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Autobiography of Founder and 1st President of Anambra Association of Canada Dr. N. T. C. Agulefo, M.D., L.M.C.C., D.P.H. (Age is truly wisdom)

Dr. Agulefo was born on November 1st 1926 in Ogidi, Anambra State, Nigeria.

His godfather was a Catechist priest, who was the father of Professor Chinua Achebe

Dr. Agulefo attended (DMGS) Dennis Memorial Grammar School, a renowned secondary school in Nigeria. His principal at the time was Rev. E.D.C. Clark.

Dr. Agulefo received a Grade One Exemption upon graduation from DMGS from the London Matrix Exam. After he graduated from DMGS in 1946 (if I may note when many of us here today were either in diapers or unborn) he worked as a staff clerk under his late father-in-law Mr. Benedict Ilongwo Obierika.

After working with Nigerian railways for two years, he received help from the late

Dr. K.O. Mbadiwe who provided him with a guarantor document to attend at Finlay College in Ohio, U.S.A. He then left from the docks in Lagos on a ship arriving six weeks later on the shores of New Orleans, Louisiana with only ten British pounds. Due to the lack of funds, he was detained by U.S. customs for a few days. However, with the help of the Ambassador to Nigeria at the time under the British Colony, he was then released to continue his journey to Finlay College in Ohio State by train. At his arrival at Finlay College he was already six weeks late for school. Irrespective of his late arrival to the College he was awarded Soma Coma de Latin. A year later he transferred to Queens University in Canada. At Queen’s University he received his 1st degree in Arts with distinction. And if I may note, he was the only black student in his graduating class. He then transferred out west to the University of Saskatchewan and was also the only black student there as well. Subsequently, he graduated with 1st class honors with a degree in Science enabling him to be accepted into the medical program at Dalhousie University in Halifax, Nova Scotia. Upon his acceptance into the medical program he was awarded a scholarship from Dr. Namdi Azikiwe. In 1957 Dr. Agulefo received MD, CM from Dalhousie University. A word of note during his entire schooling in Canada he was a member of the Canadian Armed Forces and acquired the rank of a Major.

After graduation he then returned to Ontario and was employed by Abitibi Power and Paper Company as their general physician and surgeon at their headquarters in Thunder Bay Ontario. In 1958 he returned to Nigeria and started a vibrant and thriving medical practice and established Trinity Yankee Hospital in Nigeria’s Oil Booming city of Port Harcourt. In Port Harcourt he became quite wealth and owned several properties and lands which he abandoned in 1967 during the Nigerian Biafran Civil War. Till this day he has been unable to recover these properties despite an order from the Supreme Court of Nigeria granting him these properties in 1992.

In 1961 Dr. Agulefo ran for a position as a representative for Port Harcourt in the Eastern region in the Nigerian House of Assembly.

In 1962 Dr. Agulefo was appointed general physician and surgeon for Nigerian Railways, Ports Authority and several oil companies such as Dowell Slum burger and Halliburton.

Incidentally, Halliburton (a George Bush Dick Cheney Corp.) was Dr. Agulefo’s tenant at the time.

In 1964 Dr. Agulefo wrote and sent a telegram to the 1st Prime Minister of Nigeria, Abubakar Tafawa Balewa, asking him to be more careful while traveling around Africa making speeches.

Dr. Agulefo’s warning to the Prime Minister was due to the fact that Patrice Lumumba of the Belgium Congo was recently assassinated. Dr. Agulefo wrote in his “Telegram” to the Prime Minister “You could be next.” This phrase made by Dr. Agulefo was published in the Nigerian Daily Times. Shortly after on January 15th 1966 Prime Minister Abubakar Tafawa Balewa was unfortunately assassinated as

Dr. Agulefo had warned. Dr. Agulefo was briefly detained by the Nigerian Police Special Forces for questioning and interrogation and was later released without charges.

In 1967 the Nigerian Biafran Civil War began and Dr. Agulefo became the leader of the Port Harcourt Civil Defense Brigade. Shortly after he was appointed as a member of the Biafran Constitutional Assembly by General Udumegwu Chukwuemeka Ojukwu an honor received by only ten people in all of Biafra; (please see attached the picture of him outside the Biafran House of Assembly holding a Davidoff cigar in one hand and his copy of the declaration of Biafra in the other). During the war he remained in Nnewi local government area (Ojukwu’s town) treating injured soldiers and running a ‘Kwashiorkor’ Clinic as well.

After the war Dr. Agulefo fled to the United States due to the fact that his name was on a list of the people to be assassinated as Biafran collaborators or patriots. General Ojukwu the Biafran Leader himself had fled to Ivory Coast on a cargo plane with his Mercedes Benz aboard and several other comrades such as Bishop Obi Onubogu of Ogidi whom happens to be Dr. Agulefo’s cousin. After arriving in the United States in 1971 the late Dr. Ikejiani (the first chairman of Nigerian Railways) helped him to enter Canada with his entire family in 1972 as landed immigrants on their date of arrival. This special privillage was granted directly by the Canadian Minister of Immigration.

In Canada Dr. Agulefo ran a thriving practice in Kapuskasing and Toronto. In 1978 Dr. Agulefo completed another Doctorate degree in Public Health and worked as the Deputy Medical Officer of Health for the city of Toronto.

In 1979 when the Nigerian Military Government gave power back to the civilians the vice president elect, Dr. Alex Ekwueme, wrote a letter to Dr. Agulefo to return to Nigeria. So he did, and was appointed Chief Medical Officer of Health for Anambra State Nigeria.

In 1981 Dr. Agulefo was appointed chairman of the New Anambra State movement for the Idemeli local government by vice president, Dr. Alex Ekwueme.

In December 1983 there was a “coup d’état” and the army under the command of General Mutala Muhammad took control of Nigeria. Shortly after the death of Mutala Muhammad, Dr. Agulefo decided to return to private practice. In 1985 General Mutala Muhammad was assassinated and was succeeded under a military “coup d’état” by General Babaginda.

In 1986 Dr. Agulefo decided to leave Nigeria, returning back to Canada and resumed private practice at Bloor Park Medical Centre until he retired from active practice in medicine in 2005.

The Inception of Anambra Association of Canada by its Founder and 1st President Dr. N. T. C. Agulefo

In 1993 Dr. Agulefo received a letter from Alberta written by Dr. Ezeji Okoye. The letter stated that Namdi Azikiwe Medical School in Nnewi was under the threat of closure due to the lack of medical books, equipment and supplies. This grave need inspired Dr. Agulefo to start the association namely the Anambra Association of Canada. The startup of the organization led to “Anambrian indigenes” coming together under this umbrella of the Anambra Association of Canada. This collective effort of “Anambrian indigenes” with the leadership of Dr. Agulefo led to the shipment of medical books, equipment and supplies to Namdi Azikiwe Medical School in Nnewi. Since Dr. Agulefo’s return to Canada in 1986 a few of his major accomplishments for the Igbo people in Toronto was arranging for the visit of the following Anambrians to Toronto:

• Vice President of Nigeria Dr. Alex Ekwueme • The first and only head of the Biafran Republic, General Odumegwu Ojukwu. • Doctor of Letters, Honoris Causa, Professor Chinua Achebe.