OBITUARY: Obiozor, diplomat and academic who believed Nigeria is an ‘Iroko’ despite crises

‘Diplomat of great repute’; ‘distinguished statesman and patriot’; ‘one of the brightest minds to come out of south-east’…

Positive vibes and praises have been in the air since George Obiozor took his last breath on Wednesday and bade farewell to life. Until his death, Obiozor was the president-general of Ohanaeze Ndigbo worldwide. In his eight decades on earth, his experiences were rich and varied.

‘HE LOVED TO SPEAK ABOUT NIGERIA’

Obiozor was born in August 1942 in Imo state. He attended Awo-Omamma Comprehensive Secondary School in Oru, after which he moved to Switzerland to study at the Institute of African Studies in Geneva, and Albert Schweitzer College in Vaud. He bagged a degree in political science from the University of Puget Sound in 1969.

“As a student at Puget Sound, George was involved in many clubs and activities and spent a great deal of time speaking to campus groups about Nigeria and his experiences. He was actively involved in the Tacoma community, as well, speaking to local school and church groups and working as a soccer coach and instructor through Tacoma Metro Parks in the summer,” information about him on Puget Sound alumni page reads.

Obiozor also attended Columbia University where he earned his Ph.D. He remained in New York City after completing his Ph.D., teaching at City University before eventually returning to Nigeria in 1979.

“For me, because of my own ambition to work in both government and academia, I had to return to Nigeria,” he had said.

In 1998, he was named visiting professor in international affairs at the African Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences in Moscow.

DIPLOMAT PAR EXCELLENCE

Obiozor served as director-general of the Nigerian Institute of International Affairs and later as the high commissioner to Cyprus. In 1999, he became the Nigerian ambassador to Israel, a post he held for four years, and was later appointed Nigeria’s ambassador to the United States in 2004.

“The main lesson of my education, both in Switzerland and at Puget Sound, was to seriously learn the ways and manner in which human beings behave,” he was quoted as saying in this piece by Margot Kahn.

As ambassador, Obiozor said the most important part of his job was to be “present, ready and able to serve the interests” of his host countries, as well as “negotiating and explaining the issues of mutual interest”.

STANCE ON BIAFRA

Obiozor was elected president-general of Ohanaeze Ndigbo in January 2021 and since then, has been the voice of the organisation on a number of issues.

Speaking in an interview with Arise TV in April 2021, Obiozor said Nigeria needs to heal if the country is to surmount its ethno-religious crisis and agitations, adding that he is not in support of secession. He also said what the country needs to tackle its challenges is political will.

He said the concept of Biafra is not applicable to the Igbo alone, and that it is a representation of the call of several Nigerians for justice, equity, and fairness.

“Igbos are not at war with Nigeria. The IPOB young men are our sons. We cannot deny them. If they are doing anything in the interest of Igbos, definitely, they have our support. There is even no quarrel between them and many people in Igbo land, except there is a difference in method. The issue is not who formed what organisation,” he said.

“It is time for the country to begin healing to reduce the level of crisis. There is Biafra in every Nigerian who is looking for justice, fairness, and equity. There is a Biafra in your neighbourhood. It is not only in the south-east that you have the secessionist movement.

“Justice seemingly done across the country will change many people’s minds. I definitely don’t believe in secession at all. Every region in Nigeria has been secessionist but they are not tagged like that. I have written several times that the majority of Igbos actually prefer one Nigeria.

“Nigeria’s problems have been diagnosed over and over again and the solutions are known, but there is no political will to solve them. In  2014, there was a national conference and the report would have been a milestone landmark to solve Nigeria’s problems.

“The problem of Nigeria can be solved either through structure or through leadership.”

IGBO PRESIDENCY

On Igbo presidency for 2023, Obiozor had said the country is ripe and ready to be governed by a person of south-east extraction.

“Finally, it is our turn and we are going to work very hard towards it and we will talk to people from other parts of Nigeria to give us a chance because it is right, it is reasonable, and it is deserving and timely,” he said.

Asked if he had any candidate in mind then, he had said it was still early to make a choice.

“In politics, tomorrow is eternity,” he added.

NIGERIA AS AN ‘IROKO’

In January, while also speaking on secessionist agitations, Obiozor described Nigeria as an Iroko tree, saying the country is strong enough to withstand and outlive all agitations for separation.

“No amount of all these side militancy, revolutionaries is a threat to the Nigerian unity because none of them is capable of defeating Nigeria, whatever name you call it,” he said.

“Other crises we are facing today will pass; they will be contained. Nigeria is like an Iroko; the tree stands firm and strong. What is shaking are the trees and branches.”

A STILLBIRTH AUTOBIOGRAPHY?

Kahn had said in the 2019 piece that Obiozor was “penning an autobiography”. It is, however, not clear what happened regarding the publication before his death.

Meanwhile, as much as he was a diplomat, Obiozor was an academic. Some publications to his credit include: ‘Uneasy Friendships: Nigeria-United States Relations, Fourth Dimension Publications’; ‘The Politics of Precarious Balancing: An Analysis of Contending Issues in Nigerian Domestic and Foreign Policy, Nigerian Institute of International Affairs’; and ‘Nigeria and the World: Managing the Politics of Diplomatic Ambivalence in a Changing World’.

Tributes have poured in for Obiozor, and you can read them here.