By Nwanosike Onu, Awka
Anambra State Governor Willie Obiano has shut schools, markets and other private establishments to honour the first President of Nigeria, the late Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe.
Obiano first declared a public holiday for Zik in 2019.
He wrote to President Muhammadu Buhari to also declare every November 16 as public holidays for Zik.
Obiano said the government’s failure so far to declare Zik’s birthday as a national holiday has become a national and international scandal.
Commissioner for Information and Public Enlightenment C-Don Adinuba, who spoke for the governor, said all government offices, except those which provide essential services, would not open, just like the private sector and open markets.
He said: “The Ghanaians observe President Kwame Nkrumah’s birthday as a national holiday. Angolans observe Dr Agostino Neto’s birthday as a national holiday, just the way Tanzanians do the birthday of Mwalimu Julius Nyerere.
“Interestingly, it was Zik who discovered Nkrumah, mentored him, and sent him to Lincoln University in the United States of America (USA).
“Zik inspired a generation of Africans, including Nigerians, into African nationalism…”
Obiano maintained that Azikiwe remained Nigeria’s most detribalised leader in history.
“Nigeria is in dire need of transformational leaders like the late Dr Nnamdi Azikiwe, the symbol of national unity and progress,” he added.
