USA Africa Dialogue Series - UPDATE 14: Pledges & Redemption Continue [Total $10,110] for Zik Legacy Project

SEPTEMBER 1,  2010

 

Dear All:

 

We have reached and exceeded the $10,000 pledge mark!  Kudos to every one who has pledged so far.

 

Table 1: Summary Pledge/Redemption Table

 

S/N	Item	Number Of People	Amount US$	Amount Naira	Comment
1	Pledged	86	10,110	1,516,500	52% above N1 million target
2	Redeemed	7	975	146,250	9.64% of pledged amount 8.1% of pledgers

 

 

Names of latest pledgers since last Update:

Ihediwa, Chiwuikem; Aniebonam, Manny; Ekeh, Paul

 

We continue to hope that others will be generous and continue to make their pledges.

 

To Pledgers

Please begin to redeem your pledges by sending a check or money-order made out to "The Zik Legacy Project", and mail to either one of the following two Co-conveners' addresses:

                               Ms. Azuoma Anugom, PO Box 881352, Los Angeles, CA 90009, USA

                                                         or

                       Prof.. Mobolaji E. Aluko, PO Box 343, Burtonsville, MD 20866, USA

Kindly email BOTH of us PRIVATELY ( adaejiagamba08@yahoo.com , AND alukome@gmail.com ) when you actually send your pledge forth. We will rely upon your integrity.  Pledge receipts will be updated periodically. Your money will be in good hands. 

 

We hope to have gotten N1 million redeemed by November 1, in time for November 16, which would have been Zik's 106th birthday.  If preferably we can raise N1 million by October 1 (50th Independence Anniversary), then it could be a great opportunity to highlight our appreciation for Zik's role in Nigeria's Independence struggle - among other things.  We might even get some matching funds from Nigeria.  Our sights are now on $10,000 total pledges.

 

 To those who have pledged, we urge you to sign up for a discussion group, if you wish,  by clicking the following URL (or copying it onto your browser):

http://groups.google.com/group/zikproject/

where instructions for joining will be found.  Let us know if you have any problems.

 

We thank you all in advance. 

 

 

 

 

Azuoma Anugom                       Bolaji Aluko    

Co-convener                      Co-convener

 

Table 2: Detailed Pledge/Redemtion Table

 

S/N	Donor	Amount US$	Comment	Status of Pledge	Redeemed Amount
1	Aluko, Mobolaji	300		Rec'd $300 8/27/10	300
2	Ojo, Valentine	50			0
3	Ojedokun, Olu	50	Used to be BP25		0
4	Nwakanma, Obi	100			0
5	Madu, Abraham	50			0
6	Kolawole, Suji	200		Rec'd $200 8/27/10	200
7	Ogundimu, Folu	100		Rec'd $100 8/30/10	100
8	Edosomwan, Charles	100			0
9	Igietseme, Joe	200			0
10	Chief Gemologist	50			0
11	Ekechi, Felix	50			0
12	Aina, Tade	100			0
13	Udogu, Ike	100			0
14	Zakari, Aisha	100			0
15	Raji, Taju	75		Rec'd $75 8/27/10	75
16	Kuforiji, Kayode	50			0
17	Anonymous (Muba)	67	N10,000		0
18	Mensah, Edward	50			0
19	Gyasi, Kwabby	50			0
20	Onyegbula, Festus	100			0
21	Mustafa, Salihu	100	N15-20,000		0
22	Garba, Lawal	100			0
23	Olajide, Saheed	50			0
24	Adeniyi, Michael	100			0
25	Kassim, Ola	125			0
26	Viscount Slim	103			0
27	Nwosu, Okenwa	250			0
28	Egbo, Benedicta	100			0
29	Osunsan, Rotimi	100			0
30	Williams, Dapo	160	BP100		0
31	Aghadiuno, Eric	150			0
32	Babajide, Ibukunolu	100			0
33	Dawodu, Segun Toyin	100			0
34	Akuechiama, Jude & Ebere	200			0
35	Anugom, Azuoma	100			0
36	Irozuru, Julius	50			0
37	Okafor, Victor O.	100			0
38	Frempong, Sandra	50			0
39	Oyedeji, Kale	50			0
40	Abegunrin, Layi	50			0
41	Enweze, Obi	100			0
42	Omoigui, Nowa	200			0
43	Adam, Baba	100			0
44	Adeboye, Adeniran	100			0
45	Adeyeye, Sola	100			0
46	Ibe, Kevin	50			0
47	Awofolaju, Akin	100		Rec'd $100 8/27/10	100
48	Adesanmi, Pius	100			0
49	Okala, Emeka, R.	100			0
50	Dada, Ganiyu	100			0
51	Odusanya, Adeola	100		Rec'd $100 8/30/10	100
52	Oviawe, Joan O.	50			0
53	Okojie, Paul	100		Rec'd $100 9/1/10	100
54	Aduba, Obi	200			0
55	Okeke, Okwy	200			0
56	Raheem, Ade	100			0
57	Akindana, "Matto"	100			0
58	Nwabuzor, Steve	100			0
59	Iberosi, Simon	100			0
60	Omeaku, Cyriacus	100			0
61	Aniedobe, Chris	100			0
62	Ezeoke, Marcel	100			0
63	Okoye, Gabe	100			0
64	Umeweni, Uchenna	100			0
65	Anetor, Lucky & family	100			0
66	Umunnakwe, Fred	100			0
67	Edem, Noyo	50			0
68	Isama, Ike	230			0
69	LaCrown Adeyemi	100			0
70	Anonymous (Pbid)	150			0
71	Anonymous (Soom)	200			0
72	Adeyemo, Florence	100			0
73	Okeke, Alex Ike	100			0
74	Onyeani, Chika	300			0
75	Ndukwe, Ernest	100			0
76	Okorufor, Augusta	100			0
77	Nwokeji, Emmanuel & Stella	100			0
78	Egbe, Tony	100			0
79	Ugochukwu, Basil	100			0
80	Enemchuku, Chinwe	50			0
81	Adekunle, Philips	100			0
82	Oghereore, Otitigbe	100			0
83	Ikheloa, Ikhide	100			0
84	Ihediwa, Chiwuikem	50			0
85	Aniebonam, Manny	1000			0
86	Ekeh, Paul	100			0
	Total	10110			975

 

___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

 

 

SOME BACKGROUND

 

 

Timeline:
 
1.  November 16, 1904 - Zik is born in Zungeru
2.  January 1, 1960 - Zik becomes President of the Senate of Nigeria (under British Colonial Rule)
3.  October 1, 1960 - Nigeria becomes an independent country
4.  November 16, 1960 - Zik becomes Governor General of Nigeria
5.  October 1, 1963 - Zik becomes President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria
6.  November 16, 1963 or thereabout - Zik's life-size statue in Onitsha (near DMGS) unveiled by sculptor Prof. Ben Enwonwu in commemoration of then President Zik's 59th Birthday

7.  May 11, 1996 - Zik dies in Onitsha
8.  November 7, 2005 - large portion of Inosi Onira Retreat (home of Zik) in Onitsha destroyed allegedly by MASSOB;
9.  November 7, 2005 or thereabout - head of Zik's Statue removed by unknown (?) person(s).
10.  January 1, 2007 - statue at Zik Retreat restored
11. August 2010 - Photographic status of statues and state of mausoleum are in.
 

Note: The date  that Zik's life-size statue near his Inosi Onira Retreat home was unveiled is not known at this time.  

 
Compiled by Bolaji Aluko

 

 

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

 

 

 

http://www.sunnewsonline.com/webpages/opinion/editorial/2010/aug/29/editorial-29-08-2010-001.htm

 

THE SUN

The abandoned Zik mausoleum

By Sun News Publishing
Sunday, August 29, 2010

The recent media report that some concerned Nigerians and Ghanaians in the United States (U.S.) are raising funds through the Internet for the completion of the abandoned mausoleum of the late foremost nationalist and elder statesman, Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe, in Onitsha, Anambra State, shows that the nation, which Zik and his fellow compatriots salvaged from colonial bondage, has easily forgotten the legend.

It is, indeed, shameful and embarrassing that 14 years after the demise of the nation's first president, first indigenous Governor-General and first President of the Senate, the final resting place which the Federal Government was building to immortalize him, is yet to be completed.

It will be recalled that the astute politician, who bestrode the Nigerian political landscape like a colossus, died in 1996, while construction work on his mausoleum was commenced in 1997 by the regime of late Gen. Sani Abacha.
Initially, the contract for the project was awarded to an indigenous contractor, Lemmy Akakem Nigeria Limited. But work on the site was later abandoned for lack of funds. But in 2007, the administration of the late president, Umaru Musa Yar'Adua, re-awarded the contract to a new contractor, Beton Bau Nigeria Limited, a civil engineering firm at the cost of N121 million.

Up till now, Zik's final resting place at his Inosi-Onira Residence, which ought to have been a tourist site and attraction, remains derelict, a sad reminder that the labour of our heroes past might, indeed, have been in vain. Zik's case is a classical illustration of how not to treat and immortalize a foremost nationalist and one of the founding fathers of the nation.

The treatment meted to the memory of Zik, has shown that subsequent Nigerian leaders do not appreciate the sacrifice and contribution of our past heroes. It shows that we, as a nation, have short memories, and that history and historical sites and monuments mean little or nothing to us. It is unfortunate that we tend to forget in a hurry the achievements of our past national icons. We seem not to remember them any more.

How can the Federal Government explain its seeming apathy and inability to complete the mausoleum of the late Pan-Africanist, and staunch believer in a united Nigeria and a highly detribalized Nigerian, who sacrificed his entire life for the nation?
Is the government tacitly saying that patriotism and dedicating one's life to a national cause is outmoded and does not pay any longer? Why is the government unduly silent about Zik's mausoleum? Surely, paucity of funds cannot be cited as one of the reasons for abandoning the project?

It is a pity that former president, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, who promised to complete the mausoleum if elected president in 1999 could not fulfill his promise in the eight years he ruled the country. No doubt, there are attempts in certain quarters to blot out the numerous contributions of Zik to Nigeria's political development by some revisionists and tribal irredentists. But the truth of the matter remains that Zik's contribution to political development in Nigeria and Africa is indelible and can never be erased.

Zik ranked among the world's greats. His peers include Mahatma Ghandi, Mao Tse Tung, Franklin Roosevelt, Lenin, Fidel Castro, Churchill and Will Brandt. Back home in Africa, his contemporaries include Kwame Nkrumah, Julius Nyerere, Jomo Kenyetta, Sekou Toure and Nelson Mandela.

We, therefore, call on the Federal Government to save itself this embarrassment by completing the mausoleum without further delay. America would not treat Lincoln or Jefferson like this. That the government should allow Nigerians and foreigners living in the U.S. to search for funds via the Internet for a project it begun years ago is unfortunate and demeaning. It does not require this group to remind us of our responsibility. It is incontestable that Zik had a place in Nigeria, Africa and World History.

Let the government act expeditiously and complete the work it started in 1997 so that the nation's foremost leader and one of the architects of Nigerian freedom and independence would rest in peace in a befitting mausoleum. That Zik has not been allowed to have a befitting place of rest many years after his death speaks volumes of the attitude of our political elite.

It is time our leaders lived up to the words of our national anthem-"the labour of our heroes past shall never be in vain." The best way to ensure that Zik's labour was not in vain is to complete his mausoleum and make it a tourist site. Let the contract be re-awarded to a competent firm that would do a befitting job. Let government use the project to demonstrate how Africans honour their dead legends.

 

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

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