Tribute: Dr. Alex Ekwueme, an icon gone in blaze of glory

Dr. Alexander Ifeanyichukwu Ekwueme, surely straddled the Nigerian political and other spheres like a colossus. The touchstone in politics and in the architectural discipline where he shone like delectable dynamite obviously needs no introduction in Nigeria’s democratic space having been one of the major contributors to the prevailing democratic ambience in the country. Patrick Andrew writes.

His demise
First, the sudden demise of Dr. Ekwueme on Sunday night in a United Kingdom hospital where he was flown to few days following his collapse at his home came as no little shock to Nigerians, who, despite being 85 years old, were expecting that he lingers on in life.
The accomplished architect and first democratically elected Vice President of Nigeria in the Second Republic had possessed a uncharacteristic mien uncommon in a typical Nigerian politician, a disposition that was only too obvious when the military junta that overthrew the civilian administration he was the second in command found not culpable of financial impropriety.

Certified corruption free
Ironically, the military had blamed all contract scams on the Vice President and then settled down to pour its venom on him. Interestingly, after meticulously perusing through available records, the military found that Dr. Ekwueme, unlike his peers in that administration who were found to have cultivated rampaging fondness for dipping their hands into the common tilt; a proclivity towards financial profligacy and mercantile immorality, was in the words of the Tribunal that tried him found to have become poorer than he was before his assumption of the prestigious position of Vice President of Nigeria.
Perhaps, Ekwueme, who had a distinguished career in architecture, must have been influenced by the order and serenity peculiar to architectural construction.

Political foray
As the running mate of President Shehu Shagari, Ekwueme was thrown into a fierce political contest where erudite and impeccable political big wigs and charismatic leaders like the Owelle of Onitsha, the indefatigable Zik of Africa, Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe, the political sage, Chief Obafemi Awolowo, Alhaji Waziri Ibrahim, the down-to-earth politician that connected with the commoners, and other titans that dwarfed the geo-political divides, and yet emerged unassailably victorious.
Dr. Ekwueme’s humility may well have been captured by his refusal to breach democratic procedures and accept to fly the flag of the newly formed National Party of Nigeria (NPN) in spite of being persuaded and nominated by several founding fathers of the party.

In defence of democratic procedure
In an interview some years ago, Dr. Ekwueme recaptured the scene “We were at a meeting and we had agreed that one of the cardinal principles of the party would be zoning of the offices and Alhaji Lawal Kaita said specifically that I should be the presidential candidate. I said no, that that wasn’t the way it should be and that if we had set out to set up democratic norms, we should do things differently and that we should be different from the military we were trying to oust.
“I said we should let people conclude that all we did at the constitutional conference, to the all politician summit which I chaired, to the Institute of Civil Society which I chaired, the G-34 which I chaired and the party which I was then chairing was merely calculated to make me presidential candidate of the party by fiat without going through any democratic process.
“So, I didn’t want a precedent to be set whereby democratic ethos would not be followed in the party and that was why I didn’t want to encourage that decision at that occasion. It wasn’t more a matter of humility but a matter of being a stickler for democracy. Let us take it chronologically,” he recalled.

Group 34
Years later, again unlike the typical Nigerian politician, he led a determined democratic group to confront the dreaded military junta headed by Late Gen. Sani Abacha in demand for the return of democracy. The Group 34 insisted that the Gen. Abacha junta must relinquish power to a democratically elected government stressing that military dictatorship was no longer in vogue.
It was this same G-34 that blended with the Peoples Front-cum-Peoples Democratic Movement founded by the late General Shehu Musa Yar’Adua and Alhaji Atiku Abubakar to form the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) that became the ruling party in Nigeria between 1999 and 2015. Dr. Ekwueme was the chairman of the party’s Board of Trustees (BoT).

Six geo-political zones
Dr. Ekwueme also played an influential role at the National Conference between 1994 and 1995 where his famous proposals at the NCC for a just and equitable power sharing in Nigeria based on the six geopolitical zones have now come to be accepted as necessary for maintaining a stable Nigerian polity. Notwithstanding that the six geo-political structure is yet constitutional, but it has been adopted by the federal government in the distribution of political representations, infrastructures and other economic largess. He was also was a force behind the formation of the Southern coalition caucus.
He remains a stabilizing voice in Nigerian politics over the years as his political ideas and interventions greatly and positively shaped the country’s political fabric.

Accomplished career architect/businessman
The accomplished architect cum politician, started his professional career as an Assistant Architect with a Seattle-based firm, Leo A. Daly and Associates, and later joined the London-based firm Nickson and Partners. Back home, he pitched his tenet with ESSO West Africa, Lagos, overseeing the Construction and Maintenance Department.
Ekwueme carved a niche for himself in private business with his firm, Ekwueme Associates, Architects and Town Planners, which did not only become the first indigenous architectural firm in Nigeria, flourished with 16 offices spread all over Nigeria. Dr. Ekwueme had presided over the Nigerian Institute of Architects and the Architects Registration Council of Nigeria.

Traditional ruler
Ekwueme, holder of the prestigious title of Grand Commander of the Order of the Niger, was born on October 21, 1932, was the Ide of Oko kingdom in Anambra State, where reigned as the traditional ruler.
He was also honoured by the Council of Traditional Rulers in the old Aguata as the Ide of Aguata Local Government Area of Anambra State.
As a pan-African leader, Dr. Ekwueme led a team assembled by the National Democratic Institute for pre-election monitoring for the parliamentary election in Zimbabwe in 2000, was the leader of the Organisation of Africa Unity observer team to the Tanzanian Presidential and Parliamentary election same year and subsequently co-led the 28 member NDI/Carter Centre sponsored Observer Team to the Liberian Presidential run-off election in 2005.

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