Sebastian Okechukwu Mezu
Encyclopedia
Background
Dr. Sebastian Okechukwu Mezu was born on April 30, 1941 in Ezeogba, Emekuku, OwerriOwerri
Owerri is the capital of Imo State in Nigeria, set in the heart of the Igboland. Owerri consists of three Local Govern Areas including Owerri Municipal, Owerri North and Owerri West, it has an estimated population of about 400,000 as of 2006...
, Imo State
Imo State
Imo State is one of the 36 states of Nigeria and lies to the south of Nigeria with Owerri as its capital and largest city.-History:Imo State came into existence in 1976 along with other new states created under the leadership of the late military ruler of Nigeria, Murtala Muhammad, having been...
. He received a B.A. in French (1964) with minors in German and Philosophy from Georgetown University
Georgetown University
Georgetown University is a private, Jesuit, research university whose main campus is in the Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C. Founded in 1789, it is the oldest Catholic university in the United States...
. He obtained an LL.B. in 1966 from La Salle Extension University, Chicago, and an M.A. (1966), Ph.D (1967) in Romance Languages from Johns Hopkins University
Johns Hopkins University
The Johns Hopkins University, commonly referred to as Johns Hopkins, JHU, or simply Hopkins, is a private research university based in Baltimore, Maryland, United States...
, Baltimore Maryland.
Early political career
In the 1970s, he founded the Imo State branch of the Nigerian Peoples Party (NPP) and as Secretary of the Nigerian Peoples Party (NPP) he installed and helped to elect the greatest Governor Imo State has ever had, Governor Samuel Onunaka Sam MbakweSam Mbakwe
Samuel "Sam" Onunaka Mbakwe was an Igbo politician and governor of Imo State, southern Nigeria from October 1, 1979 until December 31, 1983....
and other notable names to office. Following the success of the NPP at the polls, he became the Chairman of the Golden Breweries Limited (1979–1980) and rehabilitated and revitalized the brewery during a $50 million expansion of the premier brewery in Nigeria; and as chairman of The Imo State
Imo State
Imo State is one of the 36 states of Nigeria and lies to the south of Nigeria with Owerri as its capital and largest city.-History:Imo State came into existence in 1976 along with other new states created under the leadership of the late military ruler of Nigeria, Murtala Muhammad, having been...
Newspapers Ltd where he raised the daily circulation of the Nigerian Statesman from 50,000 to 150,000.
He is also a renowned writer, scholar, philanthropist, and publisher, establishing Black Academy Press|, Inc, (1969) one of the very first black owned academic publishing Companies that set the tone for Africana studies in the Sixties in America. It remains one of the longest standing historic black publishing companies today.
Campaign Director, Party Secretary and principal architect of Nigerian Peoples Party, that won a landslide victory (over 80%) in the Imo State Legislative, Gubernatorial and Presidential Elections in Nigeria
Nigeria
Nigeria , officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a federal constitutional republic comprising 36 states and its Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. The country is located in West Africa and shares land borders with the Republic of Benin in the west, Chad and Cameroon in the east, and Niger in...
in 1979.
Diplomatic Service
When the Biafran warBiafra
Biafra, officially the Republic of Biafra, was a secessionist state in south-eastern Nigeria that existed from 30 May 1967 to 15 January 1970, taking its name from the Bight of Biafra . The inhabitants were mostly the Igbo people who led the secession due to economic, ethnic, cultural and religious...
broke out in 1967, due to the recognition of his valuable contributions and genuine patrotism and vibrant activism as a young scholar in the United States, where he had voluntarily translated volumes of documents for his country into French and other languages. Dr. S. O Mezu was appointed Biafran| Government Special Representative and Ambassador Abidjan, Ivory Coasat the age of 27 by Colonel Odumegwu- Ojukwu and was charged with affairs in Francophone and Anglophone West Africa.
He was the co-founder and Deputy Director, Biafra Historical Research Center
Biafra
Biafra, officially the Republic of Biafra, was a secessionist state in south-eastern Nigeria that existed from 30 May 1967 to 15 January 1970, taking its name from the Bight of Biafra . The inhabitants were mostly the Igbo people who led the secession due to economic, ethnic, cultural and religious...
, Paris, July 1967 – July 1968 then Biafra's semi-official diplomatic mission to France and Europe.
Biafran delegate and French expert to various peace delegations to Ivory Coast (President Félix Houphouët-Boigny
Félix Houphouët-Boigny
Félix Houphouët-Boigny , affectionately called Papa Houphouët or Le Vieux, was the first President of Côte d'Ivoire. Originally a village chief, he worked as a doctor, an administrator of a plantation, and a union leader, before being elected to the French Parliament and serving in a number of...
), Senegal, (President Leopold Sedar Senghor
Léopold Sédar Senghor
Léopold Sédar Senghor was a Senegalese poet, politician, and cultural theorist who for two decades served as the first president of Senegal . Senghor was the first African elected as a member of the Académie française. Before independence, he founded the political party called the Senegalese...
), Gabon (President Albert Bernard Bongo), etc.
Biafran delegate and French expert to various peace conferences in Niamey, Niger Republic (President Hamani Diori
Hamani Diori
Hamani Diori was the first President of the Republic of Niger. He was appointed to that office in 1960, when Niger gained independence.- Youth :...
, 1968) and in Addis-Ababa, Ethiopia (Emperor Haile Selassie, 1968).