John Oni Akerele was a Nigerian doctor, Nigeria

Nigeria

Nigeria , officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a federal constitutional republic comprising 36 states and its Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. The country is located in West Africa and shares land borders with the Republic of Benin in the west, Chad and Cameroon in the east, and Niger in...

's first indigenous surgeon.

While living in London

London

London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...

, 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 Azikiwe

Benjamin Nnamdi Azikiwe , usually referred to as Nnamdi Azikiwe and popularly known as "Zik", was one of the leading figures of modern Nigerian nationalism who became the first President of Nigeria after Nigeria secured its independence from the United Kingdom on 1 October 1960; holding the...

, the first President of Nigeria

Nigeria

Nigeria , officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a federal constitutional republic comprising 36 states and its Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. The country is located in West Africa and shares land borders with the Republic of Benin in the west, Chad and Cameroon in the east, and Niger in...

, and Jomo Kenyatta

Jomo Kenyatta

Jomo Kenyattapron.] served as the first Prime Minister and President of Kenya. He is considered the founding father of the Kenyan nation....

 of Kenya

Kenya

Kenya , officially known as the Republic of Kenya, is a country in East Africa that lies on the equator, with the Indian Ocean to its south-east...

.
While in London, in 1945 he was one of the founders of the pan-Yoruba cultural society Egbe Omo Oduduwa

Egbe Omo Oduduwa

Egbé Ọmọ Odùduwà, was a Nigerian political organization established in 1945, when Chief Obafemi Awolowo along with Dr. Oni Akerele, Chief Akintola Williams, Professor Saburi Biobaku, Chief Abiodun Akinrele, Chief Ayo Rosiji and others, met in London....

, and was the first president. Members included Obafemi Awolowo

Obafemi Awolowo

Jeremiah Obafemi Awolowo was a Nigerian politician, trade unionist, author and statesman. A Yoruba and native of Ikenne in Ogun State of Nigeria, he started his career as a regional political leader like most of his pre-independence contemporaries and was responsible for much of the progressive...

, Secretary, Akintola Williams, Saburi Biobaku

Saburi Biobaku

Saburi Oladeni Biobaku was a Nigerian scholar and 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 notes of indigenous African historical literature.He was a former...

, Ayo Rosiji

Ayo Rosiji

Ayotunde Rosiji was a Nigerian politician, statesman and former Minister for Health and Minister of Information. He was born in Abeokuta, Ogun State, on the 24th of February 1917, to the family of an Egba policeman. He attended the Christ Church Primary School, Abeokuta, for primary education and...

 and others.

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

Western Region, Nigeria

The Western Region was a subdivision of the federation of Nigeria until 1967. Its capital was at Ibadan.It was established in the 1930s under British rule as a subdivision of the Southern Nigeria colony...

 in Ibadan

Ibadan

Ibadan is the capital city of Oyo State and the third largest metropolitan area in Nigeria, after Lagos and Kano, with a population of 1,338,659 according to the 2006 census. Ibadan is also the largest metropolitan geographical area...

.
During the Nigerian civil war

Nigerian Civil War

The Nigerian Civil War, also known as the Nigerian-Biafran War, 6 July 1967–15 January 1970, was a political conflict caused by the attempted secession of the southeastern provinces of Nigeria as the self-proclaimed Republic of Biafra...

 (1967-1970) they moved to Lagos

Lagos

Lagos is a port and the most populous conurbation in Nigeria. With a population of 7,937,932, it is currently the third most populous city in Africa after Cairo and Kinshasa, and currently estimated to be the second fastest growing city in Africa...

, where Akerela set up a private practice. He died in 1983. Dorothy lived on to the age of 93, dying in April 2007.