Eighteen years after the death of Nnamdi Azikiwe, one of the nationalists who midwifed Nigeria’s independence and became its first President, some citizens say the patriarch is weeping in his grave.
Nnamdi Azikiweazikiwe
They express regret that the philosophy and dream of Zik have not been realised and warn that the country is drifting into extinction.
Former Ohanaeze Ndigbo President General, Dozie Ikedife, told TheNiche that the man is yet to rest in peace.
“It is clear to everyone that the dreams and aspirations Azikiwe had about our country Nigeria have not been realised. When you look at our country, you will discover that it is currently inflammable and a very little thing can ignite the fire.”
Ikedife lamented that Nigerian leaders cannot protect children, citing killings and bombings that have exacerbated insecurity as demonstrating that Azikiwe’s dream has been turned into a nightmare.
“We have witnessed all manner of militancy from ethnic groups and the unity of this country has been threatened so greatly. Azikiwe is unhappy and the man must be weeping in his grave. This is indeed unfortunate and highly regrettable.”
First Republic Aviation Minister and a member of the Zikist Movement, Mbazurike Amaechi, echoed the same views and maintained that the country has misplaced its priorities.
His words: “This is not the first time I am saying this, and in fact one is getting sick and tired of the entire situation. Before the independence of Nigeria, we all had a picture of what we wanted this country to be.
“But now, the level of corruption, bad governance and shameless abuse of power have become the order of the day.”
Amaechi said Azikiwe must be feeling betrayed and disappointed.
In his view, Zik “cannot rest in peace in his grave, he must be very unhappy about Nigeria” because he fought to actualise the dream of independence only for the people to “stab him in the back” with misrule, indiscipline, corruption and daylight rape of the democratic process.
“We cannot conduct a peaceful and credible election, we cannot provide social security for the people. These are the things Nnamdi Azikiwe dreamed about in Nigeria.”
Amaechi insisted that the only way the spirit of Azikiwe can rest in peace is for the country to rediscover itself.
“We can still change things if we are prepared or ready to do that. This is the only way the late Zik of Africa and Zik of Nigeria can rest in peace.
“I know that Azikiwe is not happy at all and all we need to do is to correct all those anomalies in order to make him great.”