Dick W. Emuchay (5 August 1919 – 8 May 1995), also referred to as "Sir D. W. Emuchay", was a

British-Nigerian British Nigerians are British people of Nigerians, Nigerian descent or Nigerians of British descent. This article is about residents and citizens of Nigerian descent living in Britain. Many Nigerians and their British-born descendants in Britain ...

medical doctor and administrator. He served as the first chairman of the Public Service Commission of the

East Central State East Central State is a former administrative division of Nigeria. It was created on 27 May 1967 from parts of the Eastern Region and existed until 3 February 1976, when it was divided into two states - Anambra and Imo. The area now comprises fi ...

. In 1981,

Samuel Onunaka Mbakwe Samuel "Sam" Onunaka Mbakwe (1929 – 5 January 2004) also known as Dee Sam was an Igbo politician and first democratic governor of Imo State, southern Nigeria from 1 October 1979 until 31 December 1983. The Sam Mbakwe International Cargo Airport, ...

, Governor of

Imo State Imo State ( ig, Ȯra Imo) is a States of Nigeria, state in the South East (Nigeria), South-East geopolitical zone of Nigeria, bordered to the north by Anambra State, Rivers State to the west and south, and Abia State to the east. It takes its n ...

, appointed Emuchay as the Pro-Chancellor and Chairman Governing Council of the newly created Imo State University, later

Abia State University Abia State University Uturu (ABSU) is a Nigerian public university. It is one of the state owned universities in Nigeria. These state academic institutions were created to expand admissions and bring professional skills, expertise and modern rese ...

He served in that position until 1985. He is reputed to have set up the first privately run rural hospital, when in 1961 he set up a 180-bed cottage hospital in his home town of Azumini, in Ukwa East,

Abia State Abia State ( ig, Ȯha Abia) is a state in the South-East geopolitical zone of Nigeria, it is bordered to the north and northeast by the states of Enugu, and Ebonyi, Imo State to the west, Cross River State to the east, Akwa Ibom State to the ...

. The first medical doctor from Azumini, Emuchay was unanimously elected the first national chairman of the Azumini Welfare Association during the association's inaugural meeting on 30 December 1958. He also played a role in establishing the National Secondary School, Azumini.

Early life

Emuchay was born in

Abak :''Abak is also a nickname for the painter Hans von Aachen. For the place in Pakistan, see Abak, FATA.'' Abak is a town and Local Government Area in Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria. The LGA was previously part of Cross River State. It was later sub ...

Akwa Ibom State Akwa Ibom State is a state in the South-South geopolitical zone of Nigeria, bordered on the east by Cross River State, on the west by Rivers State and Abia State, and on the south by the Atlantic Ocean. The state takes its name from the Qua Iboe ...

in eastern Nigeria, and he attended

Government College Umuahia Government College Umuahia, or GCU, is an independent secondary school for boys located on Umuahia-Ikot Ekpene road in Umuahia, Nigeria. Twenty years after the establishment of Kings College, the first government-owned high school, by the Britis ...

, 1932 - 1934 King's College, Lagos, 1935-1936

Higher College, Yaba Yaba Higher College was founded in 1932 in Yaba, now a suburb of Lagos in Nigeria to provide tertiary education to Africans, mostly in vocational subjects and teaching. The college staff were transferred to start the University of Ibadan in 1948 ...

Lagos 1937-1942

University of St Andrews (Aien aristeuein) , motto_lang = grc , mottoeng = Ever to ExcelorEver to be the Best , established = , type = Public research university Ancient university , endowment ...

, Scotland 1945-1949

Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine The Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine (LSTM) is a higher education institution with degree awarding powers and registered charity located in Liverpool, United Kingdom. Established in 1898, it was the first institution in the world dedicated ...

, England (Diploma in Tropical Medicine and Hygiene). He took his examination in 1953.

Professional career

He taught biology at Igbobi College, Yaba, before proceeding to St. Andrews University Scotland and

. He practised medicine briefly in the United Kingdom both as a general practitioner and house Surgeon before relocating back to Nigeria. * Senior Science Master,

Igbobi College Igbobi College is a college established by the Methodist and Anglican Churches in 1932, in the Yaba suburb of Lagos, Lagos State, South-western Nigeria. It is still on its original site and most of the original buildings are intact. It is one ...

, Lagos * General Medical Practitioner,

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly. The non-metropolitan county of Lancashi ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

, 1949 * House Surgeon,

, 1950 * Senior House Surgeon,

, 1952 * Medical Officer-in-charge of Rural Areas, Aba, 1955-1958 * Medical Officer-in-charge, General Hospital, Degema,

Rivers State Rivers State, also known as Rivers, is a state in the Niger Delta region of southern Nigeria (Old Eastern Region). Formed in 1967, when it was split from the former Eastern Region, Rivers State borders include: Imo to the north, Abia and Akwa Ib ...

, 1958-1959 * Medical Officer-in-charge, Maternity Hospital, Aba, 1959-1961 In 1961, D. W. Emuchay became the Proprietor and Medical Superintendent, Cottage Hospital, Azumini which he founded. Years later, his son Dr. Chika O. Emuchay established the Group Medical Practice (GMP) at No. 1 Emuchay Close, Ogbor hill, Aba to provide support to Cottage Hospital, Azumini. * Chairman, Public Service Commission, East Central State, Enugu, 1972–76 * Chairman, Public Service Commission, former Imo State, Owerri, 1976–82 * Pro-Chancellor and Chairman of the Governing Council, former Imo State University, now Abia State University, Uturu, Nigeria 1982-1985 In 1986, the

federal government A federation (also known as a federal state) is a political entity characterized by a union of partially self-governing provinces, states, or other regions under a central federal government (federalism). In a federation, the self-governin ...

conferred on him a national honour, the award of Member of the Federal Republic.

Family

D. W. Emuchay married Christiana Nne Alali in 1956 at St Michael and All Angels Anglican Church

Aba, Abia Aba is a city in the southeast of Nigeria and the commercial center of Abia State. Upon the creation of Abia state in 1991, Aba was divided into two local government areas namely; Aba South and Aba North. Aba south is the main city centre an ...

State. He is the father of 8 including Nigerian diplomat and former Consul-General to South Africa, Okey Emuchay, MFR. Okechukwu Nwadiuto Emuchay

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Emuchay, Dick W. 1919 births 2011 deaths Medical doctors from Akwa Ibom State Government College Umuahia alumni King's College, Lagos alumni Alumni of the University of St Andrews 20th-century Nigerian medical doctors Nigerian expatriates in the United Kingdom