When President Olusegun Obasanjo asked Prof Dora Akunyili why she refunded £12,000 meant for her medical care to her employees at PTF In 1998,
Her reply was GRANDEUR:
“Because whether we like it or not, to steal, especially from the poor,we will destroy everything and everyone”
As the Coordinator of the South East Zone of late General Sani Abacha’s Petroleum Trust Fund (PTF) in 1998, Mrs Akunyili was diagnosed with Malignant Tumor, and she needed to seek medical attention in the UK. The treatment would cost £17,000 and her employers, the PTF, headed by General Buhari, decided to foot the bill and handed her £17,000 in an open Cheque. She made the trip.
But when she got there, she first requested a second diagnosis and pre-surgery examination. After the test it was discovered she only had a minor bowel obstruction. With consultation and treatment done, the balance left with her was £12,000. Now, the question is,what happens to the remaining £12,000?
Well, In the Nigeria’s public sector, such money is not refunded. No one refunds government money-absolutely-NO-ONE. Even if refunding is an obligation, it is a matter of claiming that the surgery actually took place. But not Akunyili. She voluntarily refunded the surgery money.
The news got to the Chairman of the PTF, General Muhammadu Buhari. The General called her to his office and handed a letter of commendation to her. It was a rare case of honesty in Nigeria’s public service.
Shortly, When Chief Olusegun Obasanjo became the President and reportedly needed someone he can trust to clean the mess in Nigeria’s drug market, news got to him from Buhari himself, that there was one honest Nigerian pharmacist that should be able to do the job.
The story of her honest act in PTF was told to Obasanjo and Obasanjo decided to go with her, defying advice from some people within presidency who believed that being an Igbo woman, Akunyili was the last person to be considered for the job of cleaning a market dominated by her tribesmen. The rest is history. We all know what happened!
During her lifetime, she received 820 awards. In 2016, two years after her death, her husband discovered 110 more (930). No other Africa has won more.
Dora was an Amazon!
