Zungeru Zik Centre: From Pride To Eyesore

Once envisioned as a beacon of community development, the Zungeru Zik Centre now lies in ruins, its facilities overrun by hoodlums and vandals. What was meant to be a hub for learning, culture, and progress has become a stark reminder of neglect and unfulfilled promises, leaving locals frustrated and concerned for the future. ABU NMODU writes.

The Zungeru Zik Centre, once hailed as a landmark project aimed at empowering the community, now stands abandoned and in disrepair. Crumbling walls, broken facilities, and overgrown grounds tell the story of years of neglect, while hoodlums have made the site their hideout, terrorising nearby residents. What was intended to be a symbol of progress and development has instead become a stark reminder of unkept promises and the consequences of government inaction.

Zungeru, Niger State, is not just any town, it is the birthplace of the late Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe, Nigeria’s first President and nationalist icon. Known as the cradle of Nigeria’s amalgamation, Zungeru played a pivotal role as a melting pot of trans-cultural interactions during the colonial era in Northern Nigeria. The town also produced other notable Nigerians, including the late Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu. With its rich history of missionary activities intertwined with multi-ethnic cultures, Zungeru holds a special place in the hearts of many Nigerians, who, regardless of their cultural background, often regard the town as a shared home.

Zungeru, the birthplace of the great Nigerian nationalist and politician, holds a special place in the heart of Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe, where he spent his early formative years. It was on this foundation that plans were set in motion in 1991 to establish an international-standard centre in his honour, a project that initially received strong support.

The initiative aimed not only to celebrate the unity and cohesion that existed in pre-independence Nigeria but also to underscore the historical importance of Zungeru, a town that once served as the administrative headquarters of the Northern Protectorate before the 1914 amalgamation of Nigeria.

Today, residents of Zungeru have expressed deep frustration and fear over the state of the once-promising centre. Parents worry about the safety of their children as hoodlums frequent the abandoned site, while youth lament the loss of a space that could have offered education, skills training, and cultural activities.

Local traders and visitors, who once anticipated increased commerce and engagement around the centre, now avoid the area altogether, leaving the community deprived of both opportunity and security.

It was indeed 35 years ago, to be precise, on Saturday, Nov. 16, 1991 that the fund raising for the centre was held yet the wish of zik to have a centre in his honour remained a mirage

A visit to the area indicated that the aims have been seemingly defeated 35 years after the project  started ; the centre lies abandoned, as one of those  projects poorly managed and conceptualised for the optics and spur of the moment.

LEADERSHIP Sunday observed that the centre was built to certain  level  with decking but  has been left to rot . findings revealed that the centre has become a hideout for hoodlums and criminals, a far cry from its intended purpose as a library and cultural hub.

The centre is in dilapidated state , the paints have faded and the blocks are weak; an irony of the noble idea to honour Dr Nnamdi Azikiwe who would always be remembered as a vintage Nationalist

.The centre is strategically located left of the Zungeru town while coming from Minna Niger state capital and sited few metres from colonial relics, most noticeable were  the colonial cenotaphs.

Some residents of Zungeru, who spoke to LEADERSHIP Sunday, recalled that Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe was very much alive when the centre was first conceptualieed. They said he was delighted by the idea, largely because of his deep attachment to his birthplace and his lifelong efforts to honour the town’s heritage. His enthusiasm reflected not just personal pride, but a vision to create a lasting institution that would celebrate Zungeru’s historical and cultural significance.

A Zungeru resident, Aliyu, told LEADERSHIP Sunday that in 1983, during Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe’s presidential campaign on the platform of the National People’s Party (NPP), he visited his hometown. “A special prayer was offered for him at the very spot where his parents lived when he was born,” Aliyu recalled, highlighting the deep emotional connection Zik maintained with his birthplace and the reverence the community held for him.

He said “it was the desire of Late Zik of Africa to have  a library of International Standard in Zungeru considering the intellectual history of the area; his pronouncement later attracted the establishment of a polytechnic in the area and the idea for an international centre”.

Another  resident of the area Mohammed Hashim said the  centre was his desire for dream he has for his place of birth more than the honour of immortalizing him. He said the elder statesman accepted the idea for  the establishment of a centre in his honour because of the love he has for Zungeru.

LEADERSHIP Sunday, gathered that the centre was conceived, work started and the building was roofed but that was all the centre has witnessed  immediately after the fund raising in 1991 except when the late Nationalist was laid to rest on November 12, 1996 as parts of his burial rites

Findings revealed that during the fund raising in 1991 at the Bako Kontagora memorial stadium, Minna the target of the  fundraising which was then N50 million was exceeded because N60 million was realised

Beyond  political tendencies then Former Nigeria leaders  like Gen. Yakubu Gowon, Alhaji Usman Shehu Shagari and the Military President then Gen. Ibrahim Babangida witnessed the fund raising and they later drove straight to the site of the centre in Zungeru with  Dr Azikiwe to lay the foundation.

A villager Sulaiman Ahmed said the projected started very well   i was  teacher then , but after the administration of the then Military governor of Niger state Col, Lawal Gwadabe the work stopped

“The only time the place was touched was when  the centre was painted by the state government then under the leadership of CP Simeon Oduoye and since then nothing was heard of the centre” he added.

LEADERSHIP Sunday  gathered that the project was neither that of the state government nor that of the federal government but a special  trust fund that claimed then that N52 million was spent on the project .

Some of the Residents interviewed decried  the activities of the hoodlums who use the area as a hide out after their operations to take  drugs and smoke Marijuana

The Residents said there was the urgent need for the project to be completed in order to flush out some hoodlums who have now taken over the place as their hideout.

An Okada rider Ismail said  the centre is notorious for nefarious activities activities and appealed to Niger and federal government to ensure the completion of the project that would  bring the area to prominence.

“Today Zungeru is neither a local government headquarters nor a state capital, yet it was once the seat of Northern Nigeria we can remember the town through such historical shibboleth” a scholar  Musa Farouk said .

He said the state and federal government can easily intervene to complete the centre in honour of the late Nationalist and  establish a central in the place for patriotism, good citizenship and promotion of Nation building

The chairman of the Zungeru Community Development Association, Alhaji Salman Yusuf, said Zungeru is blessed with personalities like Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe, and the completion of the centre would have honored him while also highlighting the town’s historical significance.

He added that Zungeru is home to numerous historical relics that could be developed for social and economic benefits but have been largely neglected. “Considering the important role played by the late Nnamdi Azikiwe in Nigeria’s struggle for independence,” he said, “the federal government should pay attention to Zungeru and establish a cultural centre that preserves our heritage and prevents it from fading into extinction.”