Each interviewee touched upon the need for indigenous manufacturing as well as the capacity of Africans to run their institutions and agencies excellently without the input of overrated "foreign intelligence".

[EezeeBee]

Sheffer,

Thank you for this quote:

overrated "foreign intelligence".

It would appear you have the dubious distinction of being my ideological blood brother.

All I can say is Wow!

From begining to end I was insipired. I myself am a Nigerian-American teen who hopes to one day live and work in Nigeria. Seeing the work of Dora Akunyili only insipires me. If one person can be so brave and make improvements such as she...80% reduction....then surely I can hope to do the same.

I thank the prodcers of Nigerian Internaional a bundle for all of thier hard work. It shows and is a blessing to us Nigerian's living abroad.

Wow..absolutely spendid. Since the first day I set my eyes on the show, I have never missed an edition. Your programme is such an inspiration. You should endeavour to showcase your product on major media outfits so that you can reach more and more Nigerians and Africans.. I also hope the programme lasts the test of time - the world needs to see the other side of Nigeria.

overrated "foreign intelligence"

Well, can you blame us? Naijas come over here and they see 800 year old bridges still in excellent shapes, some opening and closing like convertibles; in Naija, if you are not careful over a 2 year old bridge in Okokomaiko or Igbara Odo, it may be till kingdom come straight...but jokes apart, I believe their 'intelligence' is not as bad as we want to believe.

We need to wake up if we do not want others insulting our intelligence. We are still fast asleep.

I BOW!

Prof. Dora almost had me in tears. Such Passion

I CONCUR!

I was just staring at the presenter like (((((((((WWWOWWW)))))))))). Such Elegance

Outdid yourselves with this one. I gathered you could use sponsors,
Here is an idea: Activate a paypal business account, with each release include your paypal link for a meager $1 donation. You have well over 500 views per episode, about 10 released, you do the math you could have millions.

I think that is the least we could do for you when presented with such quality features on our beloved country on a consistent basis. I would definitely contribute way more than a buck.

And thats my 2 cents

[Big-K]

The Akunyili interview was great. I've never seen a Nigerian public official tht passionat about her job.

OBJ did a good job indeed of surrounding himself with very good technocrats - Akunyili, Ngozi, Ifueko (who is one of Nigeria's best, I can testify), Ribadu, Soludo, etc etc. Thank you OBJ, but go in 2007.

A.Noni:
Thanks for that wonderful idea. We tried it before and we'll try it again, but many people just dont believe in supporting good things with their pocket. na wa

[antiobj2007]

Splendid interviews! Dora, undoubtedly is a gem.

[Nonyellum]

Great show; I like Dora's poise and infectious passion. I'm proud of her. She's done very well.

I like the pretty presenter. If this look is becoming acceptable in Nigeria, then there's hope for people like her. My mom used to look at me and sigh, like she had done something wrong by having a skinny daughter who was okay in every other way, except I was very slim. Thank God for changing attitudes.

Great show NVS.

[Picasso]

I guess Dora Akunyili's performance/track record (just like the late Olikoye Ransome-Kuti)is a classic example that an individual can deliver excellent quality work for the betterment of the masses under this rottenly corrupt administration without compromising ones core values and integrity. So do not be surprised if you see me running the Ministry of Petroleum Resources in the near future (wink wink).

Onos

[Nonyellum]

Good luck Onus, just don't compromize yourself. Get a plan on how to get rid of the multinationals. We should be like Venezuela, controlling our oil. Work on it.

[EezeeBee]

Originally Posted by ItsMe

I guess Dora Akunyili's performance/track record (just like the late Olikoye Ransome-Kuti)is a classic example that an individual can deliver excellent quality work for the betterment of the masses under this rottenly corrupt administration without compromising ones core values and integrity. So do not be surprised if you see me running the Ministry of Petroleum Resources in the near future (wink wink).

Onos

Indeed it is, Onos, and what I especially like is her REPEATED assertion that she's working with THOUSANDS of Nigerians who are doing the RIGHT thing! This interview is an example of just how important leadership is! Prof has succeeded in inspiring those working with her in NAFDAC to higher goals than the filthy lucre of illegal money.
Clearly, as long as one is not prepared to compromise, one CAN be an agent of positive change in Nigeria!

You will observe how Prof Akinyuli has managed to establish a system of RESPONSIBILITY, ACCOUNTABILITY and REWARD for good work within NAFDAC! Those are key ingredients for any improvement to be seen in our country. She is worthy of emulation and her principles must be promoted outside of her area of authority.

Onos, I'd support your bid to head the Petroleum Ministry; just ensure that there is FAIR use of the petroleum resources that will INCLUDE the people who hail from the areas of petroleum extraction. Please ensure that the companies doing business there take as much care of the Niger Delta region as they do of the Netherlands and other countries in which they make their money.

Absolute kudos to Nigeria International on a sterling job done! We eagerly anticipate the next episodes!

I was pretty impressed by the dedication and passion of Prof. Dora Akunyili. It gives me great personal satisfaction just to know that those types of people still exist in Nigeria today even in the face of great strife, corruption and maladministration being the norm. That she was willing to stay on after an assassination attempt shows her strength of character and I believe that beyond 2007, the next ASO Rock administration should utilise her many talents in another sector of the country.

Honestly speaking, I am far from being a fan of OBJ but his appointment of people like Dora, Soludo (I'm hoping for further consolidation beyond the N25b figure), Ngozi Iweala and Ribadu etc has slightly warmed my opinions towards him.

But let me clear about 2007 - OBJ must go! There are many reasons for this which i can't even begin to elucidate here but even if the constitution is amended to allow him to contest again, he should still go in 2007 - for the sake of our fragile nation. Nigeria must be able to come up with suitable candidates who have more drive and more ideas to aid the rapid development that we need to bring our dear federation, kicking and screaming, into the 21st century.

[Nonyellum]

Demas Nwoko, you're a tough act to follow. Such brilliance. Thank you for your tenacity, you make it seem so effortless, because you know what you're doing. You are a towerhouse of inspiration to us all.

Thanks again NVS.

[MrsChocT]

I've heard so much about Prof. Akinyuli and my goodness she's a woman of substance and I thank NI for this one on one piece with her. It was appealing to hear her own side of the story and feel the passion behind the reason she does such a formidable task.

A product of the Nigerian Education and the possibilities of the wind of change to come in Nigeria. How I wish we had more like her. Quite impressive, Madam NAFDAC...keep up the good work.. Prof. Dora you represent hope for many. May God continue to give you the strength to help your nation. I see qualities of the highest state office in this woman or does anyone beg to differ.

You can read more about this great intellectual at http://www.nafdacnigeria.org/dg.html

Now I am thinking we need to hear from Ngozi too. Madam Iweala wetin you dey do? We know what the honorable Prof. Dora does and why she does it ..ahemmm what do you do Ngo?



Culled from http://www.nafdacnigeria.org/news.html

Fighting Fake Drugs - Using honest women and fiery courage, a Nigerian pharmacist is taking on one of Africa’s worst ills: endemic corruption.
June 2 - She injected her insulin as usual and it killed her. Vivian Edomobi, a graduate student, died of hyperglycemia at age 23 in 1987 from a spurious drug—the vial was a worthless fake. And hers was far from an isolated case. At the time, well over half of the pharmaceutical drugs offered on the huge Nigerian market were counterfeit. Uncounted thousands of people died every year after taking medicine that contained useless or harmful ingredients. But this death was special in one way. The victim's sister, British-educated pharmacist Dora Akunyili, lectured at one of Nigeria's leading medical schools. To her, this was an especially excruciating violation of a public trust.

Akunyili now is winning a holy war against the killers in a crusade that speaks to one of Africa’s worst ills: endemic corruption. It’s a problem long-recognized by Western authorities. When Paul Wolfowitz took up his new post as head of the World Bank this week, he announced plans to lead an immediate mission to Africa. "Corruption is the biggest threat to democracy since communism," he warned. But it is homegrown activists like Akunyili who, by revolutionizing a moribund drug-regulation agency, is forging a paradigm for how deeply corrupt societies such as Nigeria’s can begin to turn around. Her success as leader of the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) also bodes well for a national anti-corruption drive that this year has begun reeling in official after official—the centerpiece of President Olusegun Obasanjo’s final two years in office. Akunyili is a profile in personal courage. Arsonists torched her agency’s offices and labs, and she herself narrowly survived three assassination attempts. Yet she fights on, leaving her fate to God. At the same time, her appointment to her post says volumes about her president’s sincerity. An outsider to NAFDAC, she normally would have stood no chance of being named its director-general in 2000. But an anecdote about her filtered up to Obasanjo from her home in the eastern hinterlands. A government-run development fund she served sent her to London in 1999 to undergo an expensive operation. There, she learned the surgery wasn't needed, and asked the hospital to return a Nigerian government check for $20,000. "Aren't you a Nigerian?" a hospital staffer asked her—and proposed to keep a percentage and give her the rest in cash. Instead, she took all the money back to Nigeria and returned it. Not long afterward, Obasanjo personally phoned to summon her to the capital.

Akunyili turned first to her own staff of 3,000 pharmacists, technicians and enforcement officers scattered around the nation of 130 million people. Those who weren't totally demoralized were using their regulatory authority to extort bribes. "We were prisoners," said Ijeoma Chinaka, 41, a chief regulatory officer. Agents would seize whole containers of fake drugs only to see the drugs put back on the market after a VIP intervened on behalf of the importer. Akunyili weeded out incorrigible grafters and began to offer the rest incentives—foreign training, modern lab equipment, respect. Most stayed on. "When the leadership is dynamic, positive, the people can't help but shape up," says Okechukwu Ogbonna, deputy director of NAFDAC's testing labs in Kaduna. After the arsonists set them on fire last year, temporary quarters were established to house state-of-the-art testing gear. The attacks and nearly 100 public incinerations of seized drugs helped the vibrant Nigerian press spread word of the danger—and to encourage consumers to blow the whistle on wrongdoers.

After drug importers failed to bribe or intimidate Akunyili, kingpins in the drug trade allegedly tried to take her out. Her closest call came in December 2003, as she drove in a four-car convoy to her home village in eastern Nigeria. Six gunmen opened fire; a bullet pierced her headscarf and grazed her scalp. Police arrested—then allegedly executed—five of the attackers. The sixth spent a year on the run before turning himself in to federal authorities. He implicated Chief Francis Okoye, chairman of an association of medicine dealers who run the huge Onitsha open-air drug market in the east, and another leading dealer. Acting on his testimony, authorities arrested both businessmen. They deny the charges. "God indeed saved my life," Akunyili testified at a preliminary hearing in the case. A devout Roman Catholic, she says her proudest moment came when she learned that Pope John Paul II had offered prayers on her behalf.

Big K,

the NVS international docoumentaries are very educative. And the topics and issues you have chosen to concentrate on are spot on. However I must warn you that trying to educate Nigerians can be a very very thankless affair. For this reason my appeal to you is to continue to use the NVS documentaries to keep concentrating on issues like Nigerians abroad going back to Nigeria to start businesses, and technological advancement of Nigeria led by Nigerians. Of course there is also the issue of cultural awareness and development which is equally important. So my brother, STAY THE COURSE, and use NVS International to deliver powerful educational messages. It is a very worthy venture indeed.

[Anike]

I have to say that Dora has made a believer out of me. I'm scared that I may be part of the next generation of Dora Akin..'s placard carrying followers. From what I see here, it seems like she knows her onion and is not ready to compromise.

The fact that she does not see a need for foreigners in order to attain stability/discipline speaks volume about her commitment to Nigeria. Great!

I think she'll make a goog President but I hope I'm not being overly sentimental.