The University Of Nigeria Nsukka and Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka are the only higher institutions in the southeast recognized among the best Universities in the world, by the latest global ranking.
The Times Higher Education rating for 2024 was based on the WUR 3.0 methodology which is a carefully calibrated performance indicator that measures an institution’s achievements across five areas; teaching, research environment, research quality, industry and international outlook.
The former was established by the Late Owele of Onitsha, Dr. Nnamdi Azikwe in 1955, to Restore the Dignity of the black Man; the latter was established by President Ibrahim Babangida in 1991 as a birthday gift to Dr Nnamdi Azikiwe in honour of his legendary life of Discipline, Self-Reliance and Excellence.
Both institutions have continued to produce world-class intellectuals, professionals and entrepreneurs who are making great exploits nationally and internationally.
Truly, the spirit of the Great Zik of Africa would be jubilating in fulfilment, that his greatest ambition of giving his people LIBERTY and FREEDOM through EDUCATION and ENLIGHTENMENT, is being achieved.
One may be tempted to say, that the spirit of Zik’s intellectualism may be the supernatural force propelling the advancement of these two institutions in the highly competitive world of academics.
What remains now, is for southeast leaders to collectively appease and invoke the spirit of this late sage to show them the light of direction in the nation’s political landscape. A direction, the East lost in 2014 when she failed to align with the North, thereby creating a vacuum, which the West (led by Tinubu’s ACN) quickly stepped into, and had a sudden marriage of convenience with the Northern power brokers, that has now boxed the East in a disadvantaged position of a helplessly bleeding opposition.
If ZIK OF AFRICA were alive in 2014, he would have deployed his intellectual and political sagacity to align with the Northerners and confined the West to their historical role of the opposition. By that, there wouldn’t have been a President Tinubu today. And the current seeming dominance of the economic and political space by Yoruba elites wouldn’t have happened.
Political historians will appreciate this fact after a close look at the gains of Easterners in post-1959, 1963,1979 general elections. All of which, Zik sacrificed his ambition just to align with the north to get more juicy government offices and political influence for the people of the southeast and our brothers in the south-south.
Under Azikiwe’s political leadership, Ndi-Igbo was the beautiful bride that decided the swinging direction of Nigeria’s political pendulum.
Fast forward to the current dispensation, Ndi-Igbo is now the wailing destitute in Nigeria’s political space.
In the absence of a Philosopher King (according to Socrates) like Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe, the southeast has been wandering in Nigeria’s political jungle like sheep without a shepherd.
The contention here is that the current destitution and despondency in the southeast will perpetuate, if the remaining fragments of the self-proclaimed leaders in the zone, do not come together to appease the spirit of ZIK and invoke the philosophy of ZIKISM.
Prophetically, I dare say that the end to this political destitution is not in sight. Especially now that the politically sagacious Nyesom Nwike has led the people of South-south into the mainstream of the tripod that holds the nation.
The formula for political power has changed from the triangle of HAUSA-IGBO-YORUBA to HAUSA-YORUBA-RIVERS.
With the overwhelming electoral demography of the new geopolitical triangle, the East should get ready for many more decades of isolation and destitution, if not, perpetual hopelessness.
©Ejiofo Umegbogu
Journalist
Awka.
October 2, 2023.
