Flora Azikiwe

{{Short description|First Lady of Nigeria (1963–1966)}}

{{Infobox first lady

|name = Flora Azikiwe

|image = Flora Azikiwie.jpg

|caption =

|office = First Lady of Nigeria

|term_label = In role

|term_start = 1 October 1963

|term_end = 16 January 1966

|president = Nnamdi Azikiwe

|predecessor = position established

|successor = Victoria Aguiyi-Ironsi

|birth_name = Flora Ogbenyeanu Ogoegbunam

|birth_date = 7 August 1917

|birth_place = Onitsha, Southern Region, British Nigeria

|death_date = {{Death date and age|1983|8|22|1917|8|7|df=y}}

|death_place =

|nationality = Nigerian

|spouse = {{marriage|Nnamdi Azikiwe|1936}}

|children = Chukwuma Azikiwe, Chukwuemeka Azikiwe, Nwachukwu Azikiwe, Ngozi Azikiwe

}}

Flora Ogbenyeanu Ogoegbunam Azikiwe (7 August 1917 – 22 August 1983) was the first wife of Nnamdi Azikiwe, the first President of Nigeria. She served as the first First Lady of Nigeria from 1 October 1963 to 16 January 1966.{{cite book|last=Sadoh|first=Godwin|title=Joy Nwosu Lo-Bamijoko : the saga of a Nigerian female ethnomusicologist|year=2012|publisher=iUniverse|location=Bloomington|isbn=978-1469785875|page=5}}{{cite news|author=Abidde, Sabella|title=Patience Jonathan: A different type of First Lady|url=http://www.punchng.com/politics/patience-jonathan-a-different-type-of-first-lady/|access-date=17 September 2015|work=The Punch|date=27 February 2013}}{{Dead link|date=December 2019|bot=InternetArchiveBot|fix-attempted=yes}}{{cite news|author=Odigbe, Michael|title=First Ladies Of Nigeria|url=http://www.nigerianobservernews.com/27102014/27102014/features/features2.html#.VfsyPpG4bIU|accessdate=17 September 2015|work=Nigerian Observer|date=27 October 2014|archive-date=11 August 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160811094356/http://www.nigerianobservernews.com/27102014/27102014/features/features2.html#.VfsyPpG4bIU|url-status=dead}}

Flora Ogbenyeanu Ogoegbunam was born in Onitsha, a city in present-day Anambra State to Chief Ogoegbunam, the Adazia of Onitsha (Ndichie Chief) from Ogboli Agbor Onitsha. She met Nnamdi Azikiwe there in 1934, and the two were married on 4 April 1936. Their wedding was held at Wesley Church James Town, Accra, Gold Coast (present-day Ghana) where her husband was working as the editor of African Morning Post at the time.{{cite web|title=Onitsha Market Literature|url=http://onitsha.diglib.ku.edu/pdf/ksrl.c3324a.pdf|website=onitsha.diglib.ku.edu|access-date=17 September 2015}}{{cite web|date=7 October 2017|title=Of Flora, Victoria and Mariam|last=Obasi|first=Emeka|url=https://www.vanguardngr.com/2017/10/flora-victoria-mariam/|access-date=3 November 2024|work=Vanguard}}

Azikiwe was a member of the Eastern Working Committee of the National Council of Nigeria and the Cameroons (NCNC). She was the first Patron of the Home Science Association (HSA), formerly known as Federal Home Science Association.{{cite news|title=Flora Azikiwe: Nigeria' maiden First Lady at a glance|url=http://weekend.peoplesdailyng.com/index.php/lifestyle/tribute/517-flora-azikiwe-nigeria-maiden-first-lady-at-a-glance|access-date=17 September 2015|work=People's Daily|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151017215143/http://weekend.peoplesdailyng.com/index.php/lifestyle/tribute/517-flora-azikiwe-nigeria-maiden-first-lady-at-a-glance|archive-date=17 October 2015|url-status=dead}}

On 22 August 1983, Azikiwe died at the age of 66.[https://books.google.com/books?id=ASwuAQAAIAAJ&q=Flora+Azikiwe+1983 The African Guardian (1990). pg. 37]. She and her husband had one daughter and three sons.