Chiodiogo Akunyili-Parr, one of the daughters of Dr Chike Akunyili who was gruesomely murdered by unidentified gunmen on September 28th, 2021 have written a heartfelt message about her dad.
Chidiogo, has recalled their moments on phone.
In the emotional message she posted on Instagram accompanied with various pictures of her and her slain dad, she also appealed that her dad’s death should be a call to everyone to find the good in them and do better concerning the security challenges facing the nation.
She wrote, “Ubuntu – ‘I am because we are’. If this holds true, then the man who pulled the trigger twice is because we are — his anger, the injustice of his action, and his violence are because it is mirrored in the world around him.
“If ‘I am because we are’, then my father’s pain gasping for breath in his last moments is because we as a nation are in pain.”
She further recounted how she and her dad have spoken just a day before he was gruesomely killed. A conversation that was centred on her mum and the award that was bestowed on her adding that the award would have been a lovely present for her birthday.
She continued. “He asked after his newest grandchild whom he had given the name Mmesomma — ‘the one who does only beautiful things’.
“And above all, he bemoaned the state of things in the country. As a surgeon, always frontline with the people’s suffering, he shared just how visible the current hardships were. Patients, he said, were no longer able to pay for care. It didn’t help, he added, that no one was safe.
“I asked him if he was being safe and he assured me that he was, going on to share that he never went out anymore And was sure to be home by 6. Convinced, I reminded him to be even more careful and to take care of himself”
She concluded, “We can choose a different path… this current one leads to more senseless death and pain for one too many.”
#chikeakunyili #iambecauseweare #remember”
