Ishaya Audu as a young physician, 1957. Ishaya Audu, a Hausa-Christian, served as the first indigenous vice-chancellor of Ahmadu Bello University in Zaria for nine years (1966–1975) and was the first medical professor from Northern Nigeria. President Shehu Shagari and Sir Ahmadu Bello both had Audu as a personal doctor.
Today, the name Ojukwu is somewhat synonymous with the Biafra civil war leader, although this was not always the case. Sir Louis Phillip Odumegwu Ojukwu, a visionary and businessman who was unquestionably the wealthiest man in Nigeria in the years leading up to independence, was the father of Chukwuemeka Ojukwu. Despite having nothing when he first arrived in Lagos in 1929, Sir Louis managed Ojukwu stores, Ojukwu textiles, and Ojukwu transport company within ten years. His ability to recognize opportunities helped him make wise business judgments. He was The founding President of the Nigerian Stock Exchange, President, African Continental Bank, Chairman of the Nigeria Cement Company (NIGERCEM), Chairman of Ojukwu Transport Company, Chairman of the Nigerian National Shipping Line, Chairman of Lion of Africa Insurance Company, Chairman of the Nigerian Industrial…
Until his passing on January 7, 1983, Oba Daniel Anirare Aladesanmi II served as the 18th Ewi of Ado-Ekiti from June 18, 1937. Oba Ajimudaoro Aladesanmi I, who ruled from 1886 to 1910, was his father. He was born in 1902. After attending St. Andrews College Oyo, where he served as both the president of the Ekiti Parapo Society and a school prefect, he joined the Department of Railways, where he held higher-level positions until his promotion. During the colonial era, Oba Aladesanmi II was a well-known Yorubá monarch. He was regarded by the colonial authorities as a wise and well-educated king, and in 1938 he was named President of PeluPelu Obas, a Council of paramount Kings in Ekiti. In 1940, barely two years into his reign, he struggled with a number of internal issues, including land disputes, power struggles, youth riots, and protests. Ado-Ekiti was thrown into chaos, and the populace demanded that the young King be overthrown, but the colonial authority refused. By implementing a number of developmental projects, such as building a new palace, a weaving center for women’s and children’s empowerment, expanding roads, etc., Oba Aladesanmi was able to turn the crisis around. He was the Western House of Chiefs’ Deputy President and took part in the 1959 Constitutional Independence Conference. Queen Elizabeth II bestowed upon him the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in 1962, and in 1978, General Olusegun Obasanjo, the then-head of state, bestowed upon him the national honor of Commander of the Federal Republic (CFR).
At the age of ten, Emeka Ojukwu enrolled in CMS Grammar School in Lagos to begin his secondary education in 1943.He eventually moved to King’s College in Lagos in 1944, where he was a part of a student strike action and led his companion to beat up a British-White teacher who put an end to it. This dispute landed him in temporary jail. Additionally, the British teacher assaulted his companion, which Ojukwu finds hard to forgive. Local publications carried extensive coverage of this incident. To further his education, his father sent him to the UK when he was thirteen. He attended Epsom College first, then Lincoln College, Oxford University, where he graduated with a master’s degree in history. In 1956, he went back to colonial Nigeria.Additionally, he came back as a Roman Catholic. He is an obstinate young guy who always wants to do things his own way, according to his wealthy father. Ojukwu began his career in Eastern Nigeria’s government service as an administrative officer at Udi, which is now part of Enugu State. He left the colonial civil service in 1957 after two years of employment in an attempt to escape his father’s control over his civil service career. He first enlisted in the military as a non-commissioned officer (NCO) in Zaria after his father warned him against it, claiming that he could succeed in his company instead. Ojukwu, however, made his own decision. Ojukwu’s father, Sir Louis, used political scheming with the then-Governor-General of Nigeria, John Macpherson, to keep Emeka from receiving an officer-cadetship, which compelled Ojukwu to enlist as an NCO. Governor-General Macpherson and Sir Louis thought Emeka wouldn’t follow the demanding NCO schedule, but Emeka persisted. The British Depot Commander suggested Emeka for an officer’s commission following an incident in which Ojukwu corrected a drill sergeant’s mispronunciation of the Lee-Enfield.303 rifle’s safety mechanism.