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•Why I worked as consultant pathologist under Lagos govt while my husband was Nigeria’s Vice President
Dr Mrs Helen Alex- Ekwueme is the widow of Nigerian’s first elected executive Vice President, Dr Alex Ekwueme of blessed memory.
She was born in Lagos to well-educated parents – Mr Thomas Boyo, an Itshekiri man from Delta State and Mrs Eleanora Ayodele Boyo, (Nee Hughes) of Lagosian/Brazilian descent.
At over 80, she is as smart as a freshly minted medical doctor. Though she graduated tops and with honours through her academic journey, that intelligence still resonates in this elegant woman who built a career as a consultant pathologist with special emphasis on cancer and female genital mutilation.
This brilliant, graceful octogenarian spoke to Saturday Sun about growing up, how she started her medical career, rising to the position of a consultant pathologist, how she met and married Dr Alex Ekwueme as well as their love life together, among other things.
Noting that she worked as a medical doctor all through her husband’s tenure as Vice president, she told the newspaper: “I was a wife of a former Vice President with a professional calling.”
She spoke more in this interview.
How would you describe Dr Helen Alex-Ekwueme?
I was born in Lagos to well-educated parents of blessed memory. My father worked in Lagos while my mother was trained by Rev. Sisters in the convent and worked as a welfare officer. Both met and married here in Lagos. I had a good home upbringing as the sixth child out of seven children. We were imbibed with good morals. While growing up, there was no difference between a boy and a girl in my family. Education at its best was for all. I was educated at Our Lady of Apostles School, Yaba and finished with a Grade One, 7A’s. The Rev Sisters in my school offered to send me to Ireland to be trained as an administrator, I rejected the offer because I wanted to be a Medical Doctor. I gained admission into University of Lagos and studied Medicine/Surgery and qualified in 1973 with MBBS Honours. I was the only one who graduated with Honours for that year from the College of Medicine because I met the standards of three distinctions and passed all my professional examinations. I had two distinctions in Microbiology and Pathology and never failed any of the professional examinations. I was the only student with a distinction out of 40 of us. Then, the war just ended and most people were trying to pick the strings of their lives and there were not many people in the university then, especially the Easterners. I became a consultant pathologist because it is the final diagnosis of medicine where results give the final answer. After my graduation, I travelled out and was in Royal Post Graduate Medical College and did my pathology in different modules. I came back and worked with Lagos State as a consultant pathologist.
What have you been doing since you retired from active medical service?
Well, you can see that I am now a senior citizen after retiring from Lagos State Ministry of Health as a consultant pathologist. After my retirement, I was into real estate and public speaking, especially on health. I have also slowed down on those now. Again, I also attend some events where I am invited to if I am available. We keep believing and thanking the Lord God for his mercies on daily basis.
Kindly tell us how you met and married Dr Alex Ekwueme for 43 years before he joined the saints
When Dr Alex Ekwueme completed his secondary school from Kings College, Lagos. He worked with the Railways, and my father, who was his boss, saw in him a worthy bright boy whose parents were not living in Lagos. My father brought him home and my mother looked after him like her son. He became part of the family and a big brother to me before he travelled to the United States of America for further studies. Upon his return from his trip, he still came back to us. That was how we met.
Were there some hide-and-seek game of love while he was living within your household?
Well, I was very young then and did not notice that. If he was looking at me then, I did not notice and could not tell.
So when did he make the move?
The move came when I was about rounding off in medical school in 1973. By then I had also grown as a medical doctor. He came around on August 8th to see my family and asked for my hand in marriage. My family accepted him because they knew him too well, especially as an educated man.
How was the journey in the 43 years you lived together?
We lived well, but not without marital ups and down. I was with him throughout the time he was the Vice President of Nigeria. I continued working as a doctor until I retired in year 2000. I was going to work from the State House before the coup d’état of 1983 which brought about the change in government.
Some people would wonder why you bear Helen Boyo Alex-Ekwueme?
I qualified as a medical doctor with my maiden name Dr Helen Boyo. Professionally and while married, I became Dr Helen Boyo-Ekwueme, and I am also Mrs Ekwueme. My husband would say he didn’t mind adding my father’s name as long as he himself was not being addressed as Mr Boyo-Ekwueme. I must also tell you that I am proud of my family name. When people hear or see it written anywhere, they would know I am an Itshekiri woman. My late husband, popularly known with his titled name ‘Ide’, supported me in the things that I did until his last minute.
When I had my son in London, he insisted the christening would take place in his hometown Oko in Anambra State, not Lagos or London. In December of that year, we all travelled to Oko for the christening and a big reception took place in our honour. Some of his friends then used to joke with him, ‘Ide, you married a doctor that would look after you, and true to their prophetic words, I made sure I looked after him medically before he passed on. We lived together for 43 years.
Some people would say being the wife of a former Vice President and working for the Lagos State Government does not look fashionable. Many others in your shoes would have quit. Why did you not quit your job to support him in government related matters?
Yes, I was the wife of a Vice President, but do not forget I have a professional calling. Therefore, I worked all through until I retired in year 2000. During the 1983 coup that overthrew the government of President Shehu Shagari and my husband, my husband was in all the prisons before he was finally kept under house arrest. He was kept in a house close to our official quarters on the same street in Ikoyi which made it easy for his family to see him regularly before he was taken to the East to continue his house arrest until his release. He went through all that for doing nothing.
How did you manage his movement emotionally in the East with a job in Lagos State?
It meant that every month, holiday, any available opportunity we would pack ourselves and travel to the East to be with him. We did that until he was able to move around again. It was emotionally traumatic. That was why I said there were ups and downs in our union. Nigerians know he was a very kind and focused man.
Now, as a medical doctor, what was the price you paid to achieve success?
One of the reasons was because we had very good teachers and good schools. The morals from both home and school were top-notch. My parents would admonish us to work hard, especially in our academics. They will also tell the dangers of poor result in the near future. I recall how my mother would draw me to a corner and say, if you did not do well and get married, you will depend on your husband for everything you need. It was instilled in us that we must study and have the knowledge, not just to pass the examinations. In those days, we burnt the midnight candles because electricity was not as rampant as it is today. Nevertheless, one must pass his or her examination excellently or you will become a pepper seller, according to my mother. They taught us to be focused and will not take no for an answer. That we must persevere and wear the ‘I can do it spirit’ brand.
How did you manage your medical career, home front, and various societal engagements?
When I qualified in 1973/74, the medical women association was formed in Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH), though, it actually started from Uyo, Akwa-Ibom State before Lagos and was called ‘You care with the love of a woman.’ The main reason was to look after women and children. Since we were female medical doctors, we made it a priority because of the peculiarity of women’s organs.
Part of the exercise was to teach women palpation of the breast for early detection, which also avoids cancer of the breast. I am a strong advocate and very passionate about the female genital mutilation, otherwise known as female circumcision. Women should not be circumcised. It is cultural, not only in Nigeria but other African countries. Some of the reasons then were to avoid promiscuity in women. For the home front, it was the days of trust. One can entrust her home in the hands of relatives and domestic workers and still be at peace.
