Nigeria’s first Aviation Minister, Chief Mabzulike Amechi has passed on.
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| Late Chief Mabzulike Amechi |
He died at the age of 93.
According to a release from the family, signed by Ezeana Tagbo Amechi, the former minister died in the early hours of Tuesday, November 1, 2022
Until his death, Chief Amechi, who hailed from Amihe village in Ukpor, Nnewi South Local Government Area of Anambra State, was a Nationalist and the only surviving member of the Zikist Movement.
The statement reads, “With total deference to the will of the Almighty God, the Ume Amechi, Ezeana Ihinede families and the Umu Mmara kindred of Amihe Ukpor in Nnewi South Local Government Area of Anambra State announce the peaceful transition of our illustrious son, father and grandfather, Chief Mbazulike Amechi (Dara Akunwafor), Nationalist and First Republic Minister of Aviation of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, who transitioned peacefully in the early hours of today November 1, 2022.
“We thank God for the fulfilled life that he lived, the lives that he touched and his service to God and Country. We respectfully ask that you keep us in your thoughts and prayers at this time.”
LIFE AND TIMES
Chief Mbazulike Amaechi (16 June 1929 – 1 November 2022) also known as The Boy Is Good was a Nigerian elder statesman.
He served as the first Minister of Aviation during the First Republic in Nigeria.
As part of his achievements in the Aviation industry, he said in an interview 29/Sept 2018, "For instance, in this ministry, I inherited just three piston engine aircraft from the Western Airways Corporation, but by the time I left after four or five years, I had established the Institute of Aviation in Zaria for the retraining of pilots, aircraft maintenance engineers and ground crew. I created the Nigeria Airways and from three piston engines to 18 jets, operating at international level. They ran daily services to almost all Europeans countries and America."
He was among the few Nigerian involved in the Zikist Movement. After the ban of the movement, he became the Secretary General of NCNC Youth, a youth wing of NCNC.
Amechi died in his hometown, Ukpor, Nnewi South Local Government Area of Anambra State on 1 November 2022, at the age of 93.[7]
Mr Amaechi recently led a delegation of prominent Igbo leaders to President Muhammadu Buhari to request the release of Nnamdi Kanu, detained leader of the outlawed Indigenous People of Biafra.
His death occurs about one year after he lost his wife, Chinelo Amaechi.
Chinelo died at the age of 91 years.
Mr Amaechi, a nationalist, was among those who fought for the independence of Nigeria from Great Britain.
As a secondary school student, Mr Amaechi had joined a group led by Nnamdi Azikiwe, called the Zikist Movement, to push for the country’s independence.
He was said to have taken an oath alongside other nationalists never to marry until Nigeria got her independence.
He was a trade unionist and general secretary of the armels transport union as well as assistant secretary of Benin and Warri Districts of the Zikist Movement.
The elder statesman, on 18 November 1949, had organised a protest rally of all workers in Benin and its environs and demanded adequate punishment for the alleged murderers of 18 workers of the Nigerian Coal Corporation in Enugu State who were reportedly participating in strike action to press home their demands for seniority pay for the workers.
Mr Amaechi was elected member of the House of Representatives, in 1959, on the platform of the defunct National Council of Nigerian Citizens. He was later appointed minister of aviation and transport in 1962.
He remained the minister until the country’s first military coup on 15 January 1966.
As a minister, Mr Amaechi reportedly hid the former President of South Africa, Nelson Mandela, for six months in Nigeria to prevent his arrest by officials of the apartheid regime in that country.
Mr Amaechi recently led a delegation of prominent Igbo leaders to President Muhammadu Buhari to request the release of Nnamdi Kanu, detained leader of the outlawed Indigenous People of Biafra.
CHIEF Mbazulike Amaechi is the only surviving minister of the First Republic. He was born in Ukpor in the present day Nnewi South Local Government Area of Anambra State on June 16, 1929. As a young boy, Mbazulike Amaechi developed the passion and desire of liberating his people. He had a burning zeal of extricating his dear country Nigeria from the clutches of the colonial masters.
This was perhaps why he joined the Zikist Movement while still a secondary school student in Onitsha and was always on the entourage of political campaigns. He was a vibrant trade unionist for many years and held full-time offices in the unions from 1949 to 1955. As a trade unionist, Amaechi demonstrated extreme boldness and spirit of sacrifice.
One significant incident stands him out as a trade unionist and that was when, after the murder of eighteen workers of the Nigerian Coal Corporation in November 18, 1949 while they were participating in a sit-down strike to press home their demands for seniority pay for the underground workers by a team of about hundred policemen led by a white Superintendent Philip, the young Mbazulike Amaechi, who was then the General Secretary of Armels Transport Union, Secretary of Benin Council of Labour and Assistant Secretary of Benin and Warri Districts of the Zikist Movement organized a protest rally of all workers in Benin and environs and demanded adequate punishment for the perpetrators of the repulsive and disgusting crime in Enugu.
As a member of the Zikist Movement, Amaechi, together with other members took an oath never to get married until Nigeria gained her independence. Also as members of the Zikist Movement, they took another oath that no Zikist arraigned before any court should make any plea of leniency or show any sign of regret for fighting for the freedom of the nation.
Some members of the Zikist Movement included: Kola Balogun, M C K Ajuluchukwu, Mokwugo Okoye, Nduka Eya, Ogedengbe Macaulay (son of Sir Hebert Macaulay), Raji Abdallah, Mbazulike Amaechi, Ikenna Nzimiro (later Prof. Nzimiro), Magaret Ekpo, Zana Bukar Dipcharima from Northern Nigeria, Fred Anyiam, Osita Agwuna, R B K Okafor, among others.
These brave Nigerians stood out and spoke without fear their discontentment of imperialist government and the need for independence of Nigeria. Their stance was at variance with that of the colonial masters and they suffered both physically and emotionally for daring to speak the truth.
Mbazulike Amechi was sent to prison twice during his participation in the struggle for Nigerian independence. He was first imprisoned at early age of 21years and was again imprisoned at age of 34 years. He revealed this during his Independence day (Oct.1st 2022) interview he granted to popular radio station, the Nigeria Info, Lagos.
In 1959, Mbazulike Amechi was elected member of the House of Representatives on the platform of the National Council of Nigerian Citizens, NCNC, and was appointed Minister of Aviation and Transport in 1962. He remained a minister until the first military coup on January 15, 1966.
Chief Mbazulike Amaechi was indeed a true nationalist. He was victimized, jailed, maimed, wounded and mercilessly beaten but his spirit was never dampened, neither was his patriotic spirit dulled. He and others lost many things in the process of ensuring that Nigeria gained her independence.
The independence of Nigeria was indeed a bye-product of the struggles and active nonviolent resistance of Nigerian youths of Mbazulike Amaechi era, especially members of the Zikist movement.
Chief Amaechi is still with us and so are his feats and contributions. In his home town, Ukpor, Chief Mbazulike Amaechi holds the traditional titles of Dara Akunwafor.
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