By Ikenna Nwokedi
The Vice-Chancellor, Nnamdi Azikiwe University Awka, Professor Bernard Ifeanyi Odoh has described Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe as an Implacable Pan-Africanist who led the vanguard for Nigerian independence.
Prof. Odoh made the remarks on Saturday, 16th November 2024 during the 13th edition of the ZIK Annual Lecture Series held at the ASUU Secretariat, UNIZIK.
Prof. Odoh noted that Dr. Azikiwe had five pillars of his political philosophy tagged ZIKISM all of which centered on Africa. The VC highlighted that one of the pillars on political insurgence envisaged the development of nationalism and Pan Africanism leading to the unification of Africa into the United States of Africa. Prof. Odoh also affirmed that Africanism is one of the legacies of ZIK which the lecture seeks to interrogate in the context of the extant socio-political realities of Africa.
The institution’s supremo informed that under his watch, he will work towards establishing UNIZIK among the top 50 Universities in Africa while reshaping and repositioning the University for a position in the first 500 Universities in the global ranking of Universities through Disruptive Development Model.
The scholar eulogized the benefactor of the ZIK Lecture Series, High Chief Senator Ben Ndi Obi for ensuring that the Lecture Series remained unique from the moment of inception to the present while expressing optimism that the 14th edition of the ZIK Lecture Series in 2025 would be held in the auditorium of the Institute of Legislative Studies under construction, a building project endowed towards celebrating the ZIK of Africa.
