 Welcome back to the breakfast here on Plus TV Africa. It's time for Today in History and I'm going back to 2014 to of course share a little bit about the death of a Nigerian icon, a legend. One of the most awarded Nigerians, I believe, if we're going to look at the top five most awarded Nigerians, this person will make the list. And then we're speaking this morning of Dora Akun Yili, the former, of course, EG of NAVDAC. It was on this day that she passed. She was a one-time Director General of the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control and died of ovarian cancer on this day. She, of course, in her time received more than 900 awards throughout her career. And, of course, seven years at NAVDAC led to a major reduction in incidents of fake drugs in Nigeria. Hatim also oversaw the closure of many open-air markets across Nigeria. On her leadership, NAVDAC, of course, took the public information concerning fake drugs to radio and TV and other forms of communication. She also secured convictions of more than 45 counterfeiters. Earlier in her life, I think that's where the story came from. She watched her 21-year-old sister pass on from fake injections or fake insulin as a part of a diabetes treatment that she was going through at that time. And I think that's what inspired her work when she eventually was made DG on NAVDAC. The period that she was there also, there were a few attempts at her life. I remember in 2003, I believe, she was also, of course, attacked by armed men, whoever they are, but they missed. She eventually died on this day in 2014 and she died, you know, not long after the national confab. If you remember pictures from the national confab back then showed her looking very, very different from what she used to look like while she was in NAVDAC. A couple of angles also to it where the fact that, you know, DORAK, when Yuli basically showed that an agency, an organization, a state, anything can work when you have a person in charge that truly has the political will and interest in making it work. All that excuse of, you know, the system is so bad that, you know, the department secretary's can't work, commissioners can't work, you know, heads of MDAs, you won't be able to function because of, you know, the corruption system doesn't, it's not really true. If you see the way that she was able to transform NAVDAC into what it was at that time, not what it is today, but what it was at that time and, you know, obviously be able to save millions of lives from fake drugs and save millions of Nigerians from the illnesses that, of course, you know, through fake medication, she, you know, was able to set that example. Like I said earlier, she received over 900 awards and these were awards that she truly, and I believe everyone would agree that she truly deserved these awards, you know, not, you know, every other person receiving awards from Okoko Michael group of persons where seven people come together and call themselves a group and come and give you an award. I'm talking of... Redisabled awards. Yes, that she thoroughly deserved. Yes. But that was the Raku really. I worked for her, well, a little bit. The first job that I had, you know, she owned that radio station and so, you know, she's come around a few times and so when she eventually died, I was at her burial ceremony, which was like, it was like a small carnival. But it was an interesting time to see an agency in Nigeria truly work and truly actually do what it was set up to do. Since then, you know, NAVDAC has maybe not been the same. To be honest, you know, just like what you said, the person of Dora Okunili proved that Nigeria can work if you put in the right people. Yeah. Despite all the talk about corruption in Nigeria, Dora went in there and turned that place around. She took her job very passionately. She took it very personally and she was able to make some breakthroughs in Nigeria's fight against counterfeit medicines. Fake drugs have killed lots of people. You know. Still are. Still is killing lots of people. You know, but she was able to, you know, just do her job with lots of passion. She ignored all the temptation, corruption and all of that and she did this with integrity. You know, she didn't deserve to go as soon as she did but we pray that are so worse in peace. Absolutely. So next up today in history, we're going to Italy and 1927. On this day in history, June the 7th, 1929, I beg your pardon, it was on this day in history that the Vatican City became a sovereign state and that was the signing of the Lateran Pact in that year, 1927. So before this Lateran Pact was signed in 1927, the Papal States and Italy, you know, they had this very diplomatic and political friction, this conflict between them because, you know, Italy went through the process of unification and the Papal States refused to come under the authority of the Italian government. You know, they wanted to be independent but the Italian government would not have it. We know that Pope, I think Pope Pius IX, he eventually took refuge in the Vatican and lots of efforts was made to unify Italy, you know, with the law of guarantees that he rejected and eventually, you know, in 1929, they signed the law, the Lateran Treaty which guarantees that Vatican City will become a sovereign state and it's actually a very, very tiny, tiny country, actually the smallest country in the world. It covers just about 800 acres and now Vatican City is governed as an absolute monarchy with the Pope at its head. The Vatican City minted on euros, it printed on stamps, it issues its own passport, license plate. Vatican City has its own flag, has its own anthem. Now this area has become a very popular pyramid site. They don't tax their residents, they basically generate revenue for the country based on, you know, entrance fees to museums and all this. Based on tourism. Exactly based on tourism, you know, so that's all about Vatican City. A very interesting history, rich history, rich history, think of, you know, Italy and all the revolution that happened in the country and how Vatican City came to be today. Yeah, it's an interesting, you know, phenomenon. Just knowing that, you know, a place so small and so put together can be its own sovereign state or its own country and have its own, you know, president. Wish they had their own football team though. So we'll see what they will be like. But it's very, very interesting knowing that and a lot of people don't even know that that exists or the fact that the Vatican City is, you know, a sovereign state. Pretty interesting. Yes, pretty interesting. So that's what we'll have for you today in History, June the 7th, 1929. Vatican became, you know, a sovereign state. And of course, 2014, the death of late Nafda Digi Dora Akunjili. We'll be back after the short break to move into our first major conversation for today. You don't want to miss it. Stay with us.