Chike Akunyili Omenyili, Agbalanze Na Agulu.
We are saddened about the death of our Uncle, Father, grandfather and brother. Chike has been aptly described by his children.
He was very proud of his dad Julius Okoye Akunyili and wanted to model him at all times.
He was a boy soldier who took a bullet for the Igbo nation. He was an excellent scholar and athlete who played soccer for the University of Nigeria. He was forgiving and as such less than 10 years after the civil war he was in Kaduna State as a National Youth Corp doctor serving excellently and being one of the few corpers awarded the National honour for meritorious service to Nigeria.
He was a doctor and healer who was a key member of the University of Nigeria Teaching hospital ED and he has taken care of many people involved in accidents, including victims of gunshot wound.
He was a husband that supported his wife full time. He was a dad who was ready to give up medicine which he loved when his son needed taking care of.
Omenyili meant a lot to me and my family – he was my Uncle, Father, Brother, Colleague, Mentor, Employer, and Friend all rolled into one person. He mentored me as a medical student and was there every step of the way for me and my wife, adopted all my friends from medical school into his family, supported me as a young doctor, was my rock when my mum and later my dad died. His love for Uche was special, and he always communicated with her and not “Nwoke Tattered Jeans”.
He loved people with all his heart and will sacrifice his comfort and his family’s to take care of others.
He was the bastion of the Akunyili family and gave willingly of his time, wisdom and resources for the family. He loved our hometown Agulu and wanted us to model excellence as Agulu indigenes. He loved the Igbo nation and Nigeria. He had been troubled by the economic and security situation in Nigeria, but was not willing to relocate to America where he could enjoy his grandkids because he knew he still had a lot to give.
Never could we imagine that such icon of Agulu and the Igbo nation could have struggled in Igbo land in the last minutes of his life with people watching, that an emergency medicine specialist who spent his time saving lives could die on the street with people videotaping without anyone moving to help.
His wisdom and unparalleled mastery of Igbo language is lost forever.
Our hearts are broken and bleeds. The family will continue in our spirit of service to mankind and your legacy lives on.
RIP Omenyili
RIP Agbalanze
Signed
Dr. Ike Akunyili
