DR NNAMDI AZIKWE: AFRICA'S FOREMOST PHILOSOPHER OF EDUCATION

People are born into this world with different destinies. While some enter and leave the world either unnoticed, noticed with only early promises, or noticed in later parts of their lives for great things, some in a privileged class shine throughout their life-time. We had great men like Winston Chuchill of England who literally won the Second World War for the British allied forces, there was Charles de Gaulle who brought in the French revolution, we had Thales, Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle of Greece who promoted philosophy beyond measures, among others.

In Africa, we had fantastic charismatic leaders like Nnamdi Azikiwe of Nigeria, Milton Obote of Uganda, Kwame Nkrumah of Ghana, Julius Nyerere of Tanzana, and Nelson Mandela of South Africa. Others include Henry Carr, Ahmadu Bello, Obafemi Awolowo, Tai Solarin, Olusegun Obasanjo and so on.

Nnamdi Azikiwe (Zik, for short) was not just a charismatic leader, he was also a foremost philosopher of education whose greatness traversed beyond the chores of Nigeria. He had his unique philosophy of education which he called “eclecticism”, believed in the education of Africans for complete emancipation from ignorance and slavery and joined the few eminent persons of his time to champion oneness among human race.