Chief Chukwuma Bamidele Azikiwe (February 1940 – 10 May 2015) was a

Nigerian Nigerians or the Nigerian people are citizens of Nigeria or people with ancestry from Nigeria. The name Nigeria was taken from the Niger River running through the country. This name was allegedly coined in the late 19th century by British jour ...

diplomat A diplomat (from grc, δίπλωμα; romanized ''diploma'') is a person appointed by a state or an intergovernmental institution such as the United Nations or the European Union to conduct diplomacy with one or more other states or internati ...

and

political figure A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking ...

. He was the second Owelle-Osowa-Anya of

Onitsha Onitsha ( or just ''Ọ̀nị̀chà'') is a city located on the eastern bank of the Niger River, in Anambra State, Nigeria. A metropolitan area, metropolitan city, Onitsha is known for its river port and as an economic hub for commerce, industr ...

and the eldest son of

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese f ...

Nnamdi Azikiwe Nnamdi Benjamin Azikiwe, (16 November 1904 – 11 May 1996), usually referred to as "Zik", was a Nigerian statesman and political leader who served as the first President of Nigeria from 1963 to 1966. Considered a driving force behind the ...

, the first holder of the chieftaincy.

Education and political career

Azikiwe studied at

Harvard College Harvard College is the undergraduate college of Harvard University, an Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636, Harvard College is the original school of Harvard University, the oldest institution of higher ...

where he participated in track and field (broad jump) and graduated in 1963. He then graduated from

Harvard Business School Harvard Business School (HBS) is the graduate business school of Harvard University, a private research university in Boston, Massachusetts. It is consistently ranked among the top business schools in the world and offers a large full-time MBA ...

in 1964. He ran unsuccessfully for 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 Fo ...

Anambra State gubernatorial nomination in 1991. After his father died in 1996, he succeeded him as the second Owelle-Osowa-Anya of Onitsha.

Death

Azikiwe died at Borommeo Hospital in Onitsha on 10 May 2015 at the age of 75. He is said to have suffered from respiratory ailments prior to his death. While the Nigerian federal government indicated interest to give him a state burial in which the burial activities were coordinated through some Nigeria State Governors (Lagos, Anambra, Enugu, Oyo, and Kaduna states) at that period, the burial was sponsored by the Anambra State Government.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Azikiwe, Chukwuma 1940 births 2015 deaths Anambra State politicians Chukwuma Nigerian diplomats Igbo politicians Harvard Business School alumni Nigerian expatriates in the United States Igbo diplomats