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Nnamdi Azikiwe Biography & Facts

Nnamdi Benjamin Azikiwe, PC (16 November 1904 – 11 May 1996), usually referred to Zik, was a Nigerian politician, statesman, and revolutionary leader who served as the 3rd governor-general of Nigeria from 1960 to 1963 and the 1st president of Nigeria during the First Nigerian Republic (1963–1966). He is regarded as the "father of Nigerian nationalism", for driving force behind the nation's independence. Born in Zungeru in present-day Niger State to Igbo parents from Onitsha, Anambra State, he learned to speak Hausa (the main indigenous language of the Northern Region). Azikiwe was later sent to live with his aunt and grandmother in Onitsha, where he learnt Igbo language. Staying in Lagos also exposed him to Yoruba; by the time he was in college, he had been exposed to different Nigerian cultures and spoke three languages (an asset as president). Azikiwe travelled to the United States where he was called Ben Azikiwe and attended Storer College, Columbia University, the University of Pennsylvania and Howard University. He contacted colonial authorities with a request to represent Nigeria at the 1932 Los Angeles Olympics since he was also a sportsperson. He returned to Africa in 1934, where he began work as a journalist in Gold Coast. In British West Africa, he advocated for Nigerian and African nationalism while working as a journalist and a political leader. Early life and education Youth: education and background Azikiwe was born on 16 November, 1904 in Zungeru, Northern Nigeria. His first name, "Nnamdi", given to him by his parents is an Igbo name which literally means "my father is alive". His father, Obed-Edom Chukwuemeka Azikiwe (1879–3 March 1958), a native of Onitsha, was a clerk in the British Administration of Nigeria. His mother Rachel Chinwe Ogbenyeanu Azikiwe (neé Aghadiuno) (1883 – January 1958), who was sometimes called "Nwanonaku" was the third daughter of Aghadiuno Ajie and a descendant of a royal family in Onitsha; her paternal great-grandfather Ugogwu Anazenwu, was the Obi of Onitsha. Azikiwe had one sibling, a sister, named Cecilia Eziamaka Arinze. As a young boy, Azikiwe spoke Hausa, the regional language. His father, concerned about his son's fluency in Igbo and not Hausa, sent him to Onitsha in 1912 to live with his paternal grandmother and aunt to learn the Igbo language and culture. In Onitsha, Azikiwe attended Holy Trinity School (a Roman Catholic mission school) and Christ Church School (an Anglican primary school). In 1914, while his father was working in Lagos, Azikiwe was bitten by a dog; this prompted his worried father to send him to Lagos, that he may heal and continue school in the city. He then attended Wesleyan Boys' High School, now known as Methodist Boys' High School, Lagos. His father was sent to Kaduna two years later, and Azikiwe briefly lived with a relative who was married to a Muslim from Sierra Leone. In 1918, he was back to Onitsha and finished his secondary education at CMS Central School. Azikiwe then worked at the school as a student-teacher, supporting his mother with his earnings. In 1920, his father was posted back to Southern Nigeria Protectorate , in the city of Calabar. Azikiwe joined his father in Calabar, beginning tertiary education at the Hope Waddell Training College. He was introduced to the teachings of Marcus Garvey, Garveyism, which became an important part of his nationalistic rhetoric. After attending Hope Waddell, Azikiwe was transferred to Methodist Boys' High School in Lagos, and he made friends with classmates from old Lagos families such as George Shyngle, Francis Cole and Ade Williams (a son of the Akarigbo of Remo). These connections were later beneficial to his political career in Lagos. While at Wesley Boys High school he excelled in his studies and gifted a book titled "from Log Cabin to the White House", a biography of James. A. Garfield, former president of the United States, who rose from grass to grace. The book inspired him to be determined to succeed in life. Azikiwe heard a lecture by James Aggrey, an educator who believed that Africans should receive a college education abroad and return to effect change. After the lecture, Aggrey gave the young Azikiwe a list of schools accepting black students in America. After completing his secondary education, Azikiwe applied to the colonial service and was accepted as a clerk in the' treasury department. His time in the colonial service exposed him to racial bias in the colonial government. Azikiwe's choice to study in the United States instead of Great Britain were due to influences of Dr. James Kwegyir Aggrey, the biographies of President A. Garfield and Abraham Lincoln, the Marcus Garvey Pan Africanism and the existence of assistances for indigent students which is not offered in Britain. Determined to travel abroad for further education, Azikiwe applied to universities in the U.S. He was admitted by Storer College, contingent on his finding a way to America. To reach America, he contacted a seaman and made a deal with him to become a stowaway. However, one of his friends on the ship became ill and they were advised to disembark in Sekondi. In Ghana, Azikiwe worked as a police officer; his mother visited, and asked him to return to Nigeria. He returned, and his father was willing to sponsor his trip to America. Azikiwe attended Storer College's two-year preparatory school in Harpers Ferry, West Virginia. To fund his living expenses and tuition, he worked a number of menial jobs before enrolling in Howard University in Washington, D.C. in 1927 to obtain a bachelor's degree in political science. In 1929, he transferred from Howard University to Lincoln University to complete his undergraduate studies and graduated in 1930 with a BA in political science. Azikwe took courses with Alain Locke. Azikiwe was a member of Phi Beta Sigma. He then enrolled at Lincoln University in Pennsylvania and in the University of Pennsylvania simultaneously in 1930, receiving a master's degree in religion and philosophy from Lincoln University in 1932 and a master's degree in anthropology from the University of Pennsylvania in 1933. Azikiwe became a graduate-student instructor in the history and political-science departments at Lincoln University, where he created a course in African history. He was a candidate for a doctoral degree at Columbia University before returning to Nigeria in 1934. Azikiwe's doctoral research focused on Liberia in world politics, and his research paper was published by A. H. Stockwell in 1934. During his time in America, he was a columnist for the Baltimore Afro-American, Philadelphia Tribune and the Associated Negro Press. Azikiwe was influenced by the ideals of the African-American press, Garveyism and pan-Africanism. Associations & Societies Young Men's Christian Association, Storer College (1925-27) International Cub of Howard University (1928) Stylus Literary Society of Howard University (1923) International Club of.... Discover the Nnamdi Azikiwe popular books. Find the top 100 most popular Nnamdi Azikiwe books.