Important Facts About Chief Dr. Josiah Onyebuchi Johnson Okezie

Important Facts About Chief Dr. Josiah Onyebuchi Johnson Okezie (1926–2002)

Full Name: Chief Dr. Josiah Onyebuchi Johnson Okezie

Born: 1926, in Ibeku, Eastern Nigeria (present-day Abia State)

Died: 2002

Education:

Achimota College

Yaba Higher College (1943)

Yaba College of Medicine (1944–1947)

University College, Ibadan (1948–1949)

Royal College of Surgeons of England and Ireland (1955–1957), qualifying as a medical doctor

Medical Career:

Served as an Assistant Medical Officer in the Nigerian Civil Service from 1950 to 1954

Actively involved in advancing professional medical practice in Eastern Nigeria

Professional Leadership:

Served for ten years (1960–1970) as Secretary of the Eastern Nigerian Branch of the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA)

Political Career:

Member of the Eastern House of Assembly from 1961 to 1966 during Nigeria’s First Republic

A prominent political figure in Eastern Nigeria prior to the civil war

Federal Government Service:

Appointed Federal Commissioner for Health (1970–1971) under the administration of General Yakubu Gowon, playing a key role in post–civil war health sector reconstruction

Later served as Federal Commissioner for Agriculture and Natural Resources (1971–1974)

Historical Significance:

One of the few Nigerians who successfully combined medicine, professional leadership, and high-level national politics

Contributed significantly to post-war national rebuilding, especially in public health and agriculture

Photograph:

Portrait dates to the 1970s, during his period of federal service