Birth and early life.
The full name of Dr Nnamdi is Nnamdi Benjamin Azikwe who is usually referred to as “Zik”. He was a Nigerian Statesman and also a political leader who was born on the 16th day of November in the year 1904, he was born to an igbo family from Anambra state, Eastern Nigeria in Zungeru town which is now located in the Niger state of Nigeria.
He started his early life in Zungeru where he learned to speak Hausa language fluently since he was a young boy and later he was taken to onitsha where he lived with his aunt and grandmother and he learned igbo language which is his parental language. He also learned Yoruba language during his stay in Lagos, those are the three major languages of the country and Azikwe can speak with all of them.
His father named Obed – Edom Chukwuemeka Azikwe is an igbo Man who is a native of Onye Onicha and was a clerk in the British administration of Nigeria who traveled extensively as part of his job. He died on 3rd March 1958.
Azikwe’s mother was named Rachel Chinwe Ogbenyeanu(Aghadiuno) Azikwe also known as Nwanonaku is the 3rd daughter of Aghadiuno Ajie, a royal family in onitsha. She died in January 1958.
Educational status.
Azikwe started his primary education in Holy Trinity school (a Roman Catholic Mission School) and christ church school (an Anglican primary school) in onitsha. He then attended Wesleyan Boys high school, now known as methodist Boy’s high school, Broad street Lagos. He went back to onitsha and finished his secondary education at CMS central school after his father was transferred to Kaduna with two years.
Azikwe did his tertiary education at the Hope Waddell training college Calabar, he was introduced to the teachings of Marcus Garvey (Garveyism) which became an important part of his nationalistic rhetoric.
He went to the United States in 1925 where he attended several schools, he earned multiple certificates and degrees including bachelor’s and master’s degree from Lincoln University in Pennsylvania. Azikwe went to the gold coast (now Ghana) in 1934 where he founded a nationalist newspaper and was a mentor to Kwame Nkrumah (later the first president of Ghana) before he returns to Nigeria in 1937.
Marriage and children.
Azikwe was married to two wives named Flora Ogoegbunam and Uche Ewah and their union was blessed with seven 7⃣ children named Chukwuma Azikwe, Emeka A. Azikwe, Nwachukwu Azikwe, Ngozi Azikwe, Molokwu Azikwe, Uwakwe Azikwe and Jayzik Azikwe.
Working and political activities.
Azikwe founded and edited newspapers and also became directly involved in politics after his returned to the Nigeria, He became involved in politics with the Nigerian youth movement and later in 1944 as a founder of the National Council of Nigeria and the Cameroons (NCNC) which became increasingly identified with the igbo people of Southern Nigeria after up to 1951. In 1948, Azikwe was elected to the Nigerian legislative council with the back up of the NCNC and he later served as premier of the eastern region between 1954 and 1959.
Azikwe was the leader of NCNC during the 1959 important federal elections which preceded Nigerian independence of 1960. He was able to form temporary government with the powerful Northern People’s Congress but its deputy leader Abubakar Tafawa Balewa took the key post of prime Minister. Azikwe held largely honorary posts of President of senate, governor – General and finally president of the republic.
On 1st October 1960, Nigeria became independent and Azikwe was given the post of Governor – General with Sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa as deputy Governor – General. After Nigeria became a republic, Azikwe was named its first president, a position he held until he was deposed by the military coup of 15th January 1966.
Azikwe died at the University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital in Enugu State on 11th May 1966 at the age of 91 years after a long illness.
Honors and achievements.
Some of the honors and achievements of Dr Nnamdi Azikwe includes :-
- His portrait adorns the five hundred Naira notes
-A federal University was named after him - An international Airport was also named after him
-Azikwe – Nkrumah Hall, the oldest building on the Lincoln University campus
-He established the university of Nigeria Nsukka in 1960
-He was appointed by the Queen Elizabeth ||as the privy council of the United Kingdom
-He was made the Grand Commander of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (GCFR), nigeria’s highest national honor in 1980.
