His Achievements, Trials, and Death: Nnamdi Benjamin Azikiwe, PC was a Nigerian statesman and political leader who served as the first President of Nigeria from 1963 to 1966.
He was born on November 16, 1904, and passed away on May 11, 1996. People commonly referred to Azikiwe as "Zik."
Nnamdi Benjamin Azikiwe died on May 11, 1996. Widely seen as a driving force behind Nigerian independence, he earned the title "founder of Nigerian nationalism."
Post's article "Has the African a God?" led to Azikiwe's sedition trial. Wallace-Johnson on May 15, 1936. Wallace-Johnson wrote the article.
Authorities convicted him and sentenced him to six months in prison, but he later appealed and overturned the conviction.
In 1937, Azikiwe relocated his base of operations to Lagos, where he established the West African Pilot, a journal that he used to advance the cause of nationalism in Nigeria. In addition to the Pilot, his Zik Group founded newspapers in other politically and economically significant locations around the nation.
The West African Pilot was the organization's flagship publication, and its motto, taken from Dante Alighieri's "Show the light and the people will discover the way," was "Show the light and the people will find the way."
Other newspapers were the Southern Nigeria Defender, which was published in Warri and eventually moved to Ibadan; the Eastern Guardian, which was established in 1940 and is currently based in Port Harcourt; and the Nigerian Spokesman, which is based in Onitsha.
In 1944, the organization was able to purchase Duse Mohamed's Comet. The newspaper that Azikiwe started was both a business and a political instrument.
The Pilot put less emphasis on advertising and more on circulation, mostly because foreign companies dominated the Nigerian economy at the time. Pilot expanded its Nigerian coverage beyond the Daily Times by adding sports and a women's section.
Many of Azikiwe's newspapers emphasized sensationalism and human-interest stories (which emphasized expatriate and foreign-news-service stories).
The Pilot's initial run was 6,000 copies daily, reaching a peak of over 20,000 by 1950. Azikiwe founded the African Continental Bank and Penny Restaurant during this time, advertising them in his newspapers.
Before the Second World War, people viewed the West African Pilot more as a publication attempting to create a readership base than as an overtly radical publication.
The editorials and political coverage of the paper centered on issues relating to the mistreatment of Africans, criticism of the administration of the colonial government, and support for the beliefs of Lagos' educated elites.
Nevertheless, by the year 1940, a shift had begun to take place. Azikiwe started writing a column called "Inside Stuff" in which he occasionally attempted to raise political consciousness.
He did this in the same way that he did in the African Morning Post. Pilot editorials championed African independence, especially after India's independence movement gained momentum.
Backing Britain in war, the newspaper criticized austerity measures like pay limits and price controls.
Azikiwe was one of the eight West African editors who received sponsorship from the British Council in 1943. He and the other six editors utilized the opportunity to raise awareness of the possibility of political independence.
The journalists signed a memorandum that called for gradual socio-political reforms, including the abolition of the crown colony system, regional representation, and independence for British West African colonies by the year 1958 or 1960 at the latest. The colonial office chose to disregard the memoranda, which only served to make Azikiwe more militant.
He held a controlling interest in over a dozen daily newspapers controlled by Africans. The essays written by Azikiwe on African nationalism, black pride, and empowerment shocked many colonialist politicians, and they were of great assistance to many Africans who were on the margins of society.
East African newspapers, except newsletters like the Standard, use Swahili primarily. Nnamdi Azikiwe revolutionized West African newspapers, proving English-language journalism could thrive.
By 1950, the Pilot had outsold the five leading African-run newspapers in the Eastern Region, including the Nigerian Daily Times.
This included the Nigerian Daily Times. The Nigerian government banned Azikiwe's papers on July 8, 1945, for misrepresenting strike information. Despite knowing the ban, Azikiwe kept writing on the strike for his Port Harcourt newsletter, The Guardian.
East Nigeria's premier (1954-1959), he also led a national strike in 1945. Following Nigerian independence in the 1960s, the West African Pilot gained influence in the east.
Particularly in the crosshairs of Azikiwe's fire were political factions that supported segregation. The Yoruba section accused him of silencing dissenting viewpoints in his publication and denounced him for it.
The New York Times wrote in its obituary for Azikiwe that he "towered over the affairs of Africa's most populous nation, gaining the uncommon stature of a really national hero who came to be adored across the regional and ethnic lines dividing his country." Azikiwe passed away in 1993.
Azikiwe was an active member of the Nigerian Youth Movement (NYM), which was the first nationalist group in the country. Ernest Ikoli was chosen as the NYM candidate for a vacant seat in the Legislative Council in 1941, despite the fact that he favored Samuel Akisanya for the position and voted for him as the NYM candidate.
In 1941, Ernest Ikoli, though supporting Samuel Akisanya, was selected as the NYM candidate for a Legislative Council seat.
Azikiwe accused the majority Yoruba leadership of discriminating against the Ijebu-Yoruba members and the Igbos before resigning from his position as a member of the NYM. Some Ijebu members decided to follow him, fragmenting the movement along ethnic lines.
After getting involved in politics, he and Herbert Macaulay established the National Council of Nigeria and the Cameroons (NCNC) in the year 1944. In 1946, Azikiwe was appointed to the position of secretary-general of the council.
The colonial government halted publication of the West African Pilot on July 8, 1945, directly responding to Azikiwe's support for a general strike in June 1945 and his criticism.
These events led to the suspension of the publication. He lauded the striking workers as well as their leader, Michael Imoudu, and he accused the colonial authority of taking advantage of the working class. In the month of August, authorities gave permission for the newspaper to restart publication.
During the strike, Azikiwe warned of a potential assassination plot by unidentified individuals for the colonial administration.
A reporter for the Pilot intercepted the radio transmission, which served as the foundation for his accusation. Nnamdi Benjamin Azikiwe went into hiding in Onitsha after discovering that authorities had intercepted the message he tried to send.
Supportive editorials in The Pilot during his disappearance fueled the widespread belief in his assassination.
During this time period, Nnamdi Benjamin Azikiwe saw a growth in both his popularity and the readership of his journal. Some Nigerians, believing that he fabricated the allegations in order to boost his fame, expressed their skepticism regarding the claims.
Yoruba politicians affiliated with the Nigerian Youth Movement primarily comprised skeptics. The schism among Nigerian Youth Movement factions sparked a war of words between Azikiwe's Pilot and NYM's Daily Service.
In 1946, a group of young people led by Osita Agwuna, Raji Abdalla, Kolawole Balogun, M. C. K. Ajuluchukwu, and Abiodun Aloba founded a militant youth movement with the intention of protecting Azikiwe's life as well as his principles of self-government.
Members of the movement quickly began advocating positive, militant action in order to bring about self-government.
His writings and the philosophy of Nwafor Orizu's Zikism inspired them to do so. The calls for action included things like a boycott of foreign goods, student strikes, and the study of military science by Nigerian students studying abroad.
Azikiwe didn't publicly defend the movement outlawed in 1951 after an unsuccessful attempt to kill a colonial secretary.
In 1945, British governor Arthur Richards proposed changes to the Clifford constitution, written in 1922. The plan aimed to boost African nominees in the Legislative Council, a feature of the proposal.
On the other hand, Nnamdi Benjamin Azikiwe, a nationalist, resisted the changes that were underway. Politicians affiliated with the NCNC were opposed to Arthur Richards's unilateral choices as well as a constitutional clause that would have allowed only four African MPs to be elected, with the remainder being nominated candidates.
African colonial candidates obeyed the government, lacking active pursuit of self-rule. Criticism arose due to limited opportunities for African advancement in civil service senior positions.
The NCNC made preparations to present its case to the newly elected Labour administration in Britain led by Clement Attlee. The party has embarked on a tour throughout the country in order to raise awareness of their problems and to generate money for the demonstration in the UK.
During the course of the tour, NCNC president Herbert Macaulay passed away, and Azikiwe took leadership of the party. Before the London trip, he led the group and sought US support for the party's cause.
Eleanor Roosevelt and Nnamdi Azikiwe met in Hyde Park, and during their conversation, Nnamdi Benjamin Azikiwe discussed the "emancipation of Nigeria from political thralldom, economic insecurity, and social handicap."
Nnamdi Benjamin Azikiwe, Funmilayo Ransome-Kuti, Zanna Dipcharima, Abubakar Olorunimbe, P. M. Kale, Adeleke Adedoyin, and Nyong Essien were among the members of the United Kingdom's delegation.
In order to raise awareness of their suggestions for modifications to the 1922 constitution, they went to the Fabian Society's Colonial Bureau, the Labor Imperial Committee, and the West African Students' Union.
In addition to giving more authority to the regional Houses of Assemblies and restricting the powers of the central Legislative Council to defense, currency, and foreign affairs, the proposals put forth by the NCNC called for conducting discussions with Africans regarding potential amendments to the Nigerian constitution.
The colonial secretary received the delegation's ideas, but Richards' proposals remained largely unchanged after the meeting. In 1947, Azikiwe ran for a Lagos seat, aiming to postpone the Richards constitution's implementation.
Nnamdi Benjamin Azikiwe was a candidate for the National Democratic Party and won a seat on the Legislative Council in a municipal election held in Lagos while the Richards constitution was in effect (an NCNC subsidiary).
Both he and the delegate of the party were absent from the first meeting of the council, which resulted in calls for amendments to be made to the Richards constitution and ultimately the adoption of the Macpherson constitution.
The Macpherson constitution, like the Richards constitution, mandated regional House of Assembly elections in 1951. Azikiwe opposed the alterations and fought to have the opportunity to alter the new constitution. Between August and December of 1951, there was a series of elections that took place.
Azikiwe's National Conscience and National Council (NCNC) and the Action Group were the two most powerful political organizations in the Western Region, where Azikiwe was based.
In September and December of 1951, elections were held for the Western Regional Assembly because the constitution permitted an electoral college to choose members of the national legislature.
An Action Group majority in the house posed a potential obstacle to Azikiwe's election to the House of Representatives. As a result, authorities held elections during those months.
However, the opposing party claimed a majority in the House of Assembly, and Nnamdi Benjamin Azikiwe did not represent Lagos in the House of Representatives of the federal government, despite the fact that he won a seat in the regional assembly from that city.
In 1951, he became head of the Western Region's Opposition, opposing Obafemi Awolowo's government. The non-selection of Azikiwe to the national assembly threw the West into disarray. Elected NCNC members from Lagos agreed to step down for Nnamdi Benjamin Azikiwe if not selected, causing a breakdown.
Azikiwe placed the blame on the constitution and advocated for its revision. The NCNC, dominant in the Eastern Region, aimed to change the constitution through unanimous voting.
In 1952, Azikiwe moved to the Eastern Region. The NCNC-dominated assembly there made adjustments to welcome him.
Most regional and central ministers ignored the request to resign, hindering the cabinet change process. The regional assembly cast a vote of no confidence against the ministers, rejecting appropriation bills sent to the ministry.
The lieutenant governor abolished the regional house due to a standstill in the region. A subsequent election confirmed Azikiwe's position as a representative for the Eastern Assembly. In 1954, when Nigeria's Eastern Region formed, Nnamdi Benjamin Azikiwe became Chief Minister, later premier.
Azikiwe was the first Nigerian to be appointed to the Privy Council of the United Kingdom after he was named governor-general on November 16, 1960. At the time, Abubakar Tafawa Balewa was serving as the country's prime minister.
In 1963, the year when Nigeria became a republic, he became the country's first president. Azikiwe served mostly in a ceremonial capacity in each of her positions.
During the military coup on January 15, 1966, the coup plotters removed him and his civilian colleagues from office. Nevertheless, he emerged as the most prominent politician to evade assassination after the coup.
During the Biafran War, Azikiwe advised Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu and acted as a Biafran spokesperson (1967–1970). Amid the conflict, he pledged loyalty to Nigeria and urged Ojukwu to cease fighting through letters and speeches.
According to an article that was written about him in the New York Times, regarding his political beliefs, "Throughout his life, Dr. Azikiwe's affiliation with northerners put him at war with Obafemi Awolowo, a socialist-inclined leader of the Yoruba, the country's other prominent southern community."
Azikiwe served as chancellor of the University of Lagos from 1972 until 1976, shortly after the end of the war. In 1978, he became a member of the Nigerian People's Party, and between 1979 and 1983, he made two unsuccessful runs for the president. After the military coup on the 31st of December in 1983, he willingly resigned from politics.
Azikiwe passed away on May 11, 1996, at the University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital in Enugu, after a protracted bout with illness. He was 91 years old at the time of his death. He rests in peace in his hometown of Onitsha.
In 1946, Azikiwe was honored by the Onitsha community by being inducted into the Agbalanze Society of Onitsha as Nnanyelugo. Onitsha men who have achieved significant success reserve this recognition. In 1962, he became Oziziani Obi, akin to a second-rank red cap chieftain (Ndichie Okwa).
Chief Nnamdi Benjamin Azikiwe became a first-rank hereditary red cap nobleman (Ndichie Ume) in the Igbo branch of the Nigerian chieftaincy system in 1972 when he was installed as the Owelle-Osowa-Anya of Onitsha. The city of Onitsha bestowed this honor upon him.
Queen Elizabeth II also granted him a position on the Privy Council of the United Kingdom in 1960. He had previously been the founder of the University of Nigeria, Nsukka.
In 1980, he received Nigeria's highest honor, Grand Commander of the Federal Republic (GCFR). Britain introduced football to Nigeria during its colonization of Africa. On the other hand, strict segregation characterized any emerging leagues.
Nnamdi Azikiwe deemed it unjust; by the colonial era's close, he pioneered linking sports and politics. Nigeria didn't allow Zik to join the 1934 track competition. As a result of this having occurred previously due to his Igbo heritage, Zik came to the conclusion that he had had enough and wanted to establish his own club.
Nnamdi deemed it unjust; by the colonial era's close, he pioneered linking sports and politics. Nnamdi founded Zik's Athletic Club (ZAC), welcoming athletes from all backgrounds in Nigeria, irrespective of ethnicity or social status.
The club ultimately triumphed in 1942, taking first place in both the Lagos League and the War Memorial Cup. Following these successes, Nnamdi expanded the ZAC's presence across Nigeria by opening more branches.
The ZAC embarked on many travels over the years of the war. After a match, they'd address British colonization injustices to thousands of fans.
ZAC matches would take place all across the country, and the result was that the Nigerian people developed a strong sense of national pride and cohesion, which aided them in their struggle for freedom. In 1949, many members of the ZAC played soccer in England as part of a tour.
During their return journey, they stopped in Freetown, Sierra Leone, winning 2-1 against the locals.
This triumph occurred more than a decade prior to the year when Nigeria gained its independence; yet, it was the event that initiated the formation of Nigeria's National Team.
After years of battle, the final British official left the NFA in 1959, and on August 22, 1960, Nigeria joined FIFA, the world governing body of football, just a few weeks before it was officially recognized as an independent nation.
If it were not for Nnamdi Azikiwe, none of this would have been doable in the first place. Through athletics, he was able to bring Nigerians together and instill in them a sense of national pride that came to be known as "Nigerian-ness."
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