It is the Great Zik of Africa, the late Dr Nnamdi Azikiwe, one of Africa’s unity greatest advocates and an apostle of United States of Africa, who said, “When you show the people the way, they would follow”.
Nnamdi Benjamin Azikiwe GCFR (November 16, 1904 – May 11, 1996) was a Nigerian statesman, a political colossus, one of the driving forces behind Nigeria’s political independence from British colonialists and one of the founding fathers of Nigeria. The Great Zik was introduced to the teachings of Markus Garvey, Garveism, which later became an integral part of his nationalism political philosophy. Azikiwe heard a lecture by James Apprey, an educator who believed that Africans should receive a college education abroad and return home to effect change towards political independence and self rule. Working as a clerk in the Treasury Department during colonial rule exposed Zik to racial bias in colonial government.
Azikiwe enrolled in Howard University, Washington D.C. in 1927 to obtain bachelor’s degree in political science and in 1929 he transferred from Howard University to Lincoln University and in 1930 graduated with a B.A political science. He later became a graduate-student instructor in the History and Political Science Department at Lincoln University, where he got his master’s degree in religion from Lincoln University. He got another master’s degree in anthropology from University of Pennsylvania in 1932 and obtained a PhD at Columbia University, before returning home to Nigeria in 1934 to join partisan politics.
Interestingly, the giant and bold steps taken by the Vice Chancellor, Nnamdi Azikiwe University (UNIZIK), Professor Charles Esimone, Senator Ben Obi and other compatriots in organising the Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe posthumous birthday annual lecture gladdened the hearts of millions of people in Nigeria, Africa and the rest of the world. The lecture aimed at entrenching Azikiwe’s vision for a united Nigeria, United States of Africa, African solidarity and the spirit of true pan-Africanism, which was a welcome development also to awake the consciousness of the younger generation of Africans and emerging African Intelligentsia on true personality of Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe and his contributions towards Africa’s development. The Great Zik, as editor of the African Morning Post in Accra, Ghana, promoted pro-African nationalist agenda.
An African aphorism posits, “The worst part of failure is the failure to fail in an annual tradition”. Bravo to the organisers of Rt. Hon. Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe’s annual lecture for religiously setting the agenda for Zik Annual Lecture, which was an idea conceived 12 years ago to keep his memory alive.
Dr. Joyce Banda.ex-president of Malawi, as a guest speaker during the recent ZIk 102 posthumous lecture, paid glowing tribute to Azikiwe’s contributions to Africa’s development and his quest for true pan-Africanism. She said, “Rt. Hon. Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe’s tenure was short-lived and should have been given more time to actualise his lofty dreams, a purposeful and United States for Africa, which Zik fought for and not being practiced by emerging African leaders today.
Also, Governor Seyi Makinde of Oyo state eulogised the life and times of the Great Zik of Africa. He said the life and times of Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe reflected in his brand of politics. According to Makinde, Dr Azikiwe was a de-tribalised Nigerian and urged Nigerians to start seeing themselves as one people, belonging to one nation and set aside primordial sentiments.
However, Professor Charles Esimone, the amiable vice-chancellor of Unizik, said: “The theme of this year’s Rt. Hon. Nnamdi Azikiwe Lecture series is particularly significant. It brings the word of late Zik of Africa into an extant global context as climate change has become an issue of grave concern across the world. The world had been lost or vitiated somewhere along the line and now needs to be reclaimed.
“It captures the dilemma of Africa and its socio-economic development aspiration, that is why the industrialised world, the culprits of climate change, is seeking global action to curtail carbon emissions, resulting principally from industries in the industrialised world. Africa which is still struggling to industrialise and thus contributes minimally to carbon emissions would bear the brunt of global action on carbon emission.”
Former Governor of Anambra state, Peter Obi, said on Dr Azikiwe when he contended in line with the postulation of Professor Chinua Achebe in his book The Problems with Nigeria is Bad Leadership. “The problems of Nigeria and Africa rest squarely on bad leadership. That is the burden of Africa and it is not the colonisers”.
Former vice presidential candidate and ex-presidential aide, Senator Ben Obi, appreciated the entire management of Unizik under the visionary and dynamic leadership of Professor Esimone for immortalising Azikiwe with the Annual Lecture Series as well as approving Senator Ben Obi Institute for Good Governance, Legislative Studies and Zik Lecture Research Centre.
Showering encomiums on Esimone, Odinye Sunny, the first professor of Chinese Studies in Nigeria from Unizik, said, “Professor Esimone is a man who has made Unizik the fourth best university in Nigeria and one of the best in Africa and the world at large.”
Thus, the idea of Unizik and others organising Zik posthumous lecture is a challenge to emerging African leaders and Ivory Towers in Africa, urging them to consolidate on bringing solutions to myriads of problems bedeviling the African continent, including climate change, poverty eradication, insecurity, conflicts, infrastructure deficit, the Japa syndrome, epileptic power supply, among others.
I challenge other universities in Africa to show exemplary leadership by emulating Professor Esimone by setting up ZIK Research Centre on Africa’s Development across the Ivory Towers in Africa as a way of bringing better life and prosperity for African descents.
Moreso, with Esimone’s leadership acumen cum intellectual sagacity, it would not be out of place appealing to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to invite Prof.Charles Esimone and inject him as one of his “think-tanks”. I have no doubt that this erudite scholar will help to galvanise good governance in the Nigeria project as well as take the country to its desired status in the comity of nations.
Borrowing from Dr Myles Munroe, “You need people around you, who believe in dreams that are even bigger than your own”. This sage had Professor Esimone in mind when he made this remarks. President Tinubu needs the likes of this great and highly cerebral scholar (Professor Esimone) around him.
Fatai Ibrahim is a distinguished alumnus of the prestigious Faculty of Law, University of Abuja.
