Anambra State - Notable People

Notable People

Despite its relatively small landmass, Anambra has produced a fair number of outstanding individuals and a number of firsts in Nigeria. Anambra natives include:

• Nnamdi Azikiwe Owelle of Onitsha - the first President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and historically, the only man whose name appeared in the Constitution of his country (Nigeria's Republican Constitution of 1963).
• Dr. Alex Ifeanyichukwu Ekwueme, hails from Okoh town, is a frontline Politician, Architect and the first executive Vice-President of Nigeria, serving 1979 – 1983.
• Professor Chinua Achebe - a native of Ogidi and best known for the classic, Things Fall Apart was the first African writer whose books are standard curricula in schools and universities across the world.
• Professor Uche Okeke - a native of Nimo and one of the foremost Nigerian fine artists, founder of the Uli movement.
• Emeka Anyaoku - the first black Secretary-General of the Commonwealth and recipient of South Africa's Order of the Companions of OR Tambo for his role in initiating talks between the apartheid state and the African National Congress (ANC);
• Nwafor Orizu - the first Senate President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
• Lieutenant-General Chikadibia Isaac Obiakor, appointed in 2008 by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon as Military Advisor on UN Peacekeeping Operations. Previously served as Commander of the Economic Community of West African States Monitoring Group (ECOMOG) Artillery Brigade in Liberia in 1996 and 1997, and as ECOMOG Chief Coordinator of the Liberian elections in July 1997.
• Professor Humphrey Nwobu Nwosu. A Professor of Political Science. Former NEC Chairman. Conducted the freest, fairest and most credible election so far in Nigeria.
• Chinyelu Onwurah, a British Labour Party politician, who was elected at the 2010 general election as the Member of Parliament for Newcastle-upon-Tyne Central, becoming the first female British MP of African origin.
• Chuka Umunna, a British Labour Party Member of Parliament for Streatham constituency.
• Professor Kenneth Dike - a pre-eminent scholar of African History and native of Awka, was the first indigenous Vice-Chancellor of the University of Ibadan and founder of the National Archives.
• Professor Ben Enwonwu - a native of Onitsha was the first Nigerian sculptor of international repute with artwork gracing the United Nations headquarters.
• Pius Okigbo, CON - a world renowned economist, was the first economic advisor to the Federal government of Nigeria (1960–1962), first Nigerian Ambassador to the European Community and renowned for bringing to light over $12 billion missing in oil windfall receipts from the Central Bank of Nigeria during the first Gulf War.
• Professor Samuel Okoye - was black Africa's first PhD in Radio Astronomy who along with Antony Hewish of the University of Cambridge discovered the radio source of Crab Nebula neutron star.
• Chief Jerome Udoji - from Ozubulu, a social reformer was the first African to be made a 'D.O' (District Officer) by the Colonial Administration.

Others include:

• Amobi Okoye - Youngest American football player to play for the NFL (2004), currently plays for the Houston Texans
• Chimamanda Adichie - writer who won the Orange Prize for Fiction (2007) and a MacArthur Foundation Fellowship (2008);
• Dora Akunyili - ex-head of NAFDAC and current Minister of Information won international awards for cleansing Nigeria of the scourge of fake drugs;
• Cardinal Francis Arinze, once considered a potential Pope
• Cyprian Ekwensi - MFR, a writer of international repute
• Philip Emeagwali - winner of the 1989 Gordon Bell Prize for Supercomputing;
• Prof Chike Obi - a Mathematician famous for his work on non-differential equations won the 1985 ICTP Price and developed a special solution for Fermat's Last Theorem ;
• Louis Odumegwu Ojukwu - a native of Nnewi who was the first Nigerian millionaire and first president of the Nigerian Stock Exchange;
• Dim Emeka Ojukwu - the leader of the secessionist Biafra Republic;
• Barrister Chigbo Uzokwelu, Ebubedike of Igboland, Legal luminary and e-business guru.
• Osita Osadebe - a popular Nigerian Highlife musician who also holds the Nigerian record for the highest selling album
• Professor Charles Chukwuma Soludo - a famous economist who spearheaded Nigerian economic reform from 1999–2008 and was ex-head of the Central Bank of Nigeria;
• Chinwe Chukwuogo-Roy MBE, a London-based visual artist. The first black artist to paint a portrait of Queen Elizabeth II when commissioned to paint the official Golden Jubilee portrait. She was chosen as one of the UK Women of the Year in 2002 and 2003, represented the UK at the Council of Europe and was awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Letters by the University of East Anglia. During 2006 her work was represented on the national postage stamps of six countries. In 2008 she addressed the Cambridge Union Chukwuogo-Roy is a regular contributor to the BBC and other current affairs programmes. In 2009 she was made an MBE in the Queen's Birthday Honours List.
• Emeritus Professor J.O.C. Ezeilo(popularly called JOC),often described as Nigerian leading Mathematician alongside Chike Obi.He was former Vice Chancellor Of University Of Nigeria Nsukka.;

some of his works can be found here ;