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Chukwuemeka Ezeife (20 November 1937 – 14 December 2023) was a Nigerian politician who served as the governor of
Anambra State Anambra () is a States of Nigeria, state in Nigeria. It is located in the South East (Nigeria), South-eastern region of the country. The state was created on 27 August 1991. Anambra state is bounded by Delta State to the west, Imo State and Ri ...
in Nigeria from January 1992 to November 1993 during the
Nigerian Third Republic The Third Republic was the planned republicanism, republican government of Nigeria in 1992 which was to be governed by the Third Republican constitution. In the Third Republic, there were to be state governors, state assemblies, and the Nation ...
.


Background

Ezeife was born in
Igbo-Ukwu Igbo-Ukwu ( English: ''Great Igbo'') is a town in the Nigerian state of Anambra in the south-central part of the country. The town comprises three quarters namely Obiuno, Ngo, and Ihite (an agglomeration of 4 quarters) with several villages wi ...
, Anambra State, on 20 November 1937. He did not attend secondary school but taught himself through correspondence courses, qualifying for university admission. He earned a BSc in Economics from the University College Ibadan, and later attended
Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...
on a
Rockefeller Foundation The Rockefeller Foundation is an American private foundation and philanthropic medical research and arts funding organization based at 420 Fifth Avenue, New York City. The foundation was created by Standard Oil magnate John D. Rockefeller (" ...
scholarship, where he obtained a master's degree and then a PhD in 1972. Ezeife's career included roles as a School Headmaster, a lecturer at Makerere University College in
Kampala Kampala (, ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Uganda. The city proper has a population of 1,875,834 (2024) and is divided into the five political divisions of Kampala Central Division, Kampala, Kawempe Division, Kawempe, Makindy ...
, Uganda, a Teaching Fellow at Harvard University, and a Consultant with Arthur D. Little in
Cambridge, Massachusetts Cambridge ( ) is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. It is a suburb in the Greater Boston metropolitan area, located directly across the Charles River from Boston. The city's population as of the 2020 United States census, ...
. He joined the civil service as an Administrative Officer and rose to the position of
Permanent Secretary A permanent secretary is the most senior Civil Service (United Kingdom), civil servant of a department or Ministry (government department), ministry charged with running the department or ministry's day-to-day activities. Permanent secretaries are ...
.


Political career

Ezeife was elected governor of Anambra State on the
Social Democratic Party The name Social Democratic Party or Social Democrats has been used by many political parties in various countries around the world. Such parties are most commonly aligned to social democracy as their political ideology. Active parties Form ...
(SDP) platform, holding office from 2 January 1992 to 17 November 1993, when General
Sani Abacha Sani Abacha (; (20 September 1943 – 8 June 1998) was a Nigerian military dictator and statesman who ruled Nigeria with an iron fist as military head of state from 1993 following a palace coup d'état until his death in 1998. Abacha's seiz ...
took power after a military coup. As governor, he was said to be more interested in planning than in addressing immediate developmental needs and achieved few tangible results. He transferred
Nnamdi Azikiwe University Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka (UNIZIK) is a federal university in Nigeria. It consists of two campuses in Anambra State. Its main campus is in Awka (the capital of Anambra State), while its other campus is in Nnewi. There are also other campu ...
and Federal Polytechnic, Oko to the federal government, which helped ensure their survival during the ensuing military regime. During the
Nigerian Fourth Republic The Fourth Republic is the current republican government of Nigeria. Since 1999, it has governed the country according to the fourth republican constitution. Nigeria adopted the constitution of the Fourth Republic on 29 May 1999. Founding Foll ...
, Ezeife, who described himself as a social democrat, was appointed presidential Adviser on Political Matters to President
Olusegun Obasanjo Chief Olusegun Matthew Okikiola Ogunboye Aremu Obasanjo (; ; born 5 March 1937) is a Nigerian former army general, politician and statesman who served as Nigeria's head of state from 1976 to 1979 and later as its president from 1999 to 200 ...
.


Later career

Ezeife was appointed a member of the board of the Centre for Development & Empowerment of Commercial Motorcyclists. In February 2006, the Federal Capital Development Authority bulldozed his house in
Abuja Abuja (; , ) is the capital city of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, strategically situated at the geographic midpoint of the country within the Federal Capital Territory (Nigeria), Federal Capital Territory (FCT). As the seat of the Federal G ...
on the grounds that the plot of land and those of adjacent houses had been acquired improperly. In January 2010, he was among thousands who demonstrated in
Awka Awka () is the capital city of Anambra State, Nigeria. The city was declared capital on 21 August 1991, on the creation of a new Anambra state and Enugu state by bifurcation of the old Anambra State. The city of Enugu remained the capital of Enu ...
, calling for credible and violence-free governorship elections on 6 February. In April 2010, one of Ezeife's wives, Onyedi, was kidnapped by hoodlums who had earlier killed four policemen. The kidnappers demanded a high ransom.


Death

Chukwuemeka Ezeife died on 14 December 2023, at the age of 86.


References

1937 births 2023 deaths Social Democratic Party (Nigeria) politicians Governors of Anambra State Harvard University alumni Nigerian Permanent Secretaries {{Anambra-politician-stub