24/07/2025
* is Who in Nimo (Posthumous)
, MED, John Ogoegbunam Onyiuke,Founder and Chief Consultant Physician (Beke Memorial Hospital)1933-1999,was born in Nimo on the 20th of July,1933, the fifth and the last son of His Royal Highness Eze Michael Moyekwu Onyiuke 11 and Mrs Margaret Beke Onyiuke, He was a very"beautiful' baby and being mummy's last son was heavily dotted upon by all and sundry.He indeed grew up to be a very special and likeable child whom people affectionately called Johnnie
Dashing young Johnnie attended St Bonaventure's Primary School Nimo, Later he was transferred to holy Trinity Primary School,Onitsha and ended up in St Mary's Primary School, Onitsha, where he obtained his first school leaving certificate .All these covered the period 1940-1949,He then passed the entrance examination to the prestigious Christ the King College (CKC) Onitsha, the premier Catholic Secondary School at the time and the place to be.Rev,Fr, Butler caught sight of the young intake and took an instant liking to him, The Rev, gentleman also diagnosed early his althletic potential and nutured him in the gentlemanly sports of self- defense , where the Queensbury rules reign supreme,By the time he reached class four he had become the captain of the much feared Boxing Club of CKC,ably assisted by Boniface Omesuh,(Chief Chikelu B.E. Omesuh"Omenyi Umunri")as assistant captain, Together with their club, they terrorized in the ring all the boxing clubs of the then secondary Schools in Eastern Nigeria and won many Championships in the Noble sports of the Kings. In 1954, he obtained his Cambridge West African School Certificate in grade 2(the gentleman's grade as they called it).
Dr John's mentor, Late Chief G.C.M Onyiuke had always treated his most Junior as son until death and Dr John,on his part deferred to him as a father figure and continued even after the late Chief's death, Having refused the family's wish to study medicine and opted for law, Late G.C.M Onyiuke had resolved to produce a medical doctor in the family and John fitted the bill. Therefore when John arrived in England in 1959, He studied and obtained his A' levels in prescribed time, but was bitterly disappointed at being a Victim of"ten percent' administration quota policy of the then British Universities to overseas students wishing to study medicine,he was left on a limb, instead he got admission to study pharmacy in place of medicine. This, John could not accept,His mind was set on Medicine, He took a most mementous step in his life and crossed the English channel to the then Western Germany to study his desired course.He defied the extra one-year burden of a new language study to achieve his ambition. He was aptly rewarded thereafter when he gained admission to the world famous Heildeberg University in 1964,it was there that he graduated.
Someone once opined"That the day one passed a driving test was the day one started learning how to drive"This must have been the sentiment in the mind of the new Dr John when he decided that a certificate without experience or specialization limited his professional scope,He then moved from Heildeberg to Korbach Where he pursed a specialist course in internal medicine,thus qualified to be addressed as (Dr M.D) as they are called in Germany, His working experience was as expansive as it was varied. It took him to hospitals in Bad-Wildungen, Korbach,Offenburg, and finally to St petri Hospital in Warburg where he was made consultant physician,a no mean feat for a black medical doctor in those days.
Dr John Onyiuke must have been among the last group of Igbos who went abroad for the golden flecce and came home with their books and clothes to help improve the lot of their people as opposed to what we have today, which is a total immigrant group who live abroad, Thus in 1974,Dr John came home to Nigeria to serve his country and people, with the entreaty of the Late Bishop Okoye,Dr John Onyiuke became the consultant physician in-charge of Bishop Shanahan Hospital Nsukka in 1975, a post he kept for the next five years. Having satisfied himself in the private sector, he felt he had to go home and really be close to his people, out of this burning desire Beke Memorial Hospital was born in 1980, lovingly named after his late mother who died in 1977.
John's Charismatic character seemed to endlessly draw people to him,He received all comers with open arms, since he opened Beke Memorial Hospital,he seemed to live for the Hospital and his patients. Long hours of work had become his trademark. He gave so much time to each patient, rich or poor alike, His motto seemed to be to"Serve God through humanity"He allowed discharged patients who could not settle their bills, to go home and pay later, When he loses a patient, he cries more than than the relatives of the deceased. His humanity was always there to be seen
The center -piece of his life was his God and his religion, He built a chapel in his hospital with Episcopal approval,masses are said their for members of his staff and members of the public who come to join. This arrangement has become so successful that the hospital is now like a quasi parish.
With the legacies Dr John Ogoegbunam Onyiuke,Founder and Chief Consultant physician"Beke Memorial Hospital"Left (Humanitarian services through his Hospital to Ndi Nimo) He is truly a great son of Nimo
bu Enyi
# Ekene-O-Maritime*
