Nnamdi Azikiwe

thumb|right|There is plenty of room at the top because very few people care to travel beyond the average route. And so most of us seem satisfied to remain within the confines of mediocrity. Benjamin Nnamdi Azikiwe (November 16, 1904 – May 11, 1996) was the President of Nigeria from 1963 to 1966. He was the first person to assume the office of the Nigerian Presidency. Quotes Originality is the essence of true scholarship. Creativity is the soul of the true scholar. [On Nigerian Independence (1 October 1960), quoted in "Between then and now" at The Nation Online (10 March 2009) My stiffest earthly assignment is ended and my major life's work is done. My country is now free and I have been honoured to be its first indigenous head of state. What more could one desire in life? On Nigerian Independence (1 October 1960), quoted in "Between then and now" at The Nation Online (10 March 2009) The realization of New Africa can only be possible by the African cultivating spiritual balance, which leads to the practicalization of social regeneration, to realizing economic determination, becoming mentally emancipated, and ushering in a political resurgence. Quoted in A Life of Azikiwe by K. A. B. Jones-Quartey (Penguin, 1965), p. 116 No matter how old an individual may be, no matter if he is young or old, if he thinks in accordance with the times he is immortal. Quoted in A Life of Azikiwe by K. A. B. Jones-Quartey (Penguin, 1965), p. 121 There is plenty of room at the top because very few people care to travel beyond the average route. And so most of us seem satisfied to remain within the confines of mediocrity. My Odyssey (1971), No. 5 "Originality is the essence of true scholarship. Creativity is the soul of the true scholar". Attributed without citation in Answers Africa 40 famous quotes about Africa, answersafrica.com My father worked in the Nigerian Regiment as a first class clerk but when I worried him that I wanted to go abroad to study, he decided to retire, raise gratuity and gave the whole to me to pay my fare ticket, my first year at Storer College. Zik's interview at Lincoln University Pennsylvania, USA I had to work at Storer College as a janitor, as a dish washer. I kept on and was able to appreciate what Lincoln meant when he preached about being a friend of a common man. I also worked in the college farm; we had a horse and one of the ministers of the gospel was the head farmer, and he taught me how to handle the horse to plough. Zik's interview at Lincoln University Pennsylvania, USA Many years after, the ideals of Lincoln persisted in me and I kept watching and I noticed that the presidents take the personal interest of the students and did all they could to help. Zik's interview at Lincoln University Pennsylvania, USA When I finished, I decided to go home and join the struggle. I couldn’t get a job in Nigeria but I got in Ghana. I was offered 15 pounds a month. In those days, that meant a lot. Zik's interview at Lincoln University Pennsylvania, USA We had to use dialogue in Nigeria, we knew that we had many soldiers of Nigeria origin, but they were inferior. In those days, the highest you could get was Sergeant Major. Zik's interview at Lincoln University Pennsylvania, USA Well, then I was 21 and young but these made an impression in me and I said well, if I were able to get through, and obtain admission into any university, that a person like Lincoln would help me because I realised that my country was then a colony and I wanted that country, Nigeria Zik's interview at Lincoln University Pennsylvania, USA I had to work at Storer College as a janitor, as a dish washer. I kept on and was able to appreciate what Lincoln meant when he preached about being a friend of a common man. I also worked in the college farm; we had a horse and one of the ministers of the gospel was the head farmer, and he taught me how to handle the horse to plough. h washer. Zik's interview at Lincoln University Pennsylvania, USA My Odyssey (1970) My life is a pilgrimage from the unknown to the unknown. I do not know whence I emanated or whither I am bound. Preface, page xi The year 1913 is important to me because it signified the time when I had to assist nature in my habiliments. Hitherto, my father had been approached by my aunt, Azumdialo, to purchase a pair of boots for me. My Genealogy and Nativity, page 9 Nevertheless, the motto of Garveyism appealed to me.— “One God, One Aim, One Destiny’—and I resolved to formulate my philosophy of life, so far as was practicable, towards the evangelisation of universal fatherhood, universal brotherhood, and universal happiness. The Birth of a Dream, page 35 In the field of medicine, I wondered why no Nigerian was a member, let alone a fellow, of the Royal College of Surgeons or Physicians. I also thought that something was wrong when ery few Nigerians aimed at the md. The same applied to other professions. I was intellectually curious and made up my mind that, other things being equal, I would proceed to America and attain great heights. I vowed that if I could not be the best in my chosen field, then I would try to be numbered among the very best, because ‘Only the best was good enough for Africa’. The Birth of a Dream, page 39 Howard University gave me an insight into the biological origins of human behaviour. I took a course in psychology for fun; but I found it most instructive because it introduced me to Watson’s thesis on behaviourism. Although I had opportunity to know the essentials of the other schools of thought in this fascinating field of study, I have since become a behaviourist. My keen interest in biology is probably responsible for this prejudice. In the Capital of the USA, page 120 These experiences convince me that man is, at heart, innately sociable and ardently desires the fellowship of humanity, irrespective of race; yet social forces hasten the disintegration of the social structure by irrational codes of behaviour and conventions. The Pilgrim Returns Home, page 207 Quotes about Azikiwe Zik believed in a nation in which people are free to practice their faith without losing faith in our common patrimony, a nation of proud men and women able to hold their heads high among humanity because as Africans they possess a certain dignity. At the tactical level, his belief in compromise meant that he survived major political battles in order to fight the next battle. With regard to the evolution of democracy in our country, our present experience can benefit immensely from politics as it was played by Zik and his contemporaries. In this regard, one thing that marks out men like Zik … is that they believe in something. Their political activities were informed by certain core values which subsequently grew into a body of beliefs which largely inspired their politics. Those who followed them understood that they had to abide by those beliefs. In other words, the politics of ideals and ideas were the guiding principles of our founding fathers. In the case of the great Zik, it became fashionable among his adherents and supporters to be a Zikist. But interestingly, Zikism was not synonymous with an ethnic ideology nor did it a divisive cause. Instead, Zikism was more an ideology for African reniascence emphasizing the restoration of the dignity of the black man after centuries of colonial imposition and exploitation. It sought to empower the black man in general and the Nigerian in particular to attain great heights especially in the pursuit of knowledge which, for Zik, was critical to the emancipation of the black man. Yet Zikism did not degenerate to the level of a theology for a personality cult. This in fact is one of the refreshing and intriguing facets of Zik's political legacy. Ibrahim Babangida, former President of Nigeria, as quoted in "We Must Nurture Politics of Ideas" in ThisDay Online (7 December 2003) Despite the mythic heights to which he was raised, Azikiwe was nothing if not pragmatic, a realist always conscious of his limits and ever eager to extract all that was possible from that limited horizon. Olatunji Ololade, in "Between then and now" at The Nation Online (10 March 2009) It is better we disintegrate in peace and not in pieces. https:///authors/nnamdi-azikiwe-quotes Israel has created a new image of the Jew in the world - the image of a working and an intellectual people, of a people that can fight with heroism.<refIsrael has created a new image of the Jew in the world - the image of a working and an intellectual people, of a people that can fight with heroism. https://www./authors/nnamdi-azikiwe-quotes No matter how old an individual may be, no matter if he is young or old, if he thinks in accordance with the times he is immortal. The realization of New Africa can only be possible by the African cultivating spiritual balance, which leads to the practicalization of social regeneration, to realizing economic determination, becoming mentally emancipated, and ushering in a political resurgence. My stiffest earthly assignment is ended and my major life's work is done. My country is now free and I have been honoured to be its first indigenous head of state. What more could one desire in life? There is plenty of room at the top because very few people care to travel beyond the average route. And so most of us seem satisfied to remain within the confines of mediocrity. https://libquotes.com/nnamdi-azikiwe There is plenty of room at the top because very few people care to travel beyond the average route. And so most of us seem satisfied to remain within the confines of mediocrity. References External links Category:Presidents of Nigeria Category:1996 deaths