At the age of ten, Emeka Ojukwu enrolled in CMS Grammar School in Lagos to begin his secondary education in 1943.He eventually moved to King’s College in Lagos in 1944, where he was a part of a student strike action and led his companion to beat up a British-White teacher who put an end to it. This dispute landed him in temporary jail. Additionally, the British teacher assaulted his companion, which Ojukwu finds hard to forgive. Local publications carried extensive coverage of this incident.
To further his education, his father sent him to the UK when he was thirteen. He attended Epsom College first, then Lincoln College, Oxford University, where he graduated with a master’s degree in history. In 1956, he went back to colonial Nigeria.Additionally, he came back as a Roman Catholic.
He is an obstinate young guy who always wants to do things his own way, according to his wealthy father. Ojukwu began his career in Eastern Nigeria’s government service as an administrative officer at Udi, which is now part of Enugu State. He left the colonial civil service in 1957 after two years of employment in an attempt to escape his father’s control over his civil service career. He first enlisted in the military as a non-commissioned officer (NCO) in Zaria after his father warned him against it, claiming that he could succeed in his company instead. Ojukwu, however, made his own decision.
Ojukwu’s father, Sir Louis, used political scheming with the then-Governor-General of Nigeria, John Macpherson, to keep Emeka from receiving an officer-cadetship, which compelled Ojukwu to enlist as an NCO. Governor-General Macpherson and Sir Louis thought Emeka wouldn’t follow the demanding NCO schedule, but Emeka persisted.
The British Depot Commander suggested Emeka for an officer’s commission following an incident in which Ojukwu corrected a drill sergeant’s mispronunciation of the Lee-Enfield.303 rifle’s safety mechanism.