John Oni Akerele (died 1983) was a

Nigerian Nigerians or the Nigerian people are citizens of Nigeria or people with ancestry from Nigeria. The name Nigeria was taken from the Niger River running through the country. This name was allegedly coined in the late 19th century by British jour ...

doctor,

Nigeria Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...

's first indigenous surgeon. While living in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

, in 1941 he married Dorothy Jackson, who was of African, European and Native American descent, and they set up home in Kilburn, in the north of London. Their house became a meeting place for Africans such as

Nnamdi Azikiwe Nnamdi Benjamin Azikiwe, (16 November 1904 – 11 May 1996), usually referred to as "Zik", was a Nigerian statesman and political leader who served as the first President of Nigeria from 1963 to 1966. Considered a driving force behind the ...

, the first President of

, and Jomo Kenyatta of

Kenya ) , national_anthem = " Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu"() , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Nairobi , coordinates = , largest_city = Nairobi ...

. While in London, in 1945 he was one of the founders of the pan-Yoruba cultural society '' Egbe Omo Oduduwa'', and was the first president. Members included

Obafemi Awolowo Chief Obafemi Jeremiah Oyeniyi Awolowo (; 6 March 1909 – 9 May 1987) was a Yoruba nationalist and Nigerian statesman who played a key role in Nigeria's independence movement (1957-1960). Awolowo founded the Yoruba nationalist group Egbe O ...

, Secretary,

Akintola Williams Chief Akintola Williams (born 9 August 1919) is a Nigerian accountant. He was the first Nigerian to qualify as a chartered accountant. He began his education at Olowogbowo Methodist Primary School, Bankole street, Apongbon, Lagos Island, Lag ...

Saburi Biobaku Saburi Oladeni Biobaku CMG (1918–2001) was a Nigerian scholar, a historian who was among a set of Yoruba historians who followed the pioneering effort of Samuel Johnson in setting the foundations of Yoruba historiography and creating reference ...

Ayo Rosiji Chief Ayotunde Rosiji (24 February 1917 – 31 July 2000) was a Nigerian politician, having served as Minister for Health and Minister of Information. He was born in Abeokuta, Ogun State, on 24 February 1917 to the family of an Egba policeman ...

and others. Akerele returned to Nigeria after independence in 1960, and became medical officer to the Western Region in

Ibadan Ibadan (, ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Oyo State, in Nigeria. It is the third-largest city by population in Nigeria after Lagos and Kano, with a total population of 3,649,000 as of 2021, and over 6 million people within its me ...

. During the

Nigerian civil war The Nigerian Civil War (6 July 1967 – 15 January 1970), also known as the Nigerian–Biafran War or the Biafran War, was a civil war fought between Nigeria and the Republic of Biafra, a secessionist state which had declared its independence ...

(1967–1970) they moved to

Lagos Lagos (Nigerian English: ; ) is the largest city in Nigeria and the second most populous city in Africa, with a population of 15.4 million as of 2015 within the city proper. Lagos was the national capital of Nigeria until December 1991 fo ...

, where Akerele set up a private practice. He died in 1983. Dorothy lived on to the age of 93, dying in April 2007. His daughter Kofoworola Bucknor-Akerele also became a prominent politician in Nigeria.

References

1983 deaths Yoruba physicians Yoruba politicians Nigerian surgeons Year of birth missing Egbe Omo Oduduwa politicians Nigerian expatriates in the United Kingdom 20th-century Nigerian politicians 20th-century Nigerian medical doctors {{Nigeria-med-bio-stub