Nnamdi - My Father Is Alive  Take a look at the 500 naira note, the man on there is  Dr.  Nnamdi Azikiwe . Please bear in mind that the naira note is a tapestry of pictures that represent the things and people we are most proud of as Nigerians and we are definitely proud of Nnamdi Azikiwe. 'Zik' as he was fondly called(16 November 1904 – 11 May 1996) was a Nigerian statesman who was Governor General of Nigeria from 1960 to 1963 and the first President of Nigeria from 1963 to 1966 (when Nigeria became a republic). Born to Igbo parents in present day Niger State, as a young boy he learned to speak Hausa. He was later sent to live with his aunt and grandmother in Onitsha (his parental homeland), where he learned the Igbo language. A stay in Lagos also exposed him to the Yoruba language; by the time he was in college, he had been exposed to different Nigerian cultures and spoke three languages (an asset as president). Azikiwe traveled to the United States where he attended St