We are a non-profit, non-political organisation, promoting the study of democracy and management of diversity in Nigeria and Africa
Founded in October 2008, by Chief Emeka Anyaoku and his wife, Bunmi Anyaoku, the organisation draws from the Chief Anyaoku's ten years of experience in service, as the third Commonwealth Secretary-General.
His effort is to establish an organisation that avails scholars, researchers and the general public, to provide access to his repertoire of close interaction with the peoples and governments of the diverse, fifty four member nations of the Commonwealth, spread across the six continents of the globe.
The Foundation headquarters, is the Emeka and Bunmi Anyaoku Centre, located in Obosi, Anambra State, South East Nigeria. The Centre houses a museum that exhibits cultural artefacts from Nigeria, Africa and the multiracial Commonwealth countries.
The Foundation headquarters also has a library containing relevant books and materials on extensive subjects suitable for research, and includes some of the personal papers of Chief Anyaoku from his days in office as Secretary-General of the Commonwealth of Nations.
The Emeka and Bunmi Anyaoku Foundation’s main mission is to promote the study and practice of democracy, management of diversity in Nigeria and Africa, respect for human rights and climate change. It also assists the education of the under-privileged children in Nigeria.
A Word About The Founders
Chief Emeka Anyaoku, GCVO, CFR, CON, was the third Secretary-General of the Commonwealth of Nations. He was in office from 1 July, 1990, to March 2000. Prior to that, he had worked in the Commonwealth Secretariat since April 1966, rising to the post of Deputy Secretary-General for Political Affairs and Administration, thus making him in fact one of the world’s most experienced diplomats of his time.
Of Igbo descent and born Eleazar Chukwuemeka Anyaoku, in Obosi, southeastern Nigeria, on 18, January, 1933, his parents were Ononukpo Emmanuel Chukwuemeka Anyaoku and Asilugo Adiba Anyaoku. He attended the Merchants of Light School in neighbouring Oba, before proceeding to the University College, Ibadan, (then a college of the University of London) in southwestern Nigeria, where he obtained an honours degree in classics as a college scholar.
Chief Anyaoku is married to Princess Ebunola Olubunmi Solanke, (better known as Bunmi) his wife, in November 1962. The London-educated princess is from the Yoruba tribe of southwestern Nigeria and is of the Abeokuta royal lineage.
A man who wears a hat of many feathers, the chief holds the traditional title of Ichie Adazie Obosi and is one of the distinguished traditional chiefs that sit in council with the Igwe of Obosi town. In 1990, the entire 19 communities in the Idemili Clan of Anambra, his home state, came together to honour him with an investiture of the title of Ugwumba Idemili and his wife, with Ugoma Obosi and Idemili, in her own right, with her long involvement in welfare work in Nigeria and in the Commonwealth.
The former Secretary-General of the Commonwealth is a recipient of the honorary highest knighthood in the Royal Victorian Order, the Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order (GCVO). He holds the highest civilian awards from Cameroon, Lesotho, Madagascar, Namibia and South Africa. He holds the Nigerian national awards of Commander of the Federal Republic (CFR) and Commander of the Order of the Niger (CON). Chief Anyaoku was the International President of the World Wide Fund for Nature (2001-2008) and a trustee of the British Museum (2002-2009). He is a recipient of 29 honorary doctorate degrees from universities in Britain, Canada, Ghana, Ireland, Nigeria, South Africa, Switzerland and Zimbabwe.
Facilities
Library Operating Hours
Monday 10am to 2pm Tuesday to Friday 8am to 4pm Saturday 10am to 2pm Sunday [CLOSED]
Museum Operating Hours
Monday 10am to 2pm Tuesday to Friday 8am to 4pm Saturday 10am to 2pm Sunday [CLOSED]