At midnight last night in Lagos, the capital of Nigeria, a new Governor-General closed a week-long series of exuberant celebrations with a formal of new independence for Africa's most heavily populated state.

Several hours earlier, some 30 Nigerians studying at universities in the Boston area began their own ceremonies.

Chukwuma Azikiwe '63, a guest of honor at the celebration, is typical of the Nigerian students in America. The son of Nnamdi Azikiwe, the Governor-General who is responsible for many of Nigeria's expanding educational facilities, he is of many students enrolled in foreign universites to learn the skills needed for their country's development. Like most of his contemporaries studying abroad, Azikiwe attended grammar and secondary schools modeled on the British system, where he learned enough biology to become interested in the subject. On the advice of his father, himself U.S. educated--at Lincoln University, Columbia, and the University of Pennsylvania--he decided to apply to Harvard as the college where he right best continue pre-medical studies.

Ideas on African Development

Although Azikiwe has chosen to study medicine, despite pressure on him to concentrate in business or engineering skills, he is sensitive to problems of African development, and has definite ideas about them.

He believes, for example, that financing communications and education is more important than building cities like Brazil's new capital, Brasilia. "I saw in Italy some of the most beautiful buildings there were built by Mussolini," he notes "Beautiful buildings are just one criterion."

Capital, "Know-how" Lacking

Azikiwe is worried about the lack of capital and "know-how" that Nigeria suffers , but fears too much foreign investment in Nigeria's resources without proportionate national--government or private--financing. "We shall have welcome foreign investors, however," he says, adding that Nigeria, about to be to the U.N., should not be arrogant about its independence.

According to Aziwike, who is tall and almost inaudibly soft-spoken, the coalition government in Lagos plans to spend some 43 per cent of its national income on education this year. It will finance the construction of a score of new grammar and secondary schools.

One such project is the Nigerian-American Scholarship Program, which brought Nigerians to the University this fall. Last year David D. Henry '41, Director of traveled to Nigeria with a committee to select 24 students to study in United States. Twenty-four colleges were involved in the program.

The final selection committee, largely of African educators, placed in a dozen Nigerian and wrote to hundreds of secondary schools. The response, according to J. Eberly, assistant dean of students, was "tremendous." More 1,000 students applied for the scholarships.

The applicants were screened, tested, interviewed. Christian Chirl '63, a can who survived the screening, the interviews as "tests of . They asked you questions not out whether your answers were but to see the mind."

who lives in Hurlbut Hall, plans concentrate in History as preparation or diplomacy. He prefers to discuss politics, saying only that is "optimistic about the situation." no difficulty in fulfilling desires: to go into public service and to stay out of politics. An enthusiastic soccer player, and member of the freshman team, he has played at center forward for Nigeria against Ghana.

The other Nigerian freshman studying at the University in the intercollege program is Zacchaeus Okuroumnu '64. A Western Region native whose English I so rapid it is difficult to follow, Okuroumnu is cheerful about the program and about the University, which he calls "very nice."

Concentrates in Engineering

He is concentrating in Engineering, and says wryly that there will "certainly be much need" for practicing engineers in African development projects. The selection committee had asked Nigerian officials to "indicate the kinds of training most needed for their development," especially those not available within their own institutions.

Azikiwe, for one, is hopeful that African institutions will soon be able to give this kind of training. He regards the plan of the intercollege group to expand its project as "very sensible" but notes that foreign groups must be "tactful about financing the education of African students."

One hope of his was most heartily endorsed by the celebration at the Fensgate last night. "There is no reason," he says, "why Africans and Europeans should not be able to walk together, with a certain respect for each other.