When Alexandra Ifeanyichukwu Ekwueme drew his last breath on
Saturday night at a London hospital, it was not just a chapter that closed in
Nigeria’s history: a library also shut down. Regarded as one of the most
educated politicians Nigeria has ever produced, Ekwueme churned out political
ideas that have continued to shape the debate around the country’s nationhood.
There is an irony to the timing of his
passing. His daughter, Alexandria Chidi Onyemelukwe, had just lost her bid
to become deputy governor of Anambra state as running mate to Oseloka Obaze on
the platform of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). Willie Obiano of the All
Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) took his opponents to the cleaners. TheCable
understands that Ekwueme was unaware of the development, having not recovered
from the coma he slipped into early
November. He was flown abroad in an air ambulance.
Maybe governorship is not for the
family after all.
When Ekwueme received his LLB and a
second PhD in Scotland in 1978, his convocation dinner was attended by a large
delegation from the old Anambra state. One person after the other spoke, asking
him to come home and be part of the transition to civil rule, as the ban on
politics had just been lifted by the military government of Olusegun Obasanjo.
They asked him to contest for the
governorship of Anambra state. He was reluctant but he gave two conditions:
first, he was really exhausted from his academics and was not in a state of
mind to embark on an elaborate campaign, so they would have to undertake to do
it for him; second, he had not much money at the time so they would have to
raise the funds. They agreed to both conditions.
Pronto, he came back to Nigeria, with
the governorship primary just a few days away. But he got a breather, as it
were, as it was moved by one week.
ACCIDENTAL
VICE-PRESIDENT
Since he was not at home when NPN was
formed, it was always going to be a tough call to get the party’s ticket. CC
Onoh (father of Bianca Ojukwu) was already on ground nursing his own ambition.
He was campaigning then that northern Anambra (Enugu, Abakaliki and Nsukka
senatorial districts) should produce the governor, as against the south, made
up of Awka and Onitsha districts. The north had 23 local governments, while the
south, where Ekwueme came from, had only 15. It was a battle the man with two
PhDs would not win.
But life is full of twists and turns.
“This is where God comes into the
affairs of men: I lost the governorship ticket at a time when NPN was quite
popular here. But shortly after that, Nnamdi Azikiwe came into the picture and
it changed all the dynamics and calculations when he became the presidential
candidate of the NPP (Nigerian Peoples Party)… if I had won that (NPN) guber
primaries, I would have also lost the election for the office of governor,”
Ekwueme would say later. Of course, Onoh lost to NPP’s Jim Nwobodo.
BIONOTES
Born on October 21, 1932, Ekwueme started primary school at the
St John’s Anglican Central School, at Ekwulobia, then he proceeded to King’s
College, Lagos. As an awardee of the Fulbright Scholarship in the US. He one of
the first Nigerians to win the award. He attended the University of Washington
where he earned bachelor’s degree in architecture and city planning and a
master’s degree in urban planning. He also earned degrees in sociology,
history, philosophy and law from the University of London. He later proceeded
to obtain a Ph.D in architecture from the University of Strathclyde, before
gaining the BL (honours) degree from the Nigerian Law School.
Meanwhile, Shehu Shagari, who had just
been nominated the presidential candidate of the National Party of Nigeria
(NPN) for the 1979 election, was on a vote mobilisation tour of the east. At
Enugu, he asked to meet NPN leaders from Imo and Anambra states (today’s Imo,
Anambra, Ebonyi, Abia and Enugu states). The meeting took place at Hotel
Presidential.
NPN had zoned the vice-presidential
slot to the east, so it was also time to discuss potential candidates. Shagari
told both states to nominate candidates by consensus, and he would then pick
one based on the decision of the executive committee of the party. Anambra
nominated Ekwueme — in fact, Onoh nominated him and it was unanimously
supported — while Imo nominated Macaulay Nwankwo. Both nominees were friends.
Shagari got their resumes.
Campaign done and dusted in the east,
the Shagari train headed for Benue state. At the Anambra-Enugu border, the
unexpected happened — according to Ekwueme.
“When we got to the border, the people
from Benue state were waiting to receive Shagari and we parked, did some
back-slapping and just while all that was happening, Shagari drew me aside and
said he wanted to tell me himself and that he would like us to work together
once the NEC approves, that he wants to work with me; but he said I should
still keep it to myself. I thanked him right there at the border; but again,
something very interesting happened. As we were returning to our state, some
people who were still interested in the job still went with him to Benue state
and all along with the campaign until he came back to Lagos,” Ekwueme told
Vanguard in an interview in 2009.
Culled from The Cable
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