Nigeria’s
Forgotten Heroes: Nnamdi Azikiwe – “Father of the Nation” (Part 1)
By
Max Siollun
As Nigeria’s foremost
nationalist and first post independence Head of State, Dr Nnamdi Azikiwe
was (and still should be) to Nigeria, what
George Washington
is to America, Nkrumah is to
Ghana,
Nasser is to Arabs, and Mandela is to
South Africa. The fact that he is not so remembered
is a sad testament to Nigeria’s legacy keeping and failure to honour its
founding fathers.
Azikiwe transcended national politics to become an icon. He is the father
of post independence Nigeria.
Birth and Weaning
Unlike many prominent figures in Nigeria (such as Yar'Adua, Ukpabio,
Fani-Kayode, Sanusi) who came from political dynasties, Azikiwe was from
humble origins. He was a local boy made good. Although Dame Margery Perham
described him as a “strange, brilliant,
protean character from the Ibo forests", he was much more bohemian.
Perhaps the mis-description can be forgiven when placed in the ignorant
colonial context from which it emerged.
Benjamin Nnamdi Azikiwe
was born on November 16, 1904, in Zungeru in
northern Nigeria. His father was an
Igbo
from
Onitsha
who worked as a clerk in the
Nigeria Regiment. Azikiwe’s national outlook was
perhaps a result of his cosmopolitan upbringing. Although he was Igbo by
birth, he was born in the Northern Region, and attended schools in the
west (Lagos), and east (Onitsha and
Calabar).
Zik the Polyglot
As a child the young Azikiwe spoke Hausa. He learnt Igbo after
being sent to his native hometown of Onitsha at the age of eight. After
attending primary school in Onitsha, he later attended the Wesleyan Boys'
High School
in Lagos. In Lagos, he became a fluent
Yoruba
speaker and completed his command of Nigeria’s three most widely spoken
indigenous languages: Hausa, Igbo and Yoruba. He of course later became
famous for his exceptional command of English and “special gift for
oratory, characterised by lavish use of 'long technical, unusual and
foreign-sounding words, calculated to dazzle the wholly unsophisticated
audiences.” (Schwarz) He continued his studies at the Hope Waddall
Training Institute in Calabar and became interested at a young age, in the
black consciousness leaders such as
Marcus Garvey.
He later revealed that his cross-cultural upbringing influenced his
broad-minded view of his country:
“One important feature of my early boyhood days which has had a decisive
influence on my latter attitude towards human beings, was the
cosmopolitan nature of my neighbourhood and school atmosphere…the
contacts made me to be more cosmopolitan and fraternal in human
relations.”
Years of Challenge – Zik Attempts Suicide
After working for a short period of time as a civil service clerk at the
Treasury Office in Lagos, he departed for the U.S. in 1925 with 300 pounds
that his father had managed to save and borrow on his behalf. When he
arrived in the U.S. he lived in poverty, at one time having so little
money that he survived on lemonade and bread. To make ends meet he did
manual jobs, working as a coal miner, casual labourer, boxer and
dish-washer. While working in a coal mine he was racially abused, being
called "nigger" and "coon", by the time-keeper. Azikiwe later lamented,
"It gave me food for thought that an
uncultured, tobacco chewing and vociferous Yankee foreman could speak to
me, a university undergraduate, in such vein."
His early years in America were so difficult and at one point he attempted
suicide by lying across train tracks and waiting for an oncoming train to
crush him. A good Samaritan saved his life by pulling him off the track
with the train only a few yards from him.
Nonetheless he was deeply impressed by the U.S. presidential elections of
1928 which exposed him to the rigours and complexities of democratic
practice.
“Zik” is Born
He attended
Storer College
in
West Virginia,
and later
Howard University
in Washington DC. He lectured in political science at
Lincoln University
in
Pennsylvania
(where he also obtained an MA in
Political Science),
and while there he obtained postgraduate qualifications from Columbia
University (Certificate in Journalism of the
Teachers' College)
and the
University of Pennsylvania
(MSc in
Anthropology).
While he was at Storer College his fellow students nicknamed him "Zik".
The nickname stuck for the rest of his life.
The Return of Zik of Africa – “Nnamdi is
Born”
Now a graduate in multiple disciplines, Azikiwe returned from the U.S. in
1934, and the following year moved to Ghana where he became editor of the
Accra based African Morning Post. He was convicted of sedition for an
article printed in the paper (the conviction was quashed on appeal). He
also wrote a book called
Liberia
in World Affairs.
Zik was also a college athlete of some repute with an athletic background
from his university days in the U.S. In 1934 Zik applied to compete for
Nigeria in the British Empire Games. However he was barred from competing
after the South African team objected to his participation on account of
his race. Shocked and aggrieved by this blatant racism, he decided to give
up his English name “Benjamin”, and started answering the Igbo traditional
name “Nnamdi”. Zik used his athletic prowess as a metaphor for challenges
he faced in life. In an article in a 1938 edition of the
West African
Pilot, Zik claimed he “always looked at
most of my life's problems as problems which confront a miler in a mile
race."
Assassination Plot and the Zikist Movement
In 1938 he returned to Nigeria from Ghana and founded the West African
Pilot newspaper, which championed nationalist causes and published under
the motto “Show the light and the people
will find the way”. The paper supported a 1945 strike by workers
demanding higher wages. The colonial authorities banned the paper as a
result, following which Azikiwe wrote his "last testament", fled back to
Onitsha and went into hiding, alleging a government plot to assassinate
him. Although the authorities denied the assassination plot, it was widely
believed by his supporters and reinforced his popularity. It also led to
the formation of a young radical group called the "Zikist Movement", which
was dedicated to defending Zik from his opponents. The colonial
authorities outlawed the group, accusing it of sedition, violence and
unlawful behaviour. Such measures merely reinforced Azikiwe’s popularity
and made him seen like a local hero standing up to bullying colonial
authorities. He became a messianic symbol of Nigerian nationhood and
nationalism.
Politics
As a fluent and intelligent orator with an athletic 6 feet plus physique
and telegenic good looks, he was in many ways born for politics. Schwarz
referred to Zik's "exceptional charm,
handsome face
and special gift for oratory, characterised by lavish use of 'long
technical, unusual and foreign-sounding words, calculated to dazzle the
wholly unsophisticated audiences.” (Schwarz) Yet he was more than
just a slick talking showman. He was a shrewd political operator too.
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