Chukwuemeka ojukwu biography sample

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Harnessing the Power of Education (1)Download

Speech Delivered by Osita Chidoka at Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu University, Anambra State on the Occasion of the third Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu Lecture Series, On 14 November 2024.

The Pro- chancellor/Chairman of the University Governing Council

Members of the University Governing Council,

Distinguished Vice-Chancellor,

Other Principal Officers of the University, 

Esteemed Professors, 

Other members of the academic Community, 

Students, and Honoured Guests,

Thank you for this profound honour to speak at Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu University, an institution that stands as a tribute to a remarkable man whose legacy continues to inspire us all—Dim Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu.

Introduction: A Story of Conviction

Let me begin with a story that speaks to Ojukwu’s unique character. Imagine being the son of one of Nigeria’s wealthiest men, who spares no expense in securing your education at King’s College Lagos and Oxford University, envisioning a life of prestige in business or government. But instead of following this expected path, you choose to join the army. This was Ojukwu’s choice, and it infuriated his father. He had not invested so such in education just to see his son take a military path. But for Ojukwu, this decision was not about defiance; it was about conviction. This choice reflected his desire to serve, to lead, and to chart his path. From this story, we see the power of education—not as a ticket to comfort, but as a foundation for courage and purpose.

Conceptual Foundations: Education and National Development

Before proceeding further, let us clarify the key concepts that are central to today’s discussion: education and national development.

Understanding Education

Education is recognized globally for its power to shape individuals and societies. Fundamentally, education provides the knowledge, skills, and values needed for personal and so

Before he died in 2011, leader of the Biafran secessionist movement, Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu, had assumed four personalities: he was a hero, a villain, a rebel, and even a ‘one-Nigerianist’.

When Lt. Col. Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu declared Biafra’s independence from Nigeria in May 1967, he became a well-known but contentious figure and the subject of numerous debates. To some, Ojukwu’s decision was inevitable as the aftermaths of two coups in 1966 posed an existential threat to the people of Nigeria’s Eastern Region. To others, by challenging Nigeria, the largest and most promising of Britain’s colonial legacy in Africa, Ojukwu attempted the unthinkable. But a blend of Ojukwu’s past and his choices after declaring Biafra a republic, succeeded in making him one of the most controversial figures in contemporary Nigerian history.

Before he died in 2011, Ojukwu had assumed four personalities, some distinct, some overlapping. He was a hero, a villain, a rebel, and even a ‘one-Nigerianist’. While his rebel personality seems to have stuck, the fact that he flipped sides to become one of the major promoters of ‘one-Nigeria’ is interesting though clouded by his much earlier reputation. His ‘wrongs’ reverberated so much that it ridiculed his attempts to right them. Yet, at his prime, he was cherished by some, just as he was despised by others. The most interesting aspects of his personality lie, however, not in his reportedly brash persona but in his courage to apparently mend fences. The latter, however, remains a neglected theme in the discourse on Ojukwu’s legacy. Who, therefore, was Ojukwu?

OJUKWU’S EARLY YEARS

Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu was born on 4 November 1933 in Zungeru, northern Nigeria, into a wealthy family. His father, Sir Louis Odumegwu Ojukwu, had amassed great wealth from business ventures across the agriculture, mining, transportation, and banking industries. Sir Louis

Description

This book is not an ordinary biography of a great man. It is a well researched, courageous and lucid presentation of the true essence of Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu as the foremost Nigerian patriot, an African legend of the 20th and earty 21st century who, for over forty years, rermained Nigeria’s most controversial figure whose life, words. actions and reactions impacted heavily on the Nigerian political landscape and, to a large extent, were very significant in the redefinition of the country’s evolving socio-political milieu; a man as much loved andfor respected by many Nigerians and non-Nigerians worldwide, for what he stood for, just as he was equally feared and/or hated by some others for the same reason.

This second edition contains a sample of the myriad of tributes and encomiums that poured in soon after his death in a London hospital on 26th November, 2011.

It also contains the full text of the historic Ahiara Declaration of 29th May, 1969 in which the principles of the ‘Biafran Revolution’ were articulated and expounded. In it, Ojukwu literally poured out himself on his ideal of a truly independent, people-oriented, black African state, of which Biafra was to serve as a model.

Furthermore, the book draws specific attention to the unacceptable level of marginalization and injustice against the Easterners, nay the lgbos, and emphasizes the philosophical and contextual meaning of Biafra as a reaction against intolerable injustice and estrangement within one’s own country.

Hence, it sounds a patriotic warning to Nigeria to reappraise her concept of national unity, while urging the lgbos and their Niger-Delta neighbours to close ranks in the pursuit of their legitimate rights.

The book is a must for all who desire a clearer insight into the essence of Dim Chukwuemeka Odumegwu-Ojukwu vis-a-vis the ordeals and predicament of the lgbos and their Niger-Delta compatriots in the contemporar

The late ’50s to early ’60s were exciting times in Nigeria. Chinua Achebe had just published Things Fall Apart. Wole Soyinka was back from Leeds and beginning to dazzle people with his playwriting skills. Fela Kuti was laying the ground work for what will become Afrobeat. A few years before, Tai Solarin had built May Flower School and was already spreading his gospel of educational innovation.

C. Odumegwu Ojukwu, the leader of Biafra—the breakaway nation that sparked a civil war in Nigeria during late ’60s— was part of this creative and intellectual scene.  He studied history in Oxford University and was expected to get a job in civil service and live the dream of colonial middle class life. He tried it, hated it, and went into the army. Those days, people who had degrees, especially from Oxford, just did not go into the army. Ojukwo was one of the first who did. 

He wrote a lot during the Biafra war. Many of his notes and speeches are collected in a volume titled Biafra: Selected Speeches and Random Thoughts. My indifference to Ojukwu and his generation of leaders changed when I started reading this collection—a work I highly recommend.

The collection contains detailed documentation of events leading up to the war, in addition to meditations on violence and revolutions, leadership and the nation, race and oppression, and his sense of Biafra as an innovative political idea. 

It’s sad, but Nigerians have become so disillusioned and cynical that they forget that there is so much in their past—a rich archive of people and ideas—from which they could draw inspiration. Nigeria has had some truly inspiring leaders its past. They were not perfect by any means, but they were thinkers, writers, and charismatic public speakers.

Ojukwu was one of them, as you’ll find in the quotes below. 

1. The his