Nwafor Orizu

Nwafor Orizu was a Nigerian politician and a member of the Nnewi royal family. He was born in 1914 in Nnewi, a town in the Southern Region of British Nigeria. He went to the United States in 1939, where he earned a degree in government at Ohio State University and a master's degree at Columbia University. He was an advocate of the American system of education and a passionate nationalist who fought for the independence of Nigeria from colonial rule. He founded the African Students Association of the United States and Canada and was a member of the Universal Negro Improvement Association. He returned to Nigeria in 1949 and joined the National Council of Nigeria and the Cameroons, a political party led by Nnamdi Azikiwe. He was elected into the Federal House of Representatives and became the President of the Senate in 1963, a position that made him the third most powerful person in the country. He also served as the Acting President of Nigeria from late 1965 until the military coup of January 1966, when he surrendered power to General Aguiyi Ironsi. He was imprisoned by the military regime until 1967, when he was released and pardoned by the new head of state, Yakubu Gowon. He retired from active politics and lived a quiet life until his death in 1999 in Germany. He was honored with a state funeral and a posthumous award of the Grand Commander of the Order of the Niger. He is remembered as a visionary leader and a champion of democracy and human rights.