Nnamdi Benjamin Azikiwe was born on November 16th, 1904 in the town of Zungeru, which is located in Northern Nigeria. Igbo's first name (meaning "father lives") hints at his heritage (both Igbo parents).
His father, Obed-Edom Chukwuemeka Azikiwe (1879–3 March 1958), was an Onye Onicha native and worked as a clerk for the British Administration of Nigeria.
His job demanded extensive travel throughout Nigeria. Rachel Chinwe Ogbenyeanu (Aghadiuno) Azikiwe was Azikiwe's mother.
She was born in 1883 and passed away in January 1958. Rachel Chinwe Ogbenyeanu (Aghadiuno) Azikiwe, also known as Nwanonaku, was the third daughter of Aghadiuno Ajie.
Her family was descended from a royal dynasty in Onitsha, and Obi (Ugogwu) Anazenwu was her paternal great-grandfather. Azikiwe had one sibling, a sister named Cecilia Eziamaka Arinze.
He learned to speak Hausa when he was a young boy. His parents were Igbo and came from Anambra State in eastern Nigeria.
He was born in Zungeru, which is now in Niger State (the main indigenous language of the Northern Region). Later on, Azikiwe was dispatched to Onitsha, the homeland of his parents, to live with his aunt and grandmother. It was there that he became fluent in the Igbo language.
Lagos stay made him fluent in Yoruba. By college, he embraced Nigerian culture, speaking three languages (a presidential asset).
Azikiwe moved to the United States and changed his name to Ben Azikiwe. While in the United States, he received an education from Howard University, Columbia University, the University of Pennsylvania, and Storer College.
He made contact with the colonial authorities to submit a request to compete for Nigeria in the Olympics in Los Angeles. It was not until 1934 that he made his way back to Africa and found a job as a writer on the Gold Coast.
As a journalist and a political leader in British West Africa, he promoted Nigerian and African nationalism. He did this while in the region.
When Azikiwe was a young lad, the local language of Hausa was his first language. Because his father was worried that his son would only be fluent in Hausa and not Igbo, he took him to Onitsha in 1912 to live with his paternal grandmother and aunt so that he could learn Igbo and become immersed in Igbo culture.
Azikiwe attended Holy Trinity (Catholic) & Christ Church (Anglican) schools in Onitsha. 1914 dog bite in Onitsha sent Azikiwe to Lagos for recovery & school.
Azikiwe arrived in Lagos in 1914. His father continued to work in Lagos. The Wesleyan Boys' High School on Broad Street in Lagos was where he received his education.
Two years later, his father was transferred to Kaduna, and Azikiwe spent some time residing with a relative who was married to a Muslim from Sierra Leone during that time.
1918 found him back in Onitsha, where he had the opportunity to complete his primary education at CMS Central School. Azikiwe became a student-teacher, supporting his mother with earnings.
In 1920, his father moved to Calabar, southern Nigeria. Azikiwe joined his father in Calabar, attending Hope Waddell Training College's secondary school.
Garveyism, which he learned about through his exposure to the teachings of Marcus Garvey, eventually became an essential component of his nationalistic speech.
Following his time at Hope Waddell, Azikiwe attended Methodist Boys' High School in Lagos, where she made friends with students whose families had been in Lagos for generations, including George Shyngle, Francis Cole, and Ade Williams (a son of the Akarigbo of Remo).
These contacts helped him later on in his political career in Lagos and were helpful to him. Azikiwe attended a talk given by James Aggrey, an educator who advocated for Africans to pursue higher education outside of the continent and then return to make a difference on the continent.
After the speech, Aggrey handed the young Azikiwe a list of colleges and universities in the United States that are open to black students. After finishing secondary school, Azikiwe joined the colonial service as a Treasury clerk.
His time spent working for the colonial government made him more susceptible to instances of racial prejudice inside that administration. Azikiwe applied to US colleges for further education.
Storer College granted him admission on the condition that he find a means to come to the United States. Sailor's deal secured him passage to the US as a stowaway.
On the other hand, one of his companions who was traveling with him on the ship fell ill, and the crew recommended they disembark in Sekondi.
Azikiwe had a job as a police officer in Ghana, but when his mother went there to visit, he decided to go back to Nigeria instead. After his return, his father expressed a willingness to pay for him to continue his education in the United States.
In Harpers Ferry, West Virginia, Azikiwe completed her secondary education in the two-year preparatory program offered by Storer College.
Before beginning his studies at Howard University in Washington, District of Columbia, in 1927 to get a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science, he held a series of low-level jobs to cover his day-to-day costs and pay for his education.
He began his undergraduate studies at Howard University in 1929 but later transferred to Lincoln University to finish them.
He received his bachelor's degree in political science from Lincoln University in 1930. Alain Locke was the instructor for the classes that Azikwe took.
Azikiwe was a member of Phi Beta Sigma. In 1930, he enrolled at both Lincoln University in Pennsylvania and the University of Pennsylvania at the same time.
Two years later, in 1932, he received a master's degree in anthropology from the University of Pennsylvania and a master's degree in religion from Lincoln University.
Both institutions were located in Pennsylvania. At Lincoln University, where he was a graduate student lecturer in the history and political science departments, Azikiwe developed a curriculum for an African history class that he taught to students.
Before moving back to Nigeria in 1934, he attended Columbia University to complete his doctoral degree there.
His dissertation on the topic, which was handed into A. H. Stockwell in 1934, was centered on Azikiwe's investigation of Liberia's place in international politics.
Boxing, swimming, athletics, football, and tennis were some of the sports in which Azikiwe competed. He was the great-uncle of footballer Jeffrey Sarpong, who played for the Ghana national team. He was a supporter of Celtic Football Club.
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