Mbazulike Amaechi: Ex-Aviation Minister, Who Vowed Not To Get Married Until Nigeria Gained Independence, Dies At 93
Mbazulike Amaechi, the first minister of aviation in Nigeria and an elder statesman has died at the age of 93 in Anambra State on November 1, 2022.
Amaechi was born on June 16, 1929, in Ukpor in Nnewi South Local Government Area of Anambra state. He had his standard one in a school in the village but had to leave for Obahu-Ekwem in Ihiala for his standard 2 because the village school stopped at standard one.
In Ihiala, Amaechi served under a teacher as was the practice. He was able to do his standards two and three there for free by working as a servant for the teacher. In 1939, he returned to Ukpor after a new school, Central School, became opened.
After primary school, Amaechi moved to Onitsha to attend Etukogwu College. There, he was exposed to the writing of nationalist, Nnamdi Azikiwe and joined the Zik movement. Members of the group championed the call for democracy and took an oath vowing not to get married until Nigeria was granted Independence.
After secondary school, Amaechi studied at Wuzihall Correspondence College in London and did his first degree at the University of Beverly Hills, also in London.
In an interview with Daily Trust, Amaechi said “In our days, there was no university in Nigeria; people went to England for their university education or did correspondence studies.
“We were deeply involved in the struggle for the independence of Nigeria.
“As youths, we were deeply involved in the struggle in the Zikist Movement.”
As members of the Zik Movement, Amaechi and others were arrested several times and released but stood steadfast in their resolve.
After school, Amaechi served as a trade union leader and secretary at Amels Transport Union where he worked.
In 1959, after Britain began the process of granting independence to Nigeria, Amaechi was elected member of the House of Representatives at the age of 29. He became a parliamentary secretary in 1960 and true to his oath, got married after Nigeria was granted independence in December 1960 to his wife, Chinelo who had just returned from school abroad.
He was appointed as minister of aviation in 1961 until January 1966 when a military coup ended the first republic. After that, he ‘retired’ from politics but remained vocal about his support for one Nigeria as that was what he fought for.
In 2021, Amaechi led a delegation of prominent Igbo leaders to President Muhammadu Buhari to request the release of Nnamdi Kanu, detained leader of the outlawed Indigenous People of Biafra.
Amaechi lost his wife in June 2021 at the age of 91 before his death in November 2022.
