Dr Success Akagburuonye has urged Nigerian Leaders to entrench the ideals of Nigeria’s first President, Nationalist and Pan-Africanist, Dr Nnamdi Azikiwe, in leadership and governance, noting that his principles of justice, accountability, and national unity bestowed good governance and development on Nigeria.

Delivering a compelling lecture, at the inaugural Nnamdi Azikiwe Memorial Lecture (NAML), at the University of Nigeria Nsukka on Friday, November 14, titled “The Nnamdi Azikiwe Political Philosophy: Lessons for Good Governance and Development,” Akagburuonye captured the life, ideals, and political vision of Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe  Akagburuonye arguing  that those political and leadership ideals are the panacea for a greater Nigeria.

“Zik’s principles of justice, accountability, and national unity are the compass Nigeria urgently needs today,” he declared, urging leaders to revive Azikiwe’s spirit of inclusive nation-building.

The event drew a distinguished crowd of academics, national leaders, traditional rulers, and members of the Azikiwe family, under the Chairmanship of Chief Nnia Nwodo, former President General of Ohaneze Ndigbo worldwide.

Akagburuonye, a distinguished Lawyer, real estate investment Icon, and Politician, traced Zik’s journey from his birth in Zungeru to his intellectual formation in the United States, highlighting the Pan-Africanist convictions that shaped his lifelong advocacy for freedom, unity, and human dignity. He praised Azikiwe’s pioneering journalism—through the West African Pilot and other publications—which he described as “the torchlight that awakened a nation.”

The lecture emphasised Neo-Welfarism, Zik’s signature political philosophy blending capitalism, socialism, and African communalism, as well as Zikism, his five-point blueprint for African liberation. Akagburuonye argued that these ideas remain relevant to Nigeria’s current governance challenges, especially Spiritual Balance, which is needed as fast as possible.

Akagburuonye, further noted that many of Zik of Africa’s development ideals align with the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which were created as a global roadmap for sustainable development after 2015 and aimed to ensure no one is left behind by 2030.

The Chief Host and Vice Chancellor of the University of Nigeria, Prof. Simon Uchenna Ortuanya, ably represented by Prof. Anthony Attamah, Director of the Academic Planning unit of the University, praised the Faculty of the Social Sciences for organising the Lecture, with the hope that it will be sustained.

The Chairman of the event, Chief Nnia Nwodo, former President General of Ohaneze Ndigbo worldwide took the audience down memory lane, revealing that his father, Chief John Nwodo, helped Azikiwe to found the University of Nigeria.

The Dean of the Faculty of the Social Sciences, UNN, Prof. Chidi Nzeadibe, remarked that the NAML will be a biennial lecture that will sustain the history of Nnamdi Azikiwe in the consciousness of public.

The book on the Faculty detailing its history from 1960 to 2025 and edited by Chidi Nzeadibe, Jeff Unaegbu and Obiora Anichebe was reviewed by Prof. Chukwuedozie Ajaero and presented to the public. He praised the editors for an intensively detailed work.

The event featured prominent scholars and dignitaries including Prof. Emeritus Uche Azikiwe, widow of the late statesman. This added emotional depth to the event, with many attendees describing the lecture as a long-awaited platform for re-examining the legacy of one of Africa’s greatest statesmen.