{{Short description|Award}} {{Use Nigerian English|date=May 2026}} {{Infobox award|name=Zik Prize|sponsor=Federal Government of Nigeria|established=1995|firstawarded=1995|lastawarded=2023|holder_label=Most recent winner|status=Active|awarded_for=Outstanding leadership, service and good governance|awardname=Zik Prize|presenter=Federal Government of Nigeria|image=Zik-Prize.jpg}}
'''Zik Prize''' also known as '''The Nnamdi Azikiwe Prize''', named after Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe is a literally leadership award established in 1995 in honor of Azikiwe, It is awarded annually by the Federal Government of Nigeria. == Background == The Zik Prize inaugural event chaired by former president of Nigeria Shehu Shagari was held on November 16, 1999 at the auditorium of the Nigerian Law School in Lagos.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Inaugural Award – November 16, 1995 – The Zik Prize |url=https://thezikprize.org/?p=1397 |access-date=2023-12-06 |language=en-US}}</ref> The 1996 edition of the award was cancelled due to the death of Azikiwe who died in May 1996 at the University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital in Enugu.<ref>{{Cite web |title=1996 Edition OF Zik Prize Cancelled Over Death Of Dr Azikiwe – The Zik Prize |url=https://thezikprize.org/?p=1413 |access-date=2023-12-06 |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=French |first=Howard W. |date=1996-05-14 |title=Nnamdi Azikiwe, the First President of Nigeria, Dies at 91 |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1996/05/14/world/nnamdi-azikiwe-the-first-president-of-nigeria-dies-at-91.html |access-date=2023-12-06 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref> The Inaugural awardee of the Prize includes Jerry Rawlings of Ghana, Akintola Williams and Abdulazeez Udeh of Nigeria.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Inaugural Award – November 16, 1995 – The Zik Prize |url=https://thezikprize.org/?p=1397 |access-date=2023-12-06 |language=en-US}}</ref>
== Categories ==
* Political Leadership<ref>{{Cite web |title=Award Categories – The Zik Prize |url=https://thezikprize.org/?cat=28 |access-date=2023-12-06 |website= |language=en-US}}</ref> * Good Governance * Professional Leadership * Business Leadership * Humanitarian Leadership * Public Service
== Recipients == {| !No !Year !Recipient !Image !Birth/death !Country !Description |- |1 |1995 |Jerry Rawlings |border|96x96px |1947-2020 |{{Flag|Ghana}} |Former leader of Ghana |- |1 |1995 |Akintola Williams |<!-- - ADD ONLY FREE IMAGES FROM COMMONS - --> |1919-2023 |{{Flag|Nigeria}} |First Nigerian to qualify as a chartered accountant<ref>{{Cite news |title=Akintola Williams: Life and Times of Nigeria’s First Chartered Accountant in Photographs - THISDAYLIVE |url=https://www.thisdaylive.com/index.php/2023/09/11/akintola-williams-life-and-times-of-nigerias-first-chartered-accountant-in-photographs |access-date=2023-12-06 |newspaper=This Day|language=en}}</ref> |- |1 |1995 |Abdulazeez Udeh |<!-- - ADD ONLY FREE IMAGES FROM COMMONS - --> |1940-2021 | |Former publisher and financier of the Financial Post and acting Chairman of Newswatch Magazine |- |2 |1997 |Julius Nyerere |border|106x106px |1922-1999 |{{Flag|Tanzania}} |Former prime minister and president of Tanzania |- |3 |2000 |Nelson Mandela |border|101x101px |1918-2013 |{{Flag|South Africa}} |Anti-apartheid activist and former president of South Africa |- |4 |2003 |Yoweri Museveni |border|90x90px |b. 1944 |{{Flag|Uganda}} |Ugandan politician who has been the ninth President of Uganda since 1986 |- |5 |2008 |John Kufuor |border|113x113px |b. 1938 |{{Flag|Ghana}} |President of Ghana from 7 January 2001 to 7 January 2009, and Chairperson of the African Union from 2007 to 2008 |- |6 |2010 |Ayale Ahmed |border|94x94px |b. 1952 |{{Flag|Nigeria}} |Nigerian civil servant and politician who served as Defence Minister of Nigeria from July 2007 to September 2008 and Secretary to the Government of the Federation from September 2008 to May 2011 |- |7 |2011 |Ellen Johnson Sirleaf |border|113x113px |b. 1938 |{{Flag|Liberia}} |First elected female head of state in Africa who served as the 24th president of Liberia from 2006 to 2018<ref>{{Cite news |last=Nigeria |first=Vanguard |date=December 8, 2020 |title=Lawan wins 2019 Zik Prize in leadership award |url=https://www.vanguardngr.com/2020/12/lawan-wins-2019-zik-prize-in-leadership-award/#:~:text=The%20Zik%20Price%20was%20set,continent%20and%20in%20the%20Diaspora.|location=Lagos, Nigeria|newspaper=Vanguard}}</ref> |- |8 |2013 |Aare Afe Babalola |<!-- - ADD ONLY FREE IMAGES FROM COMMONS - --> |b. 1929 |{{Flag|Nigeria}} |Nigerian lawyer who founded the Afe Babalola University in Ado Ekiti |- |9 |2015 |Yakubu Dogara |border|119x119px |b. 1967 |{{Flag|Nigeria}} |Nigerian politician and lawyer who served as the 13th Speaker of the House of Representatives of Nigeria from 2015 to 2019 |- |10 |2016 |Ahmed Joda |border|108x108px |1930-2021 |{{Flag|Nigeria}} |Nigerian administrator |- |11 |2017 |Audu Ogbeh |<!-- - ADD ONLY FREE IMAGES FROM COMMONS - --> |b. 1947 |{{Flag|Nigeria}} |Nigerian farmer, playwright and politician who served as the minister of agriculture and rural development from 2015 to 2019. |- |12 |2018 |Oyewusi Ibidapo-Obe |<!-- - ADD ONLY FREE IMAGES FROM COMMONS - --> |1949-2021 |{{Flag|Nigeria}} |Nigerian professor and former vice chancellor of the University of Lagos |}
== References == <references /> Category:Nnamdi Azikiwe Category:Nigerian awards