Nnamdi Azikiwe

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Nnamdi Benjamin Azikiwe, (16 November 1904 – 11 May 1996), usually referred to Zik, was a Nigerian politician, statesman, and revolutionary leader who served as the 3rd governor-general of Nigeria from 1960 to 1963 and the 1st president of Nigeria during the First Nigerian Republic (1963–1966). He is regarded as the "father of Nigerian nationalism", for driving force behind the nation's independence.

Born in Zungeru in present-day Niger State to Igbo parents from Onitsha, Anambra State, he learned to speak Hausa (the main indigenous language of the Northern Region). Azikiwe was later sent to live with his aunt and grandmother in Onitsha, where he learnt Igbo language. Staying in Lagos also exposed him to Yoruba; by the time he was in college, he had been exposed to different Nigerian cultures and spoke three languages (an asset as president).

Azikiwe travelled to the United States where he was called Ben Azikiwe and attended Storer College, Columbia University, the University of Pennsylvania and Howard University. He contacted colonial authorities with a request to represent Nigeria at the 1932 Los Angeles Olympics since he was also a sportsperson. He returned to Africa in 1934, where he began work as a journalist in Gold Coast. In British West Africa, he advocated for Nigerian and African nationalism while working as a journalist and a political leader.