Jaja Wachuku - First Speaker of The House

First Speaker of The House

From 1959 to 1960, Wachuku was the first indigenous Speaker of the House of Representatives of Nigeria. He replaced Sir Frederic Metcalfe of Great Britain. Notably, as First Speaker of the House, Wachuku received Nigeria's Instrument of Independence - also known as Freedom Charter, on October 1, 1960 from Princess Alexandra of Kent - Elizabeth II (Queen of the United Kingdom)'s representative at the Nigerian Independence ceremonies. On a 1960 United States tour as the House of Representatives Speaker, Jaja Wachuku was honoured and presented with the City of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Blue Seal and Key to the City of Atlanta, Georgia. As Speaker of the House; and subsequently, Wachuku, during the civil rights movement, unwaveringly supported African Americans plus all Americans and humankind of goodwill who saw the humane, enriching need for true and respectful racial equality.

Notably, It was during this period and during his years as First Nigerian Foreign Affairs Minister that Wachuku forged the reputed friendship that he had with three Presidents of the United States: Dwight D. Eisenhower, John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson. He was also good friends with Sam Rayburn: 48th, 50th and 52nd Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, Adlai Stevenson, Martin Luther King, Jr., Marian Anderson, Nelson Aldrich Rockefeller, Henry Ford II, Israel's Golda Meir, Nikita Khrushchev plus numerous leaders and people around the world.