Azikiwe, Uche 1947-

PERSONAL:

Born February 4, 1947, in Afikpo, Nigeria; daughter of Lawrence A. (a sergeant major of police) and Florence (a trader and homemaker; maiden name, Ugo) Ewah; married Nnamdi Azikiwe (a political leader; first indigenous president of Nigeria), 1973 (died May 11, 1996); children: Molokwu Azubuike, Uwakwe Ukuta. Ethnicity: "Igbo." Education: University of Nigeria, B.A. (with honors), 1981, M.Ed. (curriculum studies), 1985, M.Ed. (sociology of education and women's studies), 1989, Ph.D., 1992. Religion: Christian. Hobbies and other interests: Dancing, cooking, "listening to good music."

ADDRESSES:

Home—Nsukka, Enugu State, Nigeria. Office—Department of Educational Foundations, University of Nigeria, Nsukka, Enugu State, Nigeria; fax: 04-277-1518. E-mail—[email protected].

CAREER:

High school English teacher in Nsukka, Nigeria, 1981-87; University of Nigeria, Nsukka, assistant research fellow, 1987-88, research fellow, 1988-93, senior research fellow at Institute of Education, 1993-97, reader in education, 1997—, and member of advisory board for Women's Studies Unit. Otu Odu Society of Onitsha, representative as Enyi Nwonaku. Nnamdi Azikiwe University, coordinator and course organizer for women's studies, 1993-94. Network for Women's Studies in Nigeria, convener of Organisational Strategies Committee, 1996—; Women in Democracy and Development, president; Anambra State of Nigeria, member of committee for foundry and machine tools, 2001-03, and member of advisory board for Women Commission; member of Nsukka Zonal Steering Committee to Educate Women for Development and Nigerian National Council for Adult Education; conference and workshop participant; member of board of trustees, World Environmental Movement for Africa, and Centre for Igbo Studies, Abia State University. Founder and president of Zik Foundation and Widows Lifeline. Member of board of directors, Anambra Motor Manufacturing Co., 1993-2001, and Central Bank of Nigeria, 1999—.

MEMBER:

World Council of Curriculum and Instruction, Circle of Concerned African Women Theologians, National Women's Studies Association (United States), Curriculum Organisation of Nigeria, Nigerian Educational Research Association, Academic Publication Association of Nigeria, Nigerian Vocational Association, Women's Studies Association of Nigeria, Nigerian Association for Comparative Educators, Technological Educational Writers' Association of Nigeria, Nigerian Association of University Women, National Council of Women Societies, University Women Association.

AWARDS, HONORS:

Exemplary Mother award, Nigerian Women for Family Growth, 1994; president's honor, Lincoln University (of Pennsylvania), 1998; certificate of excellence, Southeastern University (of Washington, DC), 1998; decorated Knight of St. Paul, Anglican Diocese of Nsukka, 1998; named grand patron, Ananbra state chapter, Nigerian Association of Women Journalists, 1999; member, Order of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 2000; named national patron, Umuada Igbo Nigeria, 2002; Sustainable Development Award, World Institute for Leadership and Development and World Environmental Movement for Africa, 2002.

WRITINGS:

Women, Education, and Empowerment, Fulladu Publishing (Nsukka, Nigeria), 1992.

(Compiler) Women in Nigeria: An Annotated Bibliography, Greenwood Press (Westport, CT), 1996.

Language Teaching and Learning, Africana Fep. Publishers (Onitsha, Nigeria), 1998.

Contributor to books, including Perspective in Research and National Development, Volume II, edited by R.O. Ohuche and M.X. Anyanwu, Summer Educational Publishers, 1990; Foundations of Education, edited by M.A. Mkpa, Africana-Fep. Publishers (Onitsha, Nigeria), 1990; Nathan Ejiogu: A Case Study of Leadership in Education, edited by R.O. Ohuche and A.N. Ndu, Wisdom Publishers (Ibadan, Nigeria), 1991; Sociology of Education for Nigeria, edited by G.E. Okonkwo and J.C. Agada, Totan Publishers (Owerri, Nigeria), 1991; and Curriculum Theory and Planning, edited by G.C. Offorma, Uniworld Educational Publishers (Onitsha, Nigeria), 2004. Contributor of about fifty articles to education, development, and gender studies journals, including International Journal of Educational Research, Journal of Educational Research and Evaluation, Journal of Curriculum Studies, Universal Basic Education Journal, Nigerian Journal of Rural and Community Development, Nigerian Vocational Journal, Journal of Education and Psychology in the Third World Africa, Journal of Liberal Studies, and International Journal of Women's Studies.

SIDELIGHTS:

Uche Azikiwe once told CA: "I am the widow of the late Right Honorable Nnamdi Azikiwe, the Owelle of Onitsha, one of the founding fathers of modern Nigeria and the first indigenous president of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. I am also a mother of two sons (who hold master's degrees in their different fields) and a grandmother. I lecture at the University of Nigeria, teaching sociology of education, women's studies, curriculum studies, and language education.

"I developed an interest in gender and women's studies after attending an international conference on women. Though I already had a master's degree in curriculum studies, I decided to go for a second master's degree in sociology of education and a doctorate to enable me to veer into gender issues and education of women. My doctoral dissertation culminated in my first book, Women, Education, and Empowerment. This book is currently used as a text at the University of Nigeria.

"My second book was written as a result of the need to resolve the problem of the dearth of data on women in general and in Nigeria in particular. As a teacher of English for six years at the secondary school level, I observed that there is need for a text to help the classroom teacher in her task of teaching students who learn English as a second language. My third book, Language Teaching and Learning is being used as a text for the preparation of teachers in tertiary institutions. My teaching career has been the main influence on my writing."