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| Nnamdi Azikiwe |
In his Early Life
Dr. Nnamdi Benjamin Azikiwe was born on 16
November 1904, in Zungeru, Northern Nigeria. His
parents were Igbo; his
father Obed-Edom Chukwuemeka Azikiwe (1879–1958), w as a clerk in the British
Administration of Nigeria back then and
his mother name was Rachel Chinwe Azikiwe. Nnamdi
means "My father is alive"
in the Igbo language.
His Journalism Carrier
After teaching at Lincoln, Azikiwe, in November 1934, took
the position of editor for the African Morning Post, a daily newspaper in
Accra, Ghana. In that position he promoted a pro-African nationalist agenda.
Smertin has described his writing there: "In his passionately denunciatory
articles and public statements he censured the existing colonial order: the
restrictions on the Africans' right to express their opinions, and racial
discrimination. He also criticized those Africans who belonged to the
"elite" of colonial society and favoured retaining the existing
order, as they regarded it as the basis of their well-being.
As a result of publishing an article on 15 May 1936, entitled
"Has the African a God?" written by I. T. A. Wallace-Johnson he was
brought to trial on charges of sedition. Although he was found guilty of the
charges and sentenced to six months in prison, he was acquitted on appeal. He
returned to Lagos, Nigeria, in 1937 and founded the West African Pilot, which
he used as a vehicle to foster Nigerian nationalism. He founded the Zik Group
of Newspapers, publishing multiple newspapers in cities across the country.[12]
Azikiwe became active in the Nigerian Youth Movement (NYM), the first genuinely
nationalist organization in Nigeria. However, in 1941 he backed Samuel
Akinsanya to be NYM candidate for a vacant seat in the Legislative Council, but
the executive selected Ernest Ikoli instead. Azikiwe resigned from the NYM
accusing the NYM mostly Yoruba leadership of discrimination against the
Ijebu-Yoruba members, Ibos and some Ijebu members with him and thus splitting
the NYM along ethnic lines.
His Political Carrier
After
a successful journalism enterprise, Azikiwe entered into politics, co-founding
the National Council of Nigeria and the Cameroons (NCNC) alongside Herbert Macaulay in 1944. He became the
secretary-general of the National Council in 1946, and was elected to
Legislative Council of Nigeria the following year. In 1951, he became the
leader of the Opposition to the government of Obafemi Awolowo in the Western
Region's House of Assembly after losing the four-cornered elections to the
Action Group. In 1952, he moved to the Eastern Region, and was elected to the
position of Chief Minister and in 1954 became Premier of Nigeria's Eastern
Region. On 16 November 1960, he became the Governor General, with Abubakar
Tafawa Balewa as Prime Minister. On the same day became the first Nigerian
named to the Privy Council of the United Kingdom. With the proclamation of a
republic in 1963, HE BECAME THE FIRST
PRESIDENT OF NIGERIA. In both posts, Azikiwe's role was largely ceremonial.
Azikiwe
and his civilian colleagues were removed from power in the MILITARY COUP OF 15 JANUARY 1966. He was the most prominent
politician to escape the spate of assassinations following the coup. During the
BIAFRAN (1967–1970) WAR OF SECESSION,
Azikiwe became a spokesman for the nascent republic and an adviser to its
leader Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu. He switched allegiance back to Nigeria
during the war and publicly appealed to Ojukwu to end the war in pamphlets and
interviews published at the time.
After
the war, he served as CHANCELLOR OF
UNIVERSITY OF LAGOS from 1972 to 1976. He joined the Nigerian People's
Party in 1978, making unsuccessful bids for the presidency in 1979 and again in
1983. HE LEFT POLITICS INVOLUNTARILY AFTER THE MILITARY COUP ON 31 DECEMBER
1983. HE DIED ON 11 MAY 1996, AT THE UNIVERSITY OF NIGERIA TEACHING HOSPITAL,
IN ENUGU, Enugu State, after a protracted illness. He was buried in his native
Onitsha
ACHIEVEMENTS
He
was inducted into the prestigious Agbalanze society of Onitsha as Nnayelugo in
1946, a customary recognition for Onitsha men of significant accomplishment.
Then, in 1962, he became a second-rank red cap chieftain or Ndichie Okwa as the
Oziziani Obi. In 1972, he was installed as the Owelle-Osowa-Anya of Onitsha,
making him a first-rank, hereditary red cap nobleman or Ndichie Ume.
In
1960, He established the University of Nigeria, Nsukka and Queen Elizabeth II
appointed him to the Privy Council of the United Kingdom. He was conferred with
the highest national honour of Grand Commander of the Federal Republic (GCFR) by
the Federal Republic of Nigeria, in 1980. He has received fourteen honorary
degrees from Nigerian, American and Liberian universities, which include
Lincoln University, Storer College, Howard University, Michigan State
University, University of Nigeria, Nsukka, University of Lagos, Ahmadu Bello
University, University of Ibadan, Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka, and
University of Liberia.
POLITICAL
POST
During
his lifetime, he held several political posts, especially in Nigeria. They
include Executive Committee Member of Mambili Party, Accra (1935–37); General
Secretary of National Council of Nigerian and the Cameroons (1944–45);
President of the NCNC (1946–60); Vice-President of the Nigerian National
Democratic Party (1947–60); Member for Lagos in the Legislative Council of
Nigeria (1947–51); Member for Lagos and Leader of the Opposition in the Western
House of Assembly (1952–53) Member for Onitsha in the Eastern House of Assembly
(1954–60); Minister of Internal Affairs (Jan.–September 1954); Minister of
Internal Affairs, Eastern Region (1954); Member of His Excellency Privy
Council, Eastern Nigeria (1954–59); Primer of Eastern Nigeria (1954–59);
President of the Senate of the Federation (January–November 1960);
Governor-General and Commander-in-Chief of Nigeria (1960–63); President of the
Republic of Nigeria (1963–1966); and Chairman and Presidential candidate of the
Nigeria People’s Party (1978–83).
LEGACY
Places
named after Azikiwe include the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport in Abuja,
the Nnamdi Azikiwe Stadium in Enugu, the Nnamdi Azikiwe University in Awka,
Anambra State, Nnamdi Azikiwe Press Centre, Dodan Barracks, Obalende, Ikoyi,
Lagos. Azikiwe Avenue, in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. His portrait adorns
Nigeria's five hundred naira currency note.
NOTABLE QUOTES
·
"There is plenty of room at the top because very few people
care to travel beyond the average route. And so most of us seem satisfied to
remain within the confines of mediocrity" — from My Odyssey,
No. 5.
·
"My stiffest earthly assignment is ended and my major
life's work is done. My country is now free and I have been honoured to be its
first indigenous head of state. What more could one desire in life?" —
talking about Nigeria's Independence on 1 October 1960.
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