Onuora Nzekwu () also known as Joseph Onuora Nzekwu (19 February 1928 – 21 April 2017) was a

Nigerian Nigerians or the Nigerian people are citizens of Nigeria or people with ancestry from Nigeria. The name Nigeria was taken from the Niger River running through the country. This name was allegedly coined in the late 19th century by British jour ...

professor, writer and editor from the

Igbo people The Igbo people ( , ; also spelled Ibo" and formerly also ''Iboe'', ''Ebo'', ''Eboe'', * * * ''Eboans'', ''Heebo''; natively ) are an ethnic group in Nigeria. They are primarily found in Abia, Anambra, Ebonyi, Enugu, and Imo States. A ...

. He is author of the 1961 novel '' Wand of Noble Wood'' and the 1963 novel '' Eze Goes to School'' which was among the

African Writers Series The African Writers Series (AWS) is a collection of books written by African novelists, poets and politicians. Published by Heinemann (publisher), Heinemann, 359 books appeared in the series between 1962 and 2003. The series has provided an int ...

Biography

Nzekwu was born in Kafanchan,

Kaduna State Kaduna State ( ha, Jihar Kaduna جىِهَر كَدُنا; ff, Leydi Kaduna, script=Latn, ; kcg, Sitet Kaduna) is a state in northern Nigeria. The state capital is its namesake, the city of Kaduna which happened to be the 8th largest city in ...

, to Mr. Obiese Nzekwu and Mrs. Mary Ogugua Nzekwu (née Aghadiuno) of

Onitsha Onitsha ( or just ''Ọ̀nị̀chà'') is a city located on the eastern bank of the Niger River, in Anambra State, Nigeria. A metropolitan city, Onitsha is known for its river port and as an economic hub for commerce, industry, and education. ...

Anambra State Anambra State is a Nigerian state, located in the southeastern region of the country. The state was created on August 27, 1991. Anambra state is bounded by Delta State to the west, Imo State to the south, Enugu State to the east and Kogi State ...

."Nigerians Don't Read as Expected - Onuora Nzekwu (Eze Goes to School Author)"
Bivne's Space, 3 March 2012. In January 1956, Nzekwu joined the Federal Civil Service and worked as an editorial assistant at the Nigeria Magazine division of the Federal Ministry of Information and Communications, from 1956 to 1958. In 1958, he took over the position of

editor-in-chief An editor-in-chief (EIC), also known as lead editor or chief editor, is a publication's editorial leader who has final responsibility for its operations and policies. The highest-ranking editor of a publication may also be titled editor, managing ...

of the magazine. Nzekwu continued to run the ''Nigeria Magazine'' division of the Federal Ministry of Information and Communications until 1966, when the Nigerian crisis compelled him to transfer his services to the Eastern

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 ...

Public Service. He began as a senior information officer at Eastern Nigeria, a post that combined the roles of Information Ministry and Cultural officer. In 1968, he was promoted deputy director of the newly created Cultural Division. At the end of hostilities in January 1970, Nzekwu returned to the Federal Ministry of Information in May and was assigned to the information division as senior information officer. Nzekwu worked as general manager of News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) until 1 July 1979, when he then took over the position of substantive general manager. He retired from the Nigeria Public Service in 1985, after presiding over the affairs of NAN for nearly eight years and servicing his country’s government for 39 years.

Awards

Onuora Nzekwu received the

Rockefeller Foundation The Rockefeller Foundation is an American private foundation and philanthropic medical research and arts funding organization based at 420 Fifth Avenue, New York City. The second-oldest major philanthropic institution in America, after the Carneg ...

Fellowship in 1961, which enabled him to study American Methods of Magazine Production with Crafts Horizons in New York. In 1964, he was awarded a

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...

Fellowship, which allowed him to study copyright administration for three months in Geneva, Prague, Paris, London, New York and Washington. On 8 August 2006, News Agency of Nigeria observed its 30th anniversary during celebrations at

Abuja Abuja () is the capital and eighth most populous city of Nigeria. Situated at the centre of the country within the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), it is a planned city built mainly in the 1980s based on a master plan by International Plann ...

. The NAN presented a plaque, with the engraving "Maker of NAN", to Nzekwu. In December 2008, Nzekwu was conferred with the Nigerian national honour of

Officer of the Order of the Niger Nigeria became an independent country on 1 October 1960 and in 1963 became the Federal Republic of Nigeria. The republic instituted two orders of merit: the Order of the Niger and the Order of the Federal Republic. Award The two highest honour ...

(OON).

Publications

Nzekwu has also authored several novels. He co-authored ''Eze Goes to School'' and ''Eze Goes to College'' with historian

Michael Crowder Michael Crowder (9 June 1934 – 14 August 1988) was a British historian and author notable for his books on the history of Africa and particularly on the history of West Africa. Early life and education Michael was born in London and educat ...

. The two school supplementary readers were first published by African University Press in 1964 and 1988 respectively. In 1977, Nzekwu published his first non-fiction work, ''The Chima Dynasty in Onitsha'', in which he presented the history of

through an account of the reign of its monarchs. Nzekwu's novel, ''Faith of Our Fathers'', a compendium of the arts, beliefs, social institutions and code of values that characterize the Onitsha traditional community, was published in 2003.

Personal life

Nzekwu married Onoenyi Justina Ogbenyeanu, daughter of Chief Isaac Aniegboka Mbanefo, Odu II of

, in June 1960 and was inducted into the ancient and prestigious Agbalanze Society of Onitsha in May 1991. He died on 21 April 2017.

Works

*'' Wand of Noble Wood'' (1961) *''

Blade Among the Boys A blade is the portion of a tool, weapon, or machine with an edge that is designed to puncture, chop, slice or scrape surfaces or materials. Blades are typically made from materials that are harder than those they are to be used on. Historicall ...

'' (1962) *'' Highlife for Lizards'' (1965) *'' Eze Goes to School'' (1966) *'' The Chima Dynasty in Onitsha'' (1977) *''

Faith Of Our Father's Faith, derived from Latin ''fides'' and Old French ''feid'', is confidence or trust in a person, thing, or In the context of religion, one can define faith as "belief in God or in the doctrines or teachings of religion". Religious people often ...

'' (2003) *'' Troubled Dust'' (2012) *''

Ahmad Daggash (Story of the True) Ahmad ( ar, أحمد, ʾAḥmad) is an Arabic male given name common in most parts of the Muslim world. Other spellings of the name include Ahmed and Ahmet. Etymology The word derives from the root (ḥ-m-d), from the Arabic (), from the ve ...

''(2016)

References

*Nzekwu, Onuora. (2006). In ''Encyclopædia Britannica''. Retrieved 20 August 2006, from Encyclopædia Britannica Premium Service: https://www.britannica.com/biography/Onuora-Nzekwu
"Nigerians Don't Read as Expected - Onuora Nzekwu (Eze Goes to School Author)"
Bivne's Space, 3 March 2012.

External links

Onuora Nzekwu at Encyclopædia Britannica
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nzekwu, Onuora 1928 births 2017 deaths Igbo writers Igbo educators Nigerian writers People from Kaduna State Officers of the Order of the Niger