The 2023 annual ZIK’s annual lecture provided the opportunity for African leaders to brainstorm on Africa’s socio-political and economic development, while proffering answers to the factors that hindered the continent’s march to greatness.
Among personalities present at the event which marked the 12th edition of the lecture series, were former president of Malawi Dr Joyce Hilda Banda, the 2023 Labour Party LP presidential candidate Mr Peter Obi, the Anambra State Governor, Prof Chukwuma Soludo, Governor of Oyo State, Dr. Seyi Makinde, among others.
The lecture series held annually by the Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka, was instituted to celebrate the legacies of the great Zik of Africa and amplify his Pan-African exploits, to inspire the new generation leaders of the continent.
The theme for this year’s edition held on Thursday at the Secretariat complex of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) of the UNIZIK, was ‘Reclaiming Zik’s World: Climate Justice and African Sustainable development.’
In a keynote presentation, the former Malawi President, Dr Banda lamented that Africa is not completely free, given the fact that there is a monumental flight and exploitation of the Continent’s natural resources by her former colonizers.
Banda challenged Africans to rise against insensitive and corrupt leaders who have continued to impoverish the continent and explore her peaceful and united opportunities towards achieving meaningful growth and development.
Regretting that the greatest problem of African countries and Nigeria was leadership, Banda regretted that African leaders are involved in organised crimes and looting, adding that this corrupt tendencies of African leaders is a sad development.
She particularly condemned Africa leaders who force themselves to power through vote-buying and falsification of election results, stressing that such practices was counter-productive to providing good governance and advancing democracy.
“We in Africa are not completely free and these are facts that we cannot wish away and Africa has continued to be at the receiving end of the climatic change”
“This is occasioned by the looting of African resources which of course led to the climatic change and we African leaders have the responsibility to preserve our future and the future of our children”
“Those of us who are President and governors must tell ourselves that the natural resources at of our land belong to the people that we are leading and do not belong to our pockets,” she posited.
Banda however regretted that the administration of late Dr Nnamdi Azikiwe was cut short and should have been given more time to actualize the leadership of his dream, adding that a purposeful and united African leadership was what Azikiwe stood for which is not being practiced in the continent.
On his part, the LP Presidential Candidate in the 2023 General Election, Mr Obi said colonialism has came and gone , noting that African should fix their leadership problems.
“My contribution is that the problems of Africa and Nigeria rest squarely on bad leadership and it is bad leadership that is the burden of Africa and it is not the colonizers.
“I give you example of our problem here in Nigeria; as a professor your salary of N400,000.00 and if they pay you, without spending your money for thirty years ,your salary will amount to N144 million which is not up to what we use to buy cars for our legislators in Nigeria.
“This University gets about N10 million from the federal government as subvention monthly and for one year it would be about N120 million”
“We have 500 professors 4,000 lecturers and 40,000 students and so five of our universities will get about N 600 million annually which converted to dollars is about $500,000.00 and that is what we use to go to meeting of United Nations for one week and that is our problem in Nigeria,” he said.
On his part, Governor Soludo said that it is a new dawn in the African continent, noting that Africa is going back to that route of Zikist ideology, which is one united livable and prosperous Africa.
“On this, is my dream of a United States of Africa, the second USA.
“Africa needs to unite to confront the West and make a statement because no African nation can confront the West alone but a united Africa can make a statement,” he said.
Governor Makinde of Oyo State, who chaired the event, said there was no better way to celebrate ZIK, who was the Father of Nigeria’s nationalism, than through the Annual Zik Series.
He further advocated complete restructuring of Nigeria, to give every part of the country their due position in the nation’s scheme of things.
The Vice Chancellor of Nnamdi Azikiwe University Prof Charles Okechekwu Esimone said the theme of this year’s Lecture Series was particularly significant, stating that the lecture brings the world view of late Azikiwe into an extant global phenomenon.
According to him, climatic change is causing grave concerns in the world.
“It connotes that the world had been lost or vitiated somewhere along the line and now needs to be reclaimed”
“The lecture captures the dilemma of Africa and its socioeconomic development aspirations that while the Industrialized world is seeking global action to curtail carbon emissions , the culprit for climatic change, resulting principally from Industries in the industrial world , Africa which is still struggling to industrialize and thus contributes minimally to carbon emissions, would bear the brunt of global action on carbon emissions,” he said.
