Benjamin Nnamdi Azikiwe was a visionary leader whose
philosophy of African liberation – Zikism, endeared him to many in Africa and
the world beyond. His intellect, logic and intense love for his motherland drew
great admiration for his person. Zik’s philosophy had in consideration five
concepts for Africa’s movement towards freedom, and these were spiritual
balance, social regeneration, economic determination, mental emancipation and
political resurgence. His motto was simple: talk I listen; you listen I talk.
EARLY LIFE
Nnamdi was born in Zungeru in present Niger State on
November 16, 1904. He had his elementary study in Zungeru and spoke Hausa, Igbo
and Yoruba Languages. He was educated at christian mission schools which
include the Roman Catholic and Church Missionary Society’s Anglican Missions at
Onitsha, Wesley Boys High School Lagos and Hope Waddell Training Institute in
Calabar.
EDUCATION
Great Zik was a voracious reader who had insatiable quest
for knowledge and this saw him in 1925 at age 21 in the United States of
America where he enrolled at Storer College, Harpers Ferry, West Virginia. From
there against all odds; poverty, depression, racial discrimination and
hostility of some White folks, Zik matriculated to Howard University in Washington
D.C. An offer of steady on-campus job led him to Lincoln University where he
graduated with a degree in Political Science. He also obtained a certificate in
Journalism at Columbia University in 1930 before going back to Lincoln
University where he again bagged an M.A. in Political Science.
In 1931 Nnamdi wrote his first book: LIBERIA IN WORLD
POLITICS and it marked the beginning of his literary life. But he was not done
with education yet. In 1932 he moved on to the University of Pennsylvania where
he earned an M.Sc with honours in Anthropology.
JOURNALSM CAREER
Zik returned to Africa in 1934 and was employed as editor of
the Africa Morning Post, an Accra Newspaper owned and published by I. T.
Wallace Johnson of Sierra Leone. Here his pro-Africa nationalist interest was
fanned into flame and for three years edited the Morning Post. In his articles
and public statements he censured the existing colonial order, the restrictions
on Africans’ rights and racial discrimination. However after he narrowly
escaped prison over the publication of an article the then British
Administration termed ‘treasonous’, Zik returned to Nigeria in 1937 to pursue
both journalism and commercial interests
and he excelled in both. He founded the Zik Group of Newspapers, publishing
multiple newspapers of which the West African Pilot was one. These he used as vehicles
to foster Nigerian Nationalism and struggle for independence.
POLITICAL CAREER
In the political front he is regarded by many as a champion
of African nationalism and master of compromise in Nigeria’s turbulent
politics. He co-founded the National Council of Nigeria and the Cameroons
(NCNC) in 1944 with Herbert Macaulay. He was elected to the Legislative Council
of Nigeria in 1947 and in 1954 became Premier of Nigeria’s Eastern Region. On
November 16, 1960, he became Governor General and was same day named to the
Queen’s Privy Council. When Nigeria became a Republic in 1963 he became the
first President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria with Abubakar Tafawa Balewa
as Prime Minister.
DEATH AND MEMORIAL
At age 91 in May 1996, the politician, scholar, poet, journalist
and first-rank red cap chief joined his ancestors. His legacies however bear
witness to a hero of our nation’s past and would never be forgotten. His memory
has been imortalised across the country and by various governments since the
second republic. Today his face adorns the N500 bill and many remarkable places
have been named after him. These include the Nnamdi Azikiwe International
Airport Abuja,
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