Ike Omar Sanda Nwachukwu mni (born 1 September 1940) is a retired Army officer and

Nigeria Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...

politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking, ...

who served twice as

Foreign Minister of Nigeria The Nigerian foreign ministry is a statutory body created to re-inforce foreign decision making and implementation processes in Nigeria and handle the external promotion of Nigeria's domestic vision and ideals; it is headed by a federal executive ...

and as a

Senator A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

in the National Assembly delegation from

Abia State Abia State ( ig, Ȯha Abia) is a state in the South-East geopolitical zone of Nigeria, it is bordered to the north and northeast by the states of Enugu, and Ebonyi, Imo State to the west, Cross River State to the east, Akwa Ibom State to th ...

Education and training

Born on September 1, 1941 in Port Harcourt to an Igbo father and a

Fulani The Fula, Fulani, or Fulɓe people ( ff, Fulɓe, ; french: Peul, links=no; ha, Fulani or Hilani; pt, Fula, links=no; wo, Pël; bm, Fulaw) are one of the largest ethnic groups in the Sahel and West Africa, widely dispersed across the region. ...

mother of

Katsina Katsina, likely from "Tamashek" eaning son or bloodor mazza enwith "inna" otheris a Local Government Area and the capital city of Katsina State, in northern Nigeria.

, Nwachukwu had his early education at the Ladi-Lak Institute,

Yaba, Lagos Yaba is a suburb located on Lagos Mainland, Lagos in Lagos State, Nigeria. There are several federal government institutions in the area, which include Queen's College, the Nigerian Institute of Medical Research, the Yaba College of Technolog ...

, and Lagos City College, also in Yaba, Lagos. He obtained his initial military training at the Nigerian Military Training College,

Kaduna Kaduna is the capital city of Kaduna State, and the former political capital of Northern Nigeria. It is located in north-western Nigeria, on the Kaduna River. It is a trade Centre and a major transportation hub as the gateway to northern Nige ...

, course 6, then proceeded to the Royal Canadian School of Infantry, and then furthered his training at the

School of Infantry A School of Infantry provides training in weapons and infantry tactics to infantrymen of a nation's military forces. Schools of infantry include: Australia *Australian Army – School of Infantry, Lone Pine Barracks at Singleton, NSW. France ...

Warminster Warminster () is an ancient market town with a nearby garrison, and civil parish in south west Wiltshire, England, on the western edge of Salisbury Plain. The parish had a population of about 17,000 in 2011. The 11th-century Minster Church o ...

, United Kingdom. He also studied at the Institute of Humanitarian Law, San Remo, Italy, the United Nations Peace Academy, and the

National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies (NIPSS) in Kuru, Nigeria is a policy formation center for bureaucrats, private sector leaders, Army officers, and medium-rank and senior civil servants, which was founded in 1979. Most policymakers ...

(NIPPS), Kuru, Plateau State. Ike Nwachukwu rose to the rank of major general prior to his retirement with the Nigerian Army.

Career

Nwachukwu held the position of Military Governor of Imo State, where he moved

Imo State University The Imo State University (IMSU) in Owerri, Imo State, Nigeria was established in 1981 through law No. 4 passed by the Imo State House of Assembly. The university admitted the first intake of 392 pioneer students on 23 October, 1981. After th ...

(now

Abia State University Abia State University Uturu (ABSU) is a Nigerian public university. It is one of the state owned universities in Nigeria. These state academic institutions were created to expand admissions and bring professional skills, expertise and modern rese ...

) in

Uturu Uturu is a town located within latitudes 05.33°N and 06.03°N, in the northern part of Abia State, Nigeria. It is in the transition from rural to urban status, so it is witnessing many development activities. It is popularly known as a location ...

to its permanent site. From 1986 to 1987 he was Minister for Employment, Labour and Productivity, where he founded the National Directorate of Employment (NDE) to alleviate the problems of unemployment, especially graduate unemployment. Nwachukwu was

Minister of Foreign Affairs A foreign affairs minister or minister of foreign affairs (less commonly minister for foreign affairs) is generally a cabinet minister in charge of a state's foreign policy and relations. The formal title of the top official varies between co ...

from December 1987 to December 1989, when he was replaced by

Rilwanu Lukman Rilwanu Lukman (26 August 1938 – 21 July 2014) was a Nigerian engineer who held several ministerial positions in the Nigerian Federal government before becoming Secretary General of OPEC (Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries) fro ...

, returning to a field military command position. In September 1990 he was re-appointed Minister of Foreign Affairs, being replaced in January 1993 by

Matthew Mbu Matthew Tawo Mbu (20 November 1929 – 6 February 2012) was a Nigerian lawyer, politician, diplomat, and a permanent fixture in Nigerian political affairs for more than fifty years. Early life Mbu was born in Okundi, Cross River State. He rece ...

during the transition to civilian rule. He was active and effective as Foreign Minister, taking a mercantilist approach to diplomacy.

Chairmanships

Among the organizations and groups Nwachukwu has served as the chairman of are the

Organization of African Unity The Organisation of African Unity (OAU; french: Organisation de l'unité africaine, OUA) was an intergovernmental organization established on 25 May 1963 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, with 32 signatory governments. One of the main heads for OAU's ...

Liberty Committee, the Organization of African Unity

Council of Ministers A council is a group of people who come together to consult, deliberate, or make decisions. A council may function as a legislature, especially at a town, city or county/ shire level, but most legislative bodies at the state/provincial or nati ...

(three terms), the

Economic Community of West African States The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS; also known as in French and Portuguese) is a regional political and economic union of fifteen countries located in West Africa. Collectively, these countries comprise an area of , and in ...

, plenary sessions of the

Non-Aligned Movement The Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) is a forum of 120 countries that are not formally aligned with or against any major power bloc. After the United Nations, it is the largest grouping of states worldwide. The movement originated in the aftermath o ...

, and the Governing Council of the African Regional Labour Administration Center.

Delegations led

Nwachukwu has headed and led several delegations to various international summits and negotiations, and obtained resolutions from the United Nations on behalf of Nigeria. Some of them include: addressing the

United Nations General Assembly The United Nations General Assembly (UNGA or GA; french: link=no, Assemblée générale, AG) is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations (UN), serving as the main deliberative, policymaking, and representative organ of the UN. Curr ...

and chairing United Nations special sessions on varying subjects, leading the Organization of African Unity Ministerial Delegation to the Conference for Democratisation of South Africa, leading Nigeria’s negotiations for

Agenda 21 Agenda 21 is a non-binding action plan of the United Nations with regard to sustainable development. It is a product of the Earth Summit (UN Conference on Environment and Development) held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in 1992. It is an action age ...

and the convention at the

Earth Summit The United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED), also known as the Rio Conference or the Earth Summit (Portuguese: ECO92), was a major United Nations conference held in Rio de Janeiro from June 3 to June 14, 1992. Earth Su ...

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro ( , , ; literally 'River of January'), or simply Rio, is the capital of the state of the same name, Brazil's third-most populous state, and the second-most populous city in Brazil, after São Paulo. Listed by the GaWC as a ...

, Brazil.

Senate

As an

senator, Nwachukwu served as Chairman of two senate committees, the Senate Committee on Power and Steel and the Senate Committee on Governmental Affairs.

Honors and awards

Nwachukwu was conferred with several medals and decorations whilst in military service, as well as traditional titles in his present status as a civilian.

Decorations and service medals

Nwachukwu's national decorations and service medals include: the Nigerian Independence Medal, the Forces Service Star, the Defence Service Star, the Nigeria Republic Medal, the

National Service Medal The Norwegian National Service Medal is awarded upon completion of mandatory military service (usually one year, six months for the Home Guard). The medal exists in four versions, one for each branch of service (army, air force, navy and home gu ...

, and the order of commander, Federal Republic of Nigeria (CFR).

National merit awards

Nwachukwu has been awarded three national merit awards. They are the Special Certificate of Merit of the African Youth Congress, the Award of Recognition of the Iron and Steel Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (ISSSAN), and the Merit Award by Achike Udenwa, former Governor of Imo State, on the occasion of the state's Silver Jubilee.

International awards

Nwachukwu has been conferred with several international medals and awards, which include the Grand Commander of Equatorial Guinea, presented by the President of Equatorial Guinea, the Federal Republic of Germany's Grand Cross of Merit (GMCS), the Grand Master of the National Order of the Southern Cross (GMSC), from the President of Brazil, the Diplomatic Medal (DMM) from the President of the South Korea, the Grand Cruz de la Order dei Merito Civil de Espana (GCMC), by King

Juan Carlos I of Spain Juan Carlos I (;, * ca, Joan Carles I, * gl, Xoán Carlos I, Juan Carlos Alfonso Víctor María de Borbón y Borbón-Dos Sicilias, born 5 January 1938) is a member of the Spanish royal family who reigned as King of Spain from 22 Novem ...

, the Knight Grand Cross of the Order of St Michael and St George (GCMG), awarded by Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom, and the Commander of the Order of Mono (COM) from

Gnassingbé Eyadéma Gnassingbé Eyadéma (; born Étienne Gnassingbé, 26 December 1935 – 5 February 2005) was the president of Togo from 1967 until his death in 2005, after which he was immediately succeeded by his son, Faure Gnassingbé. Eyadéma participated i ...

, President of Togo.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nwachukwu, Ike 1940 births Living people Igbo politicians Governors of Imo State Politicians from Port Harcourt People from Abia State Commanders Crosses of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany Members of the Senate (Nigeria) Foreign ministers of Nigeria Members of the Nigerian National Institute of Policy and Strategic Studies Nigerian Fula people Candidates in the Nigerian general election, 2003 20th-century Nigerian politicians