K. O. Mbadiwe
Kingsley Mbadiwe | |
---|---|
Central Minister of Lands, Survey and Natural Resources | |
In office 1954–1955 | |
Preceded by | Okoi Arikpo |
Constituency | Orlu |
Central Minister of Communication and Aviation | |
In office 1955–1957 | |
Preceded by | Arthur Prest |
Personal details | |
Born | 1915 Oneh, Orlu Division |
Died | 1990 |
Political party | NCNC |
Occupation | Nationalist/Politician |
Kingsley Ozumba Mbadiwe
Early life
Mbadiwe was born to the family of Mbadiwe Odum from Arondizuogu then under then Orlu division of present-day Imo State.[1] His uncle, Igwegbe Odum, was a warrant chief in the colonial era.
Education
He started primary education at St Mary's Catholic School,
Career
After returning from the U.S., he started another business and established a research institute on African Arts. He soon entered the Nigerian political scene and joined the National Council of Nigeria and the Cameroons. In 1951, he was elected into the Eastern Region House of Assembly.[3] He was re-elected in 1954, and made minister for Lands and National Resources shortly thereafter. In 1957, he was made the Minister for Commerce. However, his political success was to undergo a great challenge when in mid-1958, he and Kola Balogun attempted to remove Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe as the leader of National Council of Nigeria and the Cameroons (NCNC).[4] Mbadiwe set up his own newspaper, The Daily Telegraph, as an organ of protest.[5] He later re-joined the party and was appointed Minister for Trade and Communications[6] and also served as a special adviser to the Prime Minister, advising on African affairs.After the succession of The Eastern Region he was Appointed as a Roving Ambassador by the Biafran president Odumegwu Ojukwu and held this post till the end of the civil war. [7]
Personal life
[8] Mbadiwe had six children namely Betty, Greg, Paul, Chris, George, and Francis. His brother, James Green Mbadiwe was a businessman conducting on his account in the Northern Region, he owned the now defunct Green's Hotel on Ahmadu Bello Way, Kaduna built in 1939 and commissioned by Azikiwe. The property later became a shopping center, J. Green Mbadiwe died in 1980.[9]
He built and inhabited the landmark residence, The Palace of The People, at Ndianiche Uno. It was commissioned by Prime Minister Sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa in 1965.
References
- ^ Aniche, Emeka (2019-12-13). "Dr. Kingsley Ozumba Mbadiwe (1915–1990) was a nationalist, politician, statesman". Notable Aros. Retrieved 2022-09-30.
- ISBN 978-0-521-22409-3
- ISBN 978-9988-7716-0-7.
- ^ Kalu Ezera (1964). Constitutional developments in Nigeria: an analytical study of Nigeria's constitution-making developments and the historical and political factors that affected constitutional change. California University Press. p. 243.
- ISBN 978-0-7223-0987-2.)
{{cite book}}
: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link - ISBN 978-0-8419-0161-2.
- ISBN 978-1-57591-048-2.
- ISBN 159221486X, 9781592214860
- ^ Arogundade, Lanre (March 16, 1992). "Abandoned property palaver in Kaduna". National Concord.
Further reading
- Lynch, Hollis R. K.O. Mbadiwe: A Nigerian Political Biography, 1915-1990 (Palgrave Macmillan; 2012) 294 pages
- Rosalynde Ainslie, Catherine Hoskyns, Ronald Segal, Political Africa: A Who's Who of Personalities and Parties (Frederick A. Praeger, 1961)