Dear
Aunty Dora
It
is with great concern that I
write this letter , and I hope it gets to you, in a better state of
health than you were at the time it was being written.
My
short letter directly pertains to your present health condition and of course,
your presence at the National Conference.
I feel deeply obliged to write you this letter because of the love and respect I
developed for you during your reign as Director General of NAFDAC.
To
me, and a host of other sane minded Nigerians, you remain the best human ever
to have been appointed by any Nigerian government, both Federal and State
alike. You were an epitome of responsibility, diligence and good change.
Your commitment to the course presented our heavily blighted nation with an
ember of hope in a pitch dark tunnel.You gave us a reason to believe that with
a few more of your kind, redemption for Nigeria lurks around the corner.
You
also set a convincing precedent and of course proof of the fact that women, if
given the chance, could outshine the bulk of our chauvinistic male folks who
egotistically feel leadership and governance in Nigeria is a boys only fiesta. The
enormity of your impact can be better felt considering the fact that most
Nigerians (myself inclusive) sparsely knew about NAFDAC until you came on the
scene. Even now, the acronym has gradually ceased from being a household name
to a "just another government parastatal”- back to the way it was before
your tenure. That sufficiently lays credence to your accomplishments as its
boss. It is even most amusing that we no longer hear of illegal ice cream
industries, sachet water manufacturing companies, drug stores, to name a few. All
those news now seem non-existent. Is it that fake food and drug manufacturers
have repented, or turned a new leaf or that they have ceased to exist at
Onitsha, Aba and Lagos or even Ibadan? Or could it be that the present NAFDAC set up frowns
against such publicities? That I know is most unlikely. So, it leaves me with
one conclusion, NAFDAC is not as active as it was during Aunty Dora’s time.
I
recall how much the word “NAFDAC” and “NAFDAC Inspectors” used to send chills
down the spines of manufactures of drugs and food. The phrase “NAFDAC Number”
was on the lips of everybody. Yes! Everybody! What happened to the radical
campaigns against bromate in bread, mercury and hydroquinol in body creams?
Personally,
for a quintessential woman like you, I still bear my reservations about what Anambra
state must have denied themselves of when they chose not to allow “a woman
lead them”.
Having
said all these, I’ll plunge straight into what necessitated this letter; your
current state of health and your apparent insistence
to attend the confab.
Granted,
patriotism is a noble idea, and it takes only a stoic, an amazon of a rare
breed to do it the way you have done in the past few years. That notwithstanding,
seeing you at the confab really gave me and a couple of your fans and well wishers a lot to ponder on. It was torturously
difficult to see the once healthy and physically strong woman you were now lost
in rather shocking deterioration- A perfect replica of a brown skinned African
woman. For a while, I doubted myself and questioned the wellness of my eyes.
Aunty, we love it that
you love our nation even to the point of risking your own health, but please, it
would do us great damage to see you get hurt in the event that you fail to take
proper care of yourself because anything done in excess is a passport to tragedy. If for anything, my beloved mum sings your praise every day
like you’re the best thing that has ever happened to Nigeria during your short
reign as NAFDAC boss. I can’t even imagine the amount of hurt she’ll go through
if she finds out about your current condition.
Like
the local saying goes, “Soldier go;
soldier come, barrack remain”. Nigeria would always be here for you to come
back strong and healthy to continue your diligent struggles and contributions
to her growth and betterment. But, it is
of extreme importance that you take a while off to take proper care of yourself,
if for anything else, your family and of course, my aging mother who sees you
like her Ada. Also, your efforts
towards a better Nigeria would no doubt be a light years more effective if done
with a clean bill of health and in a physically fit state.
Finally,
and most importantly, I hope the good Lord continues to answer the prayers of a
host of Nigerians praying for your recovery and overall well being in the
shortest possible time. We shall all continue to have our “Madam Nafdac” in our
prayers and with that; it is easy to see that there will surely be joy in the
morning.
May
God continue to bless you, your household and our beloved Nation Nigeria which you
have worked assiduously to improve.
