On this night exactly 54 years ago the then Registrar of UNN and its first indigenous, Mr Vincent Ike, now HRH Eze Prof. Chukwuemeka Ike, performed one of the most heroic feats in the University's history.
It was supposed to be the 4th Convocation, a ceremony always greeted with lots of fanfare, being a nascent University that already blazed the trail among its contemporaries, also as having broken series of records in the country's higher learning space.
It was to be at prestigious Akanu Ibiam Stadium UNN, same ground on which Nationalists like Chief Awolowo and Sir Ahmadu Bello became the pioneer Honorands of that great institution. This should paint you a mental picture of how hallowed the ground and the receptions on it were.
Parents and relations at the time fantasized about attending a University of Nigeria convocation from all parts of the country despite how limited and insufficient transportation may have been compared to the way it is today.
But, all that would not be, because of the political situation in the country which had attained a violent crescendo. The next day, May 30, was to be the famed Ojukwu broadcast, intending to be that declaration of secession, famously known as "The zero hour broadcast".
Mr Vincent Ike having prevailed on the University leadership, informed the Eastern Broadcasting Service to announce that the convocation had been done so that parents and relations already set to attend would bother not coming; asking them to sit back at home and listen to the...
broadcast instead. He later sent circulars to all graduating students to converge at the Princess Alexandria Auditorium that night for the collection of their certificates, without the usual ceremony that followed.
Why?
He said: "since the two sides (Nigeria and Biafra to be) were poised for a showdown and Federal troops speedily advancing towards Obollo Afor, Akanu Ibiam stadium in full capacity would have been a choice target for the Nigerian war planes to strafe".
The students were marooned in the Princess Alexandria hall at night with the lights off, given their certificates, & were all told to vacate the campus first thing in the morning. They bade themselves goodbye with half of that population never to be seen again. The war took them.
Those set of graduating students of 1967, became known as "The Zero Hour Graduates". Prof. Theophilus Nwala is a living witness and a "Zero hour graduate" among a few others.
The University would later be utterly invaded and vandalized, and many of its students killed either as soldiers or as Biafran civilians. Mr Vincent Ike saved the University by "escaping" with many of its vital records and documents which without them would have caused the...
discontinuity of the University of Nigeria.
An individual like Vincent Ike should have been duly immortalized, with his bust in a very strategic site in the University of Nigeria.

© Izuu Muoneme
Excerpts from "Timeline in the Dem" oncoming publication.

• • •

Missing some Tweet in this thread? You can try to force a refresh
 

Keep Current with Olaudah Equiano®

Olaudah Equiano® Profile picture

Stay in touch and get notified when new unrolls are available from this author!

Read all threads

This Thread may be Removed Anytime!

PDF

Twitter may remove this content at anytime! Save it as PDF for later use!

Try unrolling a thread yourself!

how to unroll video
  1. Follow @ThreadReaderApp to mention us!

  2. From a Twitter thread mention us with a keyword "unroll"
@threadreaderapp unroll

Practice here first or read more on our help page!

More from @RealOlaudah

2 Jun
Injustices Of Voting But Not Being Voted For: The Hausa Plaintive Cry On Recovering Their Lost Kingdom.
Hausa land, history and people yearning for freedom.

Nigerians, 50 years old and above who attended Primary School in any part of what used to be Northern Nigeria, must...
have been taught during history lessons about the 7 Hausa States of Biram, Kano, Katsina, Daura, Gobir, Rano and Zaria as well as the 7 Banza Bakwai Kingdoms of Zamfara, Kebbi, Yauri, Gwari, Nupe, Kwararafa (Jukun) and Yariba.
These Kingdoms were viable in virtually every aspect of human endeavour at that time. I should draw the readers attention to the meaning of the Hausa word ”Banza”. Banza, is a derogatory word which means worthless or anything that is of lower quality which clearly showed a...
Read 49 tweets
1 Jun
Nestlé has admitted that over 60% of its staple foods and beverages are not healthy diets.
The world's largest food company, Nestlé, has admitted that more than 60 percent of its staple foods and beverages do not meet the "recognized definition of health" and that...
"some of our categories and products will never be" healthy. " Only 37% of Nestlé's food and beverage products by revenue, excluding products such as pet food and specialty health foods, achieve a rating above 3.5 on the Australian health scoring system, as reported FT.
This system rates food on a five-point scale and is used in research by international groups such as the Access to Nutrition Foundation. Nestlé, the manufacturer of KitKats, Maggi noodles, and Nescafé, describes the 3.5-star threshold as "the recognized definition of health."
Read 4 tweets
30 May
Invest in your children

“Though your beginning was small, yet your latter end would increase abundantly.” Job 8:7 NKJV
The Lazy B ranch sits on two hundred and sixty square miles. Most of it is scrub brush, and it’s been in the Day family since 1881.
When Harry and Ada Mae Day had their first child, a baby daughter, they traveled two hundred miles to a hospital for delivery and brought her home to a difficult life. The four-room adobe house had no running water or electricity, and there was no school within driving distance.
You would think with such limited resources, the little girl’s future might be limited. But Harry and Ada Mae were determined their children would have the best education possible. They subscribed to metropolitan newspapers and magazines, and read to their child hour after hour.
Read 7 tweets
29 May
Government pickin!

Earlier this week, news broke that Aliko Dangote was moving 60% of his family investment to the US. Two days after, we saw him in Tanzania promising to increase his investment in the country because he wants to support the new president, whose business...
decisions have been investment friendly. I am happy for him. He has sense.
But as a businessman, I am not sure Dangote is a model. Don't take my word for it. Let the data speak:
In October 2016, Dansa, Dangote's fruit juice company packed up because it wasn't making profit.
It closed shop, owing it's workers 6 months salary.
He also started a $13 million tomato processing plant in March 2016 and closed shop in August 2017, saying it was because of "importation of tomato paste, shortfall in the supply of fresh tomatoes and power failure."
Read 20 tweets
28 May
President General of Ohaneze Ndigbo Worldwide, Prof. Obiozor's Address To Senate Committee On 1999 Constitution Review
AN ADDRESS PRESENTED TO THE MEMBERS OF THE SENATE COMMITTEE OF THE REVIEW OF THE 1999 CONSTITUTION.
OWERRI, 27/5/2021
AMBASSADOR PROF. GEORGE A. OBIOZOR
PRESIDENT GENERAL, OHANAEZE NDIGBO WORLDWIDE
PROTOCOL:​
Distinguished Senators and Members of the National Assembly, on behalf of Ohanaeze Ndigbo Worldwide, I welcome you to this historic city of Owerri in the South East of Nigeria.
Welcome to the South East zone and welcome to Igboland.
In our submission you will find that what Ohanaeze Ndigbo Worldwide and Ndigbo in general are asking for are clear and simple.
Read 13 tweets
26 May
Nigeria's escrow company, EscrowLock has won a $100 million global business grant from the world's largest social media company, Facebook Incorporated.
The local escrow platform based in Anambra State is a trusted third-party that receives and "locks" transaction payments...
from buyers and only releases payment to the intended seller when the seller has delivered the necessary goods or services in the agreed condition.
The middleman service helps to protect both buyers and sellers from online fraud, thereby boosting eCommerce activities and...
helping more people earn a decent livelihood.
According to the Director of EscrowLock, Elochukwu Eze, the information was contained in a statement issued by Facebook and made available to EscrowLock's office in Agbiligba Nanka, Anambra State.
Read 5 tweets

Did Thread Reader help you today?

Support us! We are indie developers!


This site is made by just two indie developers on a laptop doing marketing, support and development! Read more about the story.

Become a Premium Member ($3/month or $30/year) and get exclusive features!

Become Premium

Too expensive? Make a small donation by buying us coffee ($5) or help with server cost ($10)

Donate via Paypal Become our Patreon

Thank you for your support!

Follow Us on Twitter!

:(