Chief Chukwuma Bamidele Azikiwe, first son of Nigeria’s First Republic President, Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe, is dead.Sources close to the family said he died on Sunday at the age of 75 after a prolonged respiratory ailment.
It was gathered that he died at Boromeo Hospital, Onitsha, after doctors battled in vain to save his life.
Although,the cause of the death was not clear, he was said to have suffered complications for which he made regular visits to hospitals.
No member of the family volunteered any information on him as at press time. However, unofficial sources said he had battled Asthma for some years.
Until his death, Chukwuma Azikiwe was the Owelle of Onitsha, the sixth traditional cabinet position he inherited from his father, who died in 1996.
His words are remembered : “Every era carries with it problems and solutions and what was necessary at that time, might not be needed in our own time. My father was a pan-Africanist and a strong advocate of one and indivisible nation. I also preach it myself but I advise Nigerians to play down on those things that divide us, while emphasizing the things that unite us.”
After a diplomatic career, he made a failed attempt to govern the old Anambra State in 1991,and thereafter, stayed off partisan politics.
Unlike his late father, “Zik of Africa”, Chukwuma generally kept a low profile and scarcely spoke on public issues.
Ironically, Chukwuma died on the eve of the 19th anniversary of his father’s death on May 11, 1996.
So sad....Rest in Peace.
may his soul rest in peace amen
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