November 16, the birthday of Dr Nnamdi Azikiwe, ought to be a
national holiday in Nigeria. It is deserving honour for the pivotal leader who
led the charge for Nigeria’s independence on October 1, 1960.
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| *Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe |
As a result of his unparalleled efforts, Dr.
Nnamdi Azikiwe would in the course of time become the only black
Governor-General of Nigeria, the first President and Commander-in-Chief of the
Armed Forces, the only Nigerian whose name appeared in a Constitution of
Nigeria, the first Senate President, among many other sterling firsts.
The great one fondly called Zik of Africa
remains a binding force of togetherness in Nigeria even in death. He deserves a
national holiday on his birthday, November 16, as eminently highlighted by
Chief Willie Obiano, the Governor of Anambra State, by urging President
Muhammadu Buhari to declare the birthday of Nigeria’s first president as a
public holiday.
Governor Obiano who made the call at Alex Ekwueme Square, Awka while marking
Nigeria’s 59th Independence celebration stressed that some African nations like
Ghana and Tanzania had honoured their pan-African leaders such as Kwame Nkrumah
and Julius Nyerere. He described Dr. Azikiwe as the greatest Nigerian who lived
in the last century and argued that with the requisite honour being given to
Zik it would enable the people to have a better understanding of Africa
and the black race that Azikiwe inspired.
The governor revealed that Zik inspired
notable citizens and nationalists, including Chief Obafemi Awolowo
and Bashorun MKO Abiola, with his intelligence, eloquence and public oratorical
skills.
Leading from the front, Governor Obiano stated
that Anambra State will start to observe November 16 annually as a Work-Free
Day in commemoration of the birthday of Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe. He pointed out that
the day would be set aside to reflect on the contributions of Dr. Azikiwe to
the growth of the country at large.
There is no gainsaying that Zik remains
Nigeria’s foremost nationalist and therefore deserves a national holiday. This
comes from the background of President Buhari having set the precedent of
honoring the presumed winner of the June 12, 1993, presidential vote, Chief
Moshood Abiola, with the renaming of the National Stadium in Abuja after him,
bestowing on him the Grand Commander of the Federal Republic, Nigeria’s highest
national honour given to only heads of state, and making June 12 a national
holiday.
As the erudite Anambra State Commissioner for
Information and Public Enlightenment, C. Don Adinuba, said, “Abiola never left
anyone in doubt that he was greatly inspired by the nationalism, patriotism and
sportsmanlike spirit of Nigeria’s first president, Dr Nnamdi Azikiwe, GCFR, PC.
Abiola remained an avowed Zikist up to his death.”
On his part, Governor Obiano reiterated: “It
has become imperative to remind President Buhari of the request I made to him
on behalf of the government and people of Anambra State when he visited Onitsha
to commission the newly completed Zik Mausoleum last January 24 that he declare
Zik’s birthday a national holiday. Ghanaians observe the birthday of their
first president, Dr Kwame Nkrumah, himself a Zik protégé. Tanzanians observe a
national holiday in memory of their first president, Mwalimu Julius Nyerere, as
Angolans do in memory of Dr Agustiono Neto, their first president.
The Great Zik of Africa was not just Nigeria’s first president or the man who
led Nigeria to independence in 1960. He was Nigeria’s first indigenous
Governor-General and the first Senate President. He was the first Nigerian to
build a bank, thus inspiring his colleagues as regional premiers in the 1950s
to establish their own banks. He was also the first Nigerian to set up a
university, and consequently challenged his peers to follow in his footsteps.
A Nigerian nationalist of incomparable status
and a man of letters through and through, the Great Zik of Africa had
established as early as the 1950s newspapers in Ibadan, Zaria, Kano, Onitsha,
Port Harcourt and, of course, Lagos to fight for Nigeria’s liberation from
oppressive colonial rule. Zik inspired a generation of Africans, including the
late President Nkrumah of Ghana, Chief Obafemi Awolowo, and Dr Nwafor Orizu,
who became Nigeria’s second Senate President. It has, therefore, become a
national scandal that a national holiday has yet to be declared in honour of
this great African son. The people and government of Anambra State once again
call upon President Buhari to end this national blight by declaring November 16
of every year a national holiday in commemoration of Dr Azikiwe’s birthday.”
A quintessential Renaissance man, Zik was a
politician, poet, author, orator, sportsman, visionary, nationalist, but above
all else, a remarkable human being.
Zik lived and died as the acclaimed Father of
Modern Nigeria. Zik was the complete Nigerian. Born in the Hausa-Fulani North
of Eastern Igbo parentage, Zik spent his most productive years in the Yoruba
West. He spoke Hausa, Yoruba and Igbo fluently, as well as other Nigerian
languages. He was a welcome presence everywhere n the country.
A native of Onitsha in Anambra State, Zik was
born on November 16, 1904, in Zungeru and died on May 11, 1996.
Zik who wore the traditional title of Owelle
of Onitsha with uncommon aplomb was the lionised author of books such as
Renascent Africa, Liberia in World Politics, My Odyssey, etc.
A national holiday for the leader who made
Nigeria’s independence possible is very imperative. The Nnamdi Azikiwe national
holiday, or Zik’s Day, is an idea whose time has come in celebration of the
father of modern Nigeria. It is incumbent on President Buhari to make it happen.
*Mr. Uzoatu is a poet
and public intellectual
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