| 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 |
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.
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.[1] 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.[2] [3] The Inaugural awardee of the Prize includes Jerry Rawlings of Ghana, Akintola Williams and Abdulazeez Udeh of Nigeria.[4]
| No | Year | Recipient | Image | Birth/death | Country | Description | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1995 | Jerry Rawlings | 1947-2020 | Former leader of Ghana | |||
| 1 | 1995 | Akintola Williams | 1919-2023 | First Nigerian to qualify as a chartered accountant[6] | |||
| 1 | 1995 | Abdulazeez Udeh | 1940-2021 | Former publisher and financier of the Financial Post and acting Chairman of Newswatch Magazine | |||
| 2 | 1997 | Julius Nyerere | 1922-1999 | Former prime minister and president of Tanzania | |||
| 3 | 2000 | Nelson Mandela | 1918-2013 | Anti-apartheid activist and former president of South Africa | |||
| 4 | 2003 | Yoweri Museveni | b. 1944 | Ugandan politician who has been the ninth President of Uganda since 1986 | |||
| 5 | 2008 | John Kufuor | b. 1938 | 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 | b. 1952 | 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 | b. 1938 | First elected female head of state in Africa who served as the 24th president of Liberia from 2006 to 2018[7] | |||
| 8 | 2013 | Aare Afe Babalola | b. 1929 | Nigerian lawyer who founded the Afe Babalola University in Ado Ekiti | |||
| 9 | 2015 | Yakubu Dogara | b. 1967 | 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 | 1930-2021 | Nigerian administrator | |||
| 11 | 2017 | Audu Ogbeh | b. 1947 | Nigerian farmer, playwright and politician who served as the minister of agriculture and rural development from 2015 to 2019. | |||
| 12 | 2018 | Oyewusi Ibidapo-Obe | 1949-2021 | Nigerian professor and former vice chancellor of the University of Lagos |