The Healer, The Builder, The Quiet Giant of Bayelsa
ROOTED IN AMASSOMA, CALLED TO A LARGER PURPOSE
Born 31st December 1952 in Amassoma Town, Bayelsa State, to Late Mr. Boukeme Fiepere of Ibenikiri Ama and Late Mrs. Ereyigha Fiepere of Efeke Ama, Sir Dr. Abrakasa Fiepere began life as one of two surviving children out of ten.
His childhood was not handed to him. It was earned. He worked as a rice farmer in 1965. He trained as a welder in Port Harcourt. He lived with uncles who invested in him, and it was from their sacrifice and a Shell scholarship that his education found wings.
That foundation of struggle would later become the steel in his character. A man who knew hunger would never ignore the sick. A man who was raised by community would spend his life building community.
THE MAKING OF A PHYSICIAN
His academic path was marked by resilience. St. Stephen’s Primary School, Bishop Dimieari Grammar School, Baptist High School, then Nembe National Grammar School where he rewrote his exams and emerged with a Grade 1. He also passed six papers in the London GCE.
The University of Ibadan gave him his MBBS in 1982. He later returned for a Post Graduate Diploma in Anaesthesia in 1988.
Service followed immediately. House Officer at General Hospital Port Harcourt. NYSC in Kaduna. Then Rivers State Hospitals Management Board where he rose from Medical Officer to Chief Consultant at Braithwaite Memorial Hospital.
When Bayelsa was created, he did not wait to be invited. He became the Pioneer Chief Consultant at Specialist Hospital Yenagoa. In 1998 he became the Pioneer Chief Medical Director of the Bayelsa State Hospitals Management Board. Healing was in his hands and governance was about to be.
THE ENTREPRENEUR OF COMPASSION
From 1992 to 1996 he served as Medical Director of Kuromedics Centre in Port Harcourt. But his vision was not limited to one city.
In 1997 he started a new branch in Yenagoa. First in Ekeki on a rented property. Later he moved it to Otiotio Street, Yenizue Gene on his own land and named it Kuro Specialist Clinic.
That clinic became more than a hospital. It became a promise that Bayelsans did not have to travel far to find quality care. Even after retirement he remained its Medical Director, until it was eventually closed to public service. Through Kuromedics and Kuro Specialist Clinic, he proved that private enterprise and public good could walk together.
THE PERMANENT SECRETARY WHO SERVED
On 27th May 2002, he was appointed Permanent Secretary by Late Chief D.S.P Alamieyeseigha. For ten years he carried the weight of governance across five critical MDAs.
Ministry of Commerce Trade and Industry. Ministry of Special Projects. Ministry of Transport. Ministry of Youth Conflict Resolution and Employment Generation. Civil Service Commission.
He was also called upon in crisis. He led medical relief for flood ravaged communities in Yenagoa in 1988. He led the task force on cholera in Southern Ijaw in 1991. He chaired staff verification for six rural development centers in 2012.
He was an Associate Member of CIPM, and a member of NMA and AGPMN. Titles followed him, but he never chased them. He chased problems and solved them.
THE MAN OF FAITH AND ALTAR
Sir Dr. Fiepere was confirmed at St. Matthew’s Anglican Church Nkpogu in 1995. That seed grew into a forest of service.
He served on PCC, CMF, AYF, and the Council of Knights. He was Knighted as KSC in 2001. He chaired building committees, raised funds for theological colleges, and acted as Chairman of the Council Project Committee.
To his home, St. Stephen’s Anglican Church Amassoma, he gave deeply. He supported monthly rallies, provided altar seats, and built a six room toilet for the 2020 synod. He was a major contributor to the creation of Amassoma Archdeaconry.
The church honored him repeatedly. MU/WG of St. Stephen’s. MU/WG of St. Peter’s. And in 2019 the Diocese of Niger Delta West recognized him for outstanding contribution to the growth of the Diocese. For him, faith was not Sunday. It was daily.
THE FAMILY MAN AND COMMUNITY FATHER
In 1982 at the University of Lagos he met Dame Grace Timi Fiepere. They were married on 5th May 1984. Their union produced nine children (ln-laws inclusive), all graduates, (spanning medicine, engineering, law, academia, and anatomy) and seven grandchildren.
He opened his home to nephews, nieces, and in laws. He sponsored education. He offered counsel. He was the uncle who became a father, the in law who became a friend.
He was also PRO and later President of Central Ijaw Students Union in the 1970s. A Patron of Bayelsa Queens FC. A member of alumni bodies and the Association of Retired Permanent Secretaries. To the staff of Kuro Specialist Clinic he was not a boss, he was family.
THE FINAL CHAPTER
He retired from civil service on his 60th birthday, 31st December 2012. But retirement only changed his office, not his mission.
In February 2021 he was on his way to his son’s wedding in Ibadan. He stopped in Abuja. He grew weak and was admitted to Garki Hospital.
On 28th February he told his wife and daughter that he was leaving this world. On 1st March 2021 at about 4:30pm, with prayer and with family beside him, he breathed his last.
“Pleasant in the sight of the Lord is the death of his saints.” Psalm 116:15
A LEGACY THAT DOES NOT FADE
Sir Dr. Abrakasa Fiepere lived with quiet strength. He did not make noise. He made impact.
He healed bodies. He built institutions. He strengthened a young state. He served God without spectacle. He loved family without conditions.
Timeless persons are not remembered because they were loud. They are remembered because they were necessary.
Bayelsa needed a healer. He came.
Bayelsa needed a builder. He built.
Bayelsa needed a father. He fathered.
And so his name remains, etched not on marble, but in the lives he touched.
