Chukwuemeka Ezeife
Encyclopedia
Dr. Chukwuemeka Ezeife was elected governor of Anambra State
in Nigeria
from January 1992 to November 1993 during the Nigerian Third Republic
.
, Anambra State on 20 November 1939. He did not attend secondary school, but taught himself through correspondence courses, qualifying for university admission. He gained a BSc in Economics from the University College Ibadan, then attended Harvard University
on a Rockefeller Foundation
scholarship where he obtain a masters and then PhD degree in 1972.
He become a School Headmaster, a lecturer at Makarare University College, Kampala
, Uganda
, a Teaching Fellow at Harvard University, and a Consultant with Arthur D. Little
in Cambridge, Massachusetts
.
Ezeife joined the civil service as an Administrative Officer and rose to the position of Permanent Secretary.
(SDP) platform, holding office from 2 January 1992 to 17 November 1993, when General Sani Abacha
took power after a military coup.
As governor, he was said to be more interested in planning than in addressing immediate developmental needs, and achieved few tangible results.
He transferred Nnamdi Azikiwe University and Federal Polytechnic, Oko to the federal government, which helped ensure that they survived in the ensuing military regime.
During the Nigerian Fourth Republic
Ezeife, who describes himself as a social democrat, was appointed presidential Adviser on Political Matters to President Olusegun Obasanjo.
In February 2006 the Federal Capital development Authority bulldozed his house in Abuja
on the grounds that the plot of land and those of adjacent houses had been acquired improperly.
In January 2010 he was among thousands who demonstrated in Awka
calling for credible and violence-free governorship elections on February 6.
In April 2010 one of Ezeife's wives, Onyedi, was kidnapped by hoodlums who had earlier killed four policemen. The kidnappers demanded a high ransom.
Anambra State
Anambra is a state in south-eastern Nigeria. Its name is an anglicized version of the original 'Oma Mbala', the native name of the Anambra River. The Capital and the Seat of Government is Awka. Onitsha and Nnewi are the biggest commercial and industrial cities, respectively. The state's theme is...
in Nigeria
Nigeria
Nigeria , officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a federal constitutional republic comprising 36 states and its Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. The country is located in West Africa and shares land borders with the Republic of Benin in the west, Chad and Cameroon in the east, and Niger in...
from January 1992 to November 1993 during the Nigerian Third Republic
Nigerian Third Republic
The Third Republic was the planned republican government of Nigeria in 1993 which was to be governed by the Third Republican constitution.- Founding :...
.
Background
Ezeife was born at Igbo-UkwuIgbo-Ukwu
Igbo-Ukwu is a town in the Nigerian state of Anambra which was the site of three famous archaeological sites that revealed a highly sophisticated metal-working culture. The first, Igbo Isaiah, was uncovered in 1938 by Isaiah Anozie a local villager who stumbled upon the bronze works while digging...
, Anambra State on 20 November 1939. He did not attend secondary school, but taught himself through correspondence courses, qualifying for university admission. He gained a BSc in Economics from the University College Ibadan, then attended Harvard University
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
on a Rockefeller Foundation
Rockefeller Foundation
The Rockefeller Foundation is a prominent philanthropic organization and private foundation based at 420 Fifth Avenue, New York City. The preeminent institution established by the six-generation Rockefeller family, it was founded by John D. Rockefeller , along with his son John D. Rockefeller, Jr...
scholarship where he obtain a masters and then PhD degree in 1972.
He become a School Headmaster, a lecturer at Makarare University College, Kampala
Kampala
Kampala is the largest city and capital of Uganda. The city is divided into five boroughs that oversee local planning: Kampala Central Division, Kawempe Division, Makindye Division, Nakawa Division and Lubaga Division. The city is coterminous with Kampala District.-History: of Buganda, had chosen...
, Uganda
Uganda
Uganda , officially the Republic of Uganda, is a landlocked country in East Africa. Uganda is also known as the "Pearl of Africa". It is bordered on the east by Kenya, on the north by South Sudan, on the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, on the southwest by Rwanda, and on the south by...
, a Teaching Fellow at Harvard University, and a Consultant with Arthur D. Little
Arthur D. Little
Arthur D. Little is an international management consulting firm originally headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts, United States, and formally incorporated by that name in 1909 by Arthur Dehon Little, an MIT chemist who had discovered acetate. Arthur D. Little pioneered the concept of contracted...
in Cambridge, Massachusetts
Cambridge, Massachusetts
Cambridge is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States, in the Greater Boston area. It was named in honor of the University of Cambridge in England, an important center of the Puritan theology embraced by the town's founders. Cambridge is home to two of the world's most prominent...
.
Ezeife joined the civil service as an Administrative Officer and rose to the position of Permanent Secretary.
Political career
Ezeife was elected governor of Anambra State on the Social Democratic PartySocial Democratic Party (Nigeria)
The Social Democratic Party of Nigeria, popularly known as SDP, was a political party created to encompass the ideals of a center left political organization. It was one of the products of a democracy project by former President Ibrahim Babangida to have two detribalized political parties, one a...
(SDP) platform, holding office from 2 January 1992 to 17 November 1993, when General Sani Abacha
Sani Abacha
General Sani Abacha was a Nigerian military leader and politician. A Kanuri from Borno by tribe, he was born and brought up in Kano, Nigeria. He was the de facto President of Nigeria from 1993 to 1998....
took power after a military coup.
As governor, he was said to be more interested in planning than in addressing immediate developmental needs, and achieved few tangible results.
He transferred Nnamdi Azikiwe University and Federal Polytechnic, Oko to the federal government, which helped ensure that they survived in the ensuing military regime.
During the Nigerian Fourth Republic
Nigerian Fourth Republic
The Fourth Republic is the republican government of Nigeria. Since 1999 it has governed the country according to the fourth republican constitution. It was in many ways a revival of the Second Republic, which was in place between 1979 and 1983 and suffers many of the same problems, such as multiple...
Ezeife, who describes himself as a social democrat, was appointed presidential Adviser on Political Matters to President Olusegun Obasanjo.
Later career
Ezeife was appointed a member of the board of the Center for Development & Empowerment of Commercial Motorcyclists.In February 2006 the Federal Capital development Authority bulldozed his house in Abuja
Abuja
Abuja is the capital city of Nigeria. It is located in the centre of Nigeria, within the Federal Capital Territory . Abuja is a planned city, and was built mainly in the 1980s. It officially became Nigeria's capital on 12 December 1991, replacing Lagos...
on the grounds that the plot of land and those of adjacent houses had been acquired improperly.
In January 2010 he was among thousands who demonstrated in Awka
Awka
Awka is the capital of Anambra State, Nigeria with an estimated population of 301,657 Nigerian census. The city is located about 600 miles east of Lagos in the centre of the densely-populated Igbo heartland in southeastern Nigeria...
calling for credible and violence-free governorship elections on February 6.
In April 2010 one of Ezeife's wives, Onyedi, was kidnapped by hoodlums who had earlier killed four policemen. The kidnappers demanded a high ransom.