Enugu Wears New Look for Odumegwu-Ojukwu, as Jonathan, Rawlings Grace Funeral Service Today

Dim Chukwemeka Odumegwu-Ojukwu

In what looks like a grand finale in the week-long activities to mark the rites of passage for the late Ikemba Nnewi, Dim Chukwemeka Odumegwu-Ojukwu, President Goodluck Jonathan and former Ghanaian President, Jerry Rawlings, are among top dignitaries who will storm Enugu State to pay their last respect to the late former Biafran warlord and leader of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA).

Already, the Coal City as Enugu is fondly known is wearing a new look as it prepares to play host to the personalities who are expected at the Michael Opara Square.

Beside the heavy security marked by the ubiquitous presence of armed security men, at almost every turn  in the city, the streets have brightened, what with the fresh paintings on most streets. What's more, there are new specially branded luxury cars designated to ferrying dignatories from one point to another. Surely, even elements of nature know a great man bowed out of the planet.

Meanwhile, youths from all over Igboland numbering over 10,000 held a rousing march past as part of the Igbo rites of passage for the departed Biafran warlord.  The youths who poured in from the five states of the South-east geo-political zone stormed the industrial city of Nnewi and staged a symbolic funeral march for the late Igbo leader.

Apart from Rawlings who will be leading foreign dignitaries to the inter-denominational/national funeral service for the departed Igbo leader, some prominent leaders from Cote d’Ivoire, (where Ojukwu was exiled after the Nigerian-Biafra civil war), Gabon, South Africa, Sierra Leone, Senegal, and United Kingdon, among others are equally being expected.

As part of the grand preparations for the final rites, several dignitaries from South-east yesterday gathered at the Holy Ghost Cathedral, Enugu in a funeral mass for the soul of the departed Igbo leader.

At the event were Governor of Anambra State, Mr. Peter Obi; and his wife, Margaret; Enugu Deputy Governor, Sunday Onyebuchi; APGA National Chairman, Victor Umeh; Ojukwu’s widow, Bianca; former minister ABC Nwosu; Senator Uche Chukwumerije; and the Anglican Bishop of Enugu, Rev. Emmanuel Chukwuma.

There were also Bishop Obi Onubugo of the Throne of Grace, Methodist Archbishop of Enugu, Rev. U Ugochukwu, ABC Orjiakor, traditional rulers and several others.

At the sermon during the service which held without the remains of Odumegwu-Ojukwu, Administrator of the Holy Ghost Cathedral, Rev Fr. John Nwafor declared that peace and sustained development would continue to elude the country unless its present and future leaders returned to a federalism that guarantees a weak centre as propounded by the late Odumegwu-Ojukwu some 45 years ago.

He stated that Nigeria had come to a point where the people needed to sit down and negotiate the basis of her togetherness, stressing that the distortions of the past were what Odumegwu -Ojukwu attempted to correct leading to the Biafran war.

Odumegwu-Ojukwu dreamt of equality and a Nigeria where the Igbo can own property in the North and the Hausa own property in Uyo or Igbo land and where such property would not be destroyed by the indigenes.
He stated that in his life, Odumegwu-Ojukwu remained the hero, stressing that in a public lecture on him at the Nike Lake Hotel, Enugu, former Information Minister, Prof Dora Akunyili, had described Odumegwu-Ojukwu as an “extra-ordinary leader who impacted very vigorously on the people of Nigeria and hated injustice”.
The cleric told the gathering that Odumegwu-Ojukwu’s main concern as he lived was service to his people, a situation that notwithstanding the fact that he was born with a silver spoon, he shunned the life of comfort, got enlisted in the Nigerian Army as a graduate of one of the prestigious universities in the world.

“As he served in various capacities in this country, his records were impeccable,” he said and challenged anybody with any record or where Odumegwu-Ojukwu was accused of corruption to come forward and show it.

He said such gesture was a serious challenge to the leaders of the country at present to live and work for a corrupt-free nation.

“Even as he lies in the casket, he never regretted going to that war and this will always be remembered in history for the good of the country,” he said.

He stated that Odumegwu-Ojukwu never fought a war of secession, adding that just like the biblical Moses, he led his people out of safety in the face of unparallel injustice, crushing suppression and abuse of human rights.

“People who are abreast with history will know that he never supported Kaduna Nzogwu-led military coup. Ikemba believed fanatically in the unity of Nigeria and fought for it. His going to war was absolutely in self defence and to stop perpetration of injustice and oppression. That is why those of us who thought that he was going to tear Nigeria apart if he was allowed to come back from his exile in Ivory Coast ate their words after his return,” he added.

Turning to the leadership of the country, Nwafor urged them to imbibe the quality of service and sacrifice to give the future the desired hope and prayed God to use the spirit of Odumegwu-Ojukwu to rebrand Nigeria.
And in continuation of the rites of passage, the youths led by Chief Debe Sylvester Ojukwu, first son of the late Ikemba, said the march past was the traditional ‘Icho madu’ ceremony for titled men in Igbo land which also applies to Nnewi.

The youths were made up of groups from Nnewi Youth Forum in conjunction with Movement for the Actualisation of the Sovereign State of Biafra (MASSOB), Association of Igbo Youth Initiative Movement (AIYIM), Anambra State Chapter and Okada Union, Nnewi.

The youths besieged the Nkwo Nnewi triangle from all parts of the South-east taking residents by surprise by their numbers to search for the late Odumegwu-Ojukwu in all major streets and quarters of Nnewi before proceeding to Odumegwu-Ojukwu’s compound and St Michael’s Catholic Church.

Speaking to THISDAY, Chief Ezeonwuka said: “I led over 10,000 youths across the South-east together with Sylvester, the first son of Ojukwu, to search for our fallen hero in all the four corners and sides of Nnewi as tradition demands but we did not see him. We even went to where Ojukwu was born, chanting familiar heroic songs in his honour, We are terminating the search at Saint Michael Catholic Church.

“Tonight (last night) we are going to set bonfires inside Ojukwu’s compound and sing the mourning songs with trumpet and drums.”

Carnival as Odumegwu-Ojukwu’s Body Touches Enugu, Ebonyi, Abia States

Dim Chukwuemeka Odumegwu-Ojukwu

Thousands of South-easterners Tuesday  thronged the streets of Ebonyi, Enugu and Abia States to pay their last respect to their late leader, Dim Chukwuemeka Odumegwu-Ojukwu.

Also, the South-east Parlia-mentary Caucus in the National Assembly has declared a one-week legislative holiday in honour of the man that was popularly called Ikemba Nnewi.

In Ebonyi State, the indigenes paid their last respect to Odumegwu-Ojukwu at the state Township Stadium, Abakaliki.

The remains of the late Ikemba, which was flown into Abakaliki from Abia State in a Nigerian Air Force helicopter with the inscription NAF 528, touched down on the Presbyterian Church field, Kpirikpiri, Abakaliki at exactly 3pm and was ushered in a motorcade to the over 15,000 capacity stadium directly opposite the church where the waiting crowd broke into tumultuous but solemn joy and exhilaration to behold the people’s hero.

The stadium was filled to the brim as many who could not gain entry into the stadium waited outside to catch a glimpse of the casket.

All the major markets and shops in the state were shut to enable the people to go to the stadium and pay their last respect.

The remains of Ikemba Nnewi, who was also Eze Igbo Gburu Gburu, were accompanied by Governor Peter Obi of Anambra State and his wife, Beatrice; the National Chairman of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), Chief Victor Ume; the widow, Bianca; the second son, Emeka (Jnr); and the vice-chairman of the national burial committee, Senator Uche Chukwumerije.

Others were: former Ministers of Health, Professor A. B. C. Nwosu; and Tim Menakaya; Senator Ben Obi; and former Information Minister, Chief John Nnaya Nwodo.

On ground to receive the team were Ebonyi State Governor, Chief Martin Elechi; his wife, Josephine; the Deputy Governor, Chief Dave Umahi; Speaker of the state House of Assembly, Chukwuma Nwazunku; Chief Judge of the state, Alloy Nwankwo; former governor of the state, Dr. Sam Egwu; Chairman of the local organising committee, Senator Emmanuel Azu Agboti; and members of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), Ebonyi State chapter, among others.

Odumegwu-Ojukwu’s body left Abakaliki by 5pm to Enugu in the same Nigerian Air Force helicopter, while military personnel organised special military honours and parade.

At Enugu, his remains were received by the Deputy Governor of the state, Sunday Onyebuchi, to commence a three-day programme which would be capped tomorrow when a national burial ceremony is expected to be held in the state.

At exactly 6:15pm, the body arrived Government House in a Nigerian Army ambulance marked NA 459, accompanied by pall bearers, all colonels from the 82 Division, Enugu.

In his obsequies in honour of the deceased, Elechi described the late Ikemba as a product of historical circumstance whose demise had caused an outpouring of grief and sorrow to the Nigerian state and Ndigbo in particular.

He noted that the late soldier with his indomitable courage and personality of colour and action would have been able to proffer useful solutions to some of the socio-political challenges facing the nation at this time.

According to him, “For Ojukwu, the world was not simply a stage upon which he came and had his exit but rather a stage upon which he came and left with a difference,” adding that but for the outbreak of the Nigerian Civil War, very little would probably might have been known about him.

He said: “Although Ezeigbo Gburugburu has caused an outpour of grief and sorrows to the Nigerian state and Ndigbo in particular, it is not so much the fact of death which is our common heritage that makes us sorrow at his passage, but that our war hero, a soldier of great prowess, a man of indomitable courage and a personality of colour and action, died after many months of motionlessness in his bed of pains.

“But with the convulsion on the Nigerian political scene, secession became synonymous with Ojukwu; Biafra became synonymous with Odumegwu-Ojukwu and rebellion became synonymous with Odumegwu-Ojukwu. These historical circumstances have become inseparable for the name of Odumegwu-Ojukwu. Each of these clichés is an alter ego of a historian who shaped the history of his fatherland and at the same time, became a product of historical circumstance.”

The Enugu State government has declared tomorrow a public holiday in honour of the late Ikemba Nnewi.
A statement signed by Chukwudi Achife, Chief Press Secretary to Governor Sullivan Chime, said that the holiday was to enable Enugu citizens attend and participate actively in the national burial and funeral ceremonies of the deceased statesman that will hold the same day at the Michael Okpara Square, Enugu.

Meanwhile, the Anambra Parliamentary Caucus in the House of Representatives yesterday embarked on a one-week break from all legislative activities in honour of the late Ikemba Nnewi, whose remains will be interred on Friday.

The lawmakers, robed in a red coloured ankara uniform bearing the picture of Ojukwu held a procession within the premises of the House of Representatives during which they briefly marched into the chamber and took solemn bows one after the other.

The procession which took their colleagues by surprise attracted a spontaneous applause.
Briefing journalists shortly after, leader of the Caucus and Chair-man, House Committee on Envi-ronment, Hon Uche Ekwunife, disclosed that the weeklong break was with the permission of the leadership of the House to enable them participate fully in the funeral rites of Odumegwu-Ojukwu.

“We are not going to be in the House because we are mourning one of our own; we are mourning our son; we are mourning our leader; we are mourning a great icon; someone who is acclaimed by the entire nation to be the true leader of the Igbos. That is basically the significant entrance you saw in the House today,” she said.

Ekwunife, who extolled the virtues of the late Eze Ndigbo, urged the governments of the South-east states to immortalise the erstwhile military governor of the defunct South-east region.

She lamented that Ojukwu died at this time when the nation was in a precarious state of insecurity when the wisdom of elder statesmen was highly needed to save the country from anarchy and chaos.
Similarly, the last wish of Odumegwu-Ojukwu was yesterday fulfilled when his remains were received at Aba, the commercial centre of Abia State.

Odumegwu-Ojukwu had before he passed on specifically requested that his body should be taken to Aba before his final repose. Markets closed and shops were shut in Aba and Umuahia while government offices and banks all closed down for business following a public holiday declared by the state government.
The people of Aba and indeed the whole of Abia State did not disappoint the memory of the great hero as they turned out en masse to pay their last respect to the man they hold in great respect.

Odumegwu-Ojukwu’s body arrived in a military helicopter at 11.52am in company with his widow, Bianca, and three of his children, namely Emeka Jnr, Mimi and Okigbo as well as Prof. Nwosu and Senator Chukwumerije.

When the casket draped in national colours bearing Ojukwu’s body was wheeled on a trolley into the stadium with marshal music, the atmosphere was electrified as the stadium vibrated with a thunderous ovation.

The Catholic Bishop of Aba, Right Reverend Vincent Ezeonyia, who officiated at a short church service, described Odumegwu-Ojukwu as a man who proved his worth by his deeds, adding that the late Ikemba deserved all the honour being given to him in death.

Governor Theodore Orji in his speech said Odumegwu-Ojukwu was a detribalised Nigerian not only by the fact that he was born in the North, schooled in the West but also by the fact that he was a man who saw far beyond his horizon and when the centre of the Nigerian nation could no longer hold, he was compelled to lead his people to war in order to enthrone equity and social justice in Nigeria.
“That war opened our eyes to the essence of unity in Nigeria. It opened the eyes of Nigerians to agitate for what rightly belong to them,” he said.

The Abia governor stated that the memories of Odumegwu-Ojukwu “the charismatic leader” would ever be kept alive in Abia what with the presence of Odumegwu-Ojukwu bunker and the National War Museum both in Umuahia.

Senator Chukwumerije, who represented the National Funeral Committee, said that at birth in Zungeru in present day Niger State, Odumegwu-Ojukwu was prepared by God for great things and the late Biafran leader had become one of the greatest Nigerians of this century.

He told Ndigbo that the best honour they would give Odumegwu-Ojukwu after his internment is unity of Ndigbo because that was what he stood for and worked for.

Chukwuemeka Odumegwu-Ojukwu (1933- 2011)

Chukwuemeka Odumegwu-Ojukwu

Expectedly, tributes have continued to trail the life and times of Chukwuemeka Odumegwu-Ojukwu. Ojukwu lost the battle on Saturday, November 26 to a “massive stroke” which necessitated his being flown abroad on December 23, 2010 aboard a chattered German Air Ambulance.

Those who have given accolades to the Nnewi-born Biafran warlord have described him as a great man who had the interest of the country at heart, which he exhibited in his decision to join partisan politics upon his return from exile in 1982.

Although born into wealth, Ikemba Nnewi, as he was fondly called, had opted for a hard way of living, preferring to die with the less-privileged than to dine and wine with kings.

His fighting spirit and desire for justice date back to when he was 11 years old; when he reportedly slapped a white British colonial teacher who humiliated a Nigerian woman at King’s College, Lagos, where he (Ojukwu) was a student.

Emeka, first son of a wealthy man, Sir Louis Odumegwu-Ojukwu, was expected to join the family business. To prepare him academically, his father had got him enrolled in the best schools available at the time. After his secondary education, Emeka ended up at Oxford University, London, where he got his Master’s degree in Modern History.

However, moved by the desire to serve the country, upon his return from Britain, Ojukwu rejected the comfort of his father’s business, which would have made him one of the world’s richest men. He initially opted for a life in the civil service as district officer, before finally joining the army in 1957 as one of the first set of graduates to enroll in the force.

This decision was to open a new chapter in the life of Ojukwu. The failure of the then Lieutenant-Colonel Yakubu Gowon-led military administration to address some alleged injustices against the Igbo, led to the declaration of the Republic of Biafra by Ojukwu in 1967. The consequence of this action was a 30-month civil war which left the country badly bruised and battered.

Ojukwu championed the cause of his people, the Igbo. While the first President of the country, Nnamdi Azikiwe (also an Igbo man), was laboriously pursuing a pan-Nigerian idea, Ndigbo found a voice in Odumegwu-Ojukwu in their moment of trial.

His foray into politics did not, however, pay off as he was unable to get elected. It is on record that he lost a senatorial poll; in 2003 and 2007, he contested the presidential elections on the platform of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) but lost.

Before his death, Ojukwu’s influence in the party, especially in his state, Anambra, was huge. It is on record that the incumbent Governor, Peter Obi, rode to victory on the crest of Ojukwu’s popularity in the 2010 gubernatorial election in the state.

Emeka Odumegwu-Ojukwu will always be remembered for his dogged spirit and undying love for his people. He gave his all to any cause he believed in. This is a challenge to those who occupy public offices who should understand that the interest of the masses of this country must be uppermost in their considerations.

Ojukwu, who was a military governor of the defunct Eastern Region, could have closed his eyes and played the Ostrich to the alleged ill-treatment of his people, but he chose the hard way to seek total freedom for them.

Little wonder he remains a hero in the estimation of many, no matter what others may say. Adieu, the person’s General.

Chukwuemeka Odumegwu-Ojukwu (1933-2011)

“Enyi O, Enyi O – Enyi Biafra Alaa la…”

General Chukwuemeka Odumegwu-Ojukwu, the Lion of Biafra

 His death brings to a certain climax the drama of a true, modern Nigerian epic. Olusegun Obasanjo was right this time in describing Ojukwu’s death as “the end of an era.”

At the passing of Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe, Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu described Zik as “the Alpha and the Omega of modern Nigeria,” just as he characterised Obafemi Awolowo as “the best President Nigeria never had,” thus melding paradox with hyperbole in an equal alchemy of mystery.

It was in true form. Ojukwu was like that – capable of wit and rhetoric. He was born to it. My first meeting with Ojukwu was as a rookie journalist in Lagos in 1990 at the then Holiday Inn in Ikoyi. He would grant no interviews he said. However, when I mentioned that I was writing the life of the Poet Okigbo, he looked me squarely in the face, and said, “I cannot talk to you about Okigbo standing up.

“Anyi g’anodu n’ani.” (We must have to sit down to it). He gave me the address to his office in Apapa and invited me to a chat, and thereafter, to the famous Villaska Lodge on Queens Drive, Ikoyi. A mighty head sat on Ojukwu’s shoulder and his eyes were then bold and penetrating, whenever he drove home a point. Years later, like Tiresias, those eyes became clouded, half-blind with cataract; the passage of time was upon them.

Odumegwu-Ojukwu, the lion of Biafra, had been touched by the hand of time. Time is the great leveler. In 1987, Ibrahim Babangida described Awolowo as the “great issue in Nigerian politics.” He was wrong. Chukwuemeka Odumegwu-Ojukwu remains the central issue in modern Nigeria.

It was he who took Nigeria by the scruff of the neck and shook it out of its complacency. Ojukwu was born into great wealth. The second, but apparently favored son of West Africa’s wealthiest man in his time – Sir Louis Phillipe Odumegwu-Ojukwu, Emeka Ojukwu started school at the CMS Grammar School at ten in 1943- when most in his generation began secondary school at fifteen.

He transferred soon to Kings College, Lagos, and was the youngest boy at Kings College in 1944. He was senior in class to people like Alex Ekwueme or the late Rex Akpofure (1945) or Allison Ayida and Asiodu (1946) –those were his contemporaries.

Ojukwu however was different in one respect: he was born to wealth and privilege. His father was a powerful mogul of finance and counted among his dinner guests, the British Governor-General of Nigeria as well as the likes of Nigeria’s leading anti-colonial nationalist figures, Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe who was his Godfather.

Perhaps his exposure by these vicarious contacts opened the young Emeka to the great issues of national and global politics which emboldened him far earlier than his peers, for even as a ten years he came to national and perhaps international attention by his actions in 1944 when he took part in the now famous Kings College students anti-colonial and anti-war protest against the British colonial administration.

One of the most damning pictures against colonialism, and perhaps an image which was fully exploited by the nationalists to mobilize public opinion against British colonial rule in Nigeria was of a ten years old Emeka Ojukwu standing trial in the Lagos courts and sleeping in the docks before an English judge trying a minor. His father of course hired one of the leading lawyers in Lagos; Ojukwu was freed. But he was soon sent away to boarding school in England. His father wanted him at Eton. Admission protocols took too long and he ended up at Epsom in Surrey. From Epsom College, where Ojukwu excelled in Sports – in Cricket, Athletics, Boxing and in Debate – he went down to Lincoln College, Oxford when he lived the life of youthful dissipation, took his degree effortlessly in History and later earned a Master of Arts in Modern History from Oxford in 1956. He returned to Nigeria in 1957, and against his father’s entreaties joined the Eastern Nigerian Civil Service, and in due course also against his father’s objection, joined the Queens Own Regiment as a private soldier. Afterwards, when it became clear that it was beneath his paces, he was sent to Eaton Hall for Officers Training in 1957. He was the first Nigerian University graduate to join the Army.

The rest is now history. Among his early jobs was as Military Instructor at Teshie, Ghana, where Murtala Muhammed and Benjamin Adekunle were his students in Military Tactics. At 33 years, he stood boldly against genocide and against the contradictions of the modern Nigerian state and declared the secession of the Republic of Biafra from the Nigerian federation. Civil war ensued, and he led the war as Head of State and Commander of the Armed Forces of the Republic of Biafra for three years from 1967 to 1970 when Biafra collapsed.

There is no question about Ojukwu’s personal human flaws; he had many of it, and he made his own share of mistakes, and he was prepared to acknowledge these. The question today however is no longer whether Ojukwu was right or wrong about Biafra. From all the tributes paid to him this past week, and from all that has happened in Nigeria, and continues to happen to this nation since 1970, it is apparent that Odumegwu-Ojukwu was right. He stands tall before the blind judge of history. He returned to Nigeria in 1982 from exile and re-embraced it, and talked from then about the “Biafra of the mind.”

The Biafra of the mind is the gift of memory and the gift of freedom from a man who rejected mere privilege in search of service and honor, and from a man who led and proved that it is possible to lead a productive African nation. Last week, the president of the Nigerian senate, Mr. David Mark said he still wonders how Ojukwu could mobilize the technological genius of an entire nation. That is the secret: Biafra was organized as a democracy.

It was a clarion call. Ojukwu’s greatest achievement is proof – that even in the most desperate and turbulent of situations, men led by example, can reach great heights.

As he himself said at the TSM Lectures in 1992, “while Biafra was a vast workshop Nigeria was a dumping ground” of all kinds of expensive toxins. Ojukwu led people with dignity; Biafra’s grassroots democracy thrived; men and women of ability were inspired to work; young men stood before their General and vowed to give their life to him and for the people he led. Why? How did Ojukwu achieve this among a most troublesome people like the Igbo? It is simple: he was their General, and he proved that he could be trusted.

He earned their trust. He inspired them by his own sacrifice. He led them – with the flag of the rising sun fluttering – to believe that they were that sun rising.

Nigeria lost the opportunity of Ojukwu’s sterling leadership.We who survived Nigeria’s darkest night yet because of Odumegwu-Ojukwu and all those who fought with him, must now send him to immortality as the sun rises. It is time to say Goodnight, my General, as you lie now rested in that eternal crypt: the soul of an entire people where gods are made and are reborn.

UK Hospital Allays Fears over Ojukwu’s Health

Chukwuemeka Odumegwu-Ojukwu, APGA Leader

Contrary to insinuations circulating round the country that the health of the national leader of the All Progressive Grand Alliance (APGA), Chief Chukwuemeka Odumegwu-Ojukwu, has degenerated, it has been affirmed that he is in stable health.

A statement by Royal Berkshire Hospital, United Kingdom where Ojukwu is presently receiving treatment and made available to THISDAY Thursday, insisted that its patient is in stable condition.

Since the evacuation of the former Biafran leader to the UK in December, last year, reports said this is the second time speculations have been rife about his state of health as regards reports suggesting that he had fallen into a coma.

However, the statement signed by the hospital’s Public Relations Manager, Mr. Joe Wise on behalf of the family dispelled the reports that Ojukwu’s is imperiled in anyway.

The statement reads: “We have been requested by the family of General Odumegwu-Ojukwu to clarify newspaper reports regarding his stay as a patient at the Royal Berkshire Hospital.

“The Royal Berkshire Hospital is one of the largest acute hospitals and is nationally and internationally renowned for its high standards of care, using the very latest treatments and clinical equipment available.

“General Odumegwu-Ojukwu was admitted as an emergency patient from the Lynden Hill Clinic.  He was suffering from a chest infection for which he received treatment. His condition is stable.

“Contrary to reports published in a number of newspapers, the General has not suffered any further strokes; he is not on a life support machine and has not been on one at any time while a patient in the Royal Berkshire Hospital; the General’s treatment is being funded privately.

“Any further media enquiries should be directed to the Public Relations Department, but further statements will only be issued at the request of the General’s family.” Some on-line publications have fuelled rumours that Ojukwu had a relapse. However, his Chief of Staff, Mr. Bob Onyema had since debunked it as the handwork of those who do not mean well for Igboland.

Contacted on the development, the Senior Special Assistant to Gov. Peter Obi of Anambra State on Media and Publicity, Mr. Valentine Obienyem said that since the governor noticed that people were using Ezeigbos’ sickness for other purposes, he had directed his aides not to make comments on him, but always to remember him in prayers and book masses for him.

The 77 year-old national leader of APGA is spending his eight month in hospital since he was flown to the UK last year when his health conditions developed problems where he was been treated at a Nigerian hospital.

Asked on the funding of the treatment, Obienyem said that Obi was still solely responsible for the bill, which he said the governor had refused to make public even to debunk the allegation of junk on-line journalists on the reason that he saw his assistance as that of a son to his father that should not be sensationalized for any reason.

Obi, Okorocha Visit Ojukwu in London Hospital

Chief Chukwuemeka Ojukwu, APGA Leader

Anambra State governor, Mr Peter Obi , has led his Imo State counterpart, Chief Rochas Okorocha,  to visit the chairman, Board of Trustees of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), Dim Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu,  in his London hospital,  investigations have revealed.

THISDAY learnt that the essence of the visit was for the Imo State governor to be presented before the APGA leader for blessings before his swearing in on May 29, 2011 for  his four-year tenure in office.

It was also learnt that it will be the first time Okorocha will be meeting with Ojukwu since he won the party’s nomination and went ahead to win the election in April, because the APGA leader had been away since last year to seek medical attention.

The London visit may not be unconnected with moves to acquaint the Igbo leader on the cause of action the two APGA governors intend to champion for the Igbo people with the dawn of a new political dispensation.

Okorocha who had earlier visited   Obi who he described as his senior brother was again in Anambra to see Obi at the weekend. The reason for the visit was however not ascertained as at press time as both chief executives met behind closed door.

However, an aide to  Obi  speaking on condition of  anonymity told journalists that his (Okorocha’s) visit may not be unconnected with Sunday’s swearing in ceremony of the Imo State Governor at Owerri, the state capital. Nevertheless, when after the meeting,  journalists asked Obi the reason for the meeting, bearing in mind that Okorocha was in the state weeks back to see him, he said  there was nothing wrong about Okorocha visiting him, saying he had also been at Okorocha’s house severally since he won the Imo governorship election.

Recall that during his first visit, an elated Obi had stated that the election of Okorocha on the platform of APGA, a party considered an Igbo party will boost the relationship of the governors of the south eastern states and foster renewed unity among them.

Why APGA Adopted Jonathan, by Victor Umeh

 Dim Odumegwo Ojukwu, APGA National Leader

 

National Chairman of All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), Sir Victor Umeh,  has explained why his party adopted the incumbent President, Goodluck Jonathan for the April polls, saying he is generally seen as the new symbol of national unity acceptable to Nigerians who have given him tremendous support so far.

The party had in a special national convention  on Thursday   in Awka, the Anambra state capital,  voted to overwhelmingly  adopt Jonathan as its presidential candidate in the general elections scheduled to hold in April. This was following  a motion moved by Anambra State deputy governor, Emeka Sibeudu  and seconded by Alhaji Taye Sowemmi, the party’s National Vice chairman, South West.

Umeh had said at the convention that the party decided to throw its weight behind Jonathan/Sambo ticket after a careful observation of certain issues of national importance. He was corroborated by the party’s governorship candidate in Rivers state, Celestine Omehia, his Imo state counter part, Rochas Okorocha, its candidates for Imo West and Anambra North senatorial districts, Christy Anyanwu and Joy Emodi who spoke in turn respectively.

Ojukwu Supports Jonathan’s Presidency Bid

Chief Odumegwu Ojukwu , APGA’s National  Leader

Leadership of the All Progressive Grand Alliance has said the party’s national leader, Dim Emeka Odimegwu Ojukwu, was in support of the party’s decision to back President Goodluck Jonathan in the April Presidential elections.

National Chairman of APGA, Chief Victor Umeh, who spoke in an interview with THISDAY in Abuja Saturday, said the recent adoption of Jonathan as the party's candidate in the presidential contest was made with the tacit approval of Ojukwu.

He said Ojukwu, who is presently recuperating in London after undergoing an intensive medical treatment in the hospital, was intimated of the plan and  he gave his blessings.

“Our leader, the ‘Ikemba’ is fully aware of the decision to adopt Jonathan’s candidacy and has given his tacit support to the arrangement”, he said. 

Umeh, who recently visited Ojukwu in London,  said Jonathan had also been magnanimous enough to extend care to the former Biafran leader.

 He said Ojukwu is now being kept under close watch and observation by medical personnel and officials of the Nigerian High Commission in London on the orders of the president.

Umeh said there was an understanding to use the party’s platform to provide support for Jonathan but that the arrangement does not in any way mean that APGA is backing the Peoples Democratic Party at other levels of the election.

"Definitely, this is not an APGA-PDP agreement.  What we decided to do is to ask our teaming supporters in the South-east to vote for Jonathan during the presidential elections and then vote APGA's candidates in all other levels of the elections.

"If you observed closely the build-up to the presidential primaries, you will agree with me that Jonathan's candidacy has become a kind of stabilising factor in the politics of the country, especially among those fanning ethnic and sectional interests. The president's emergence as the PDP candidate has acted as a stabilising force and nobody can deny that," he added.

 According to Umeh, APGA based its decision on the understanding that such a move  will engender stability and national cohesion in the polity, adding that the new posture is  tilting more towards the politics of development than anything else.

“When Jonathan came to Anambra State to declare his presidential ambition, he promised to complete the Second Niger Bridge before the expiration of his four-year tenure and he also gave an undertaking to complete the dredging of the River Niger port as well as finish upgrading projects at the Enugu International Airport,” he said.

He said the president gave his word to carry the interest of the Igbos along while in office. 

“If you measure his promises to complete the Onitsha bridge, Enugu International Airport and for flight operations to commence within two years, you will know that these are concrete issues,” he said.

Struggle for Biafra was right –Dokubo-Asari •As South-South, S’East, Middle Belt youths unite for Ojukwu

Asari

More than 3000 youths from the Niger Delta, South East and the Middle Belt yesterday stormed the residence of departed Igbo leader, Dim Chukwuemeka Odumegwu-Ojukwu, on a special condolence visit and procession just as former Niger Delta warlord, Mujahid Dokubo-Asari, declared that Ojukwu’s struggle for Biafra was right.

The group under the aegis of the Coalition of Nations and Organizations of Nigeria was billed to hold an all-night meeting at the national secretariat of Ohaneze Ndigbo in their resolve to effect a re-union of the ethnic nationalities.

Speaking when the youths paid a condolence on Lady Bianca Ojukwu, Dokubo-Asari recalled how many of his family members were killed and massacred for their support for Biafra.

Said Dokubo-Asari: “Today, if anything will stir me to fight, it is my belief that Biafra was right. When I was growing up, we were told a lot of things to hate Biafra. Maybe some of us were persuaded. But the more I grow up, the more I realize that it was the greatest mistake we made for not allowing Biafra to stand...

“You might not feel the pain that I feel, but if an Igbo man does not feel the pain that I feel, I am sorry for him. If an Urhobo man doesn’t feel the pain, I am sorry for him.“What Ojukwu lived and died for, in the coming years, we will see it with our eyes because of the arrogance of a few people that were born to rule, and everybody accepts it. When you want to talk they say leave them alone. Why should I leave them? If you don’t bend your back, nobody will ride you.

“For the first time in history, the divide and rule tactics of those who have kept us down failed and the Igbo voted more for President Jonathan than the people of the South-South.“Our gathering today is to bring the gathering of the dispossessed and oppressed people of the Middle Belt, Ndigbo people and the people of the Niger Delta together and we are going to move like a force. “Let nobody be apologetic. What we want is political power. Political power is the key to our development and our dignity, and political power we must own come 2015. If President Jonathan says he is not contesting, we must hold on to the presidency. Either an Igbo man takes it or someone from the Middle Belt, we will continue to hold it.”

Earlier, the leader of the team and president of the Ijaw Youth Council, Miabiye Kuromiema, said they were in Ojukwu’s residence to draw inspiration from the late Igbo leader’s rich legacy of courage and desire to see that Nigerians are given a place of dignity and respect. In her response, Mrs Bianca Ojukwu thanked them for the visit and respect to their departed hero, and urged them to be strong in their determined effort to effect a change in the country.

Igbo in US remember Ojukwu in style

About two weeks to the burial of former Biafran leader and Ikemba Nnewi, Dim Chukwuemeka Odumegwu-Ojukwu, Igbo living in the United States have commenced activities to pay heir last respects.

In New Jersey, USA, several Igbo organisations came together at St. Lucy’s Hall, Newark, last Saturday to celebrate Ojukwu. The event included a symposium, documentary films, Ojukwu’s speeches, mass and traditional wake-keep.

Speaking at the event, Dr. Ken Igwe, a veteran of Biafran war, gave a brief history of Nigeria and how the civil war began. He also spoke on Ojukwu’s role at the initial stage.
“Ojukwu was selfless; he fought gallantly for my people. I want our young people to understand that the Igbo have gone through a lot in Nigeria,” he declared, adding: “Enough is enough!”

Also, two candidates for World Igbo Congress chairmanship, Mr. Joe Eto and Chief Larry Udorji, made remarks at the symposium.
The symposium was followed by a requiem mass, in the sanctuary of St. Lucy’s Catholic Church. The Most Rev. Monsignor Anselm Nworgu, who officiated at the interment service, captivated the audience with a sermon centred on selfless attitude and love for one’s race. He said that Ojukwu typified selflessness in his actions to save the Igbo race.
Prof. Austin Okwu, who represented Biafra in East Africa during the war, delivered a thunderous keynote address during the Christian/traditional wake-keep. He gave his candid account of his relationship with Ojukwu.

Okwu said that Ojukwu was not a selfish person. According to him, the former soldier sacrificed his comfort to wage a war of resistance that he did not start. He said: “War of resistance was caused by Nigeria,” while saying that Ojukwu did not pass away, but “passed on.”
Various cultural groups and women dance groups entertained an estimated crowd of 1, 000 Igbo that braved the cold weather to be a part of history.

Among the people in attendance were: Mr. Ifeanyi Uwaoma, president, Igbo USA, New Jersey; Charles C. Chikezie, president of Igbo Bu Igbo, New Jersey; Dr. Ugorji O. Ugorji, president of Nzuko Ndi Igbo, South Jersey; Chief Titus Osuagwu, president, Igbo Union, New Jersey; Engr. Polycarp Okeke, president, Igbozue, Connecticut; Ms. Chinwe B. Njoku, president AISANA, Engr. Ike Oraedu, president, AESA Elders Forum, Mrs. Uzoamaka Ahaneku, president, Umuada Igbo, New Jersey and Lolo Vicky Egwuonwu, Leader, Nigerian Women Rosary Crusade.
Others include, Dame Ivy Onyejekwe, president of Umuada Ndi Igbo, New Jersey; Mazi Chris Awam & Mazi Jaycee Windorff, Arondi Izuogu Progressive Union; Dr. Joana Sea, president, Ifeatu Ifediche Women; Mrs. Ogugua Ezidiegwu, Dr. Moe Ene, Sir A. l. Onwuzurike, Ms. Chima Anyanwu-Irouwa, Lolo Chinyere Njoku, Prince Patrick Agbugba, Lady Gladys Nwosu, Mr. Chris Moghalu, Mrs. Edith Nwaeze, Sir. Clement Ezeh, Lady Esther Ohen, Dr. Sebastian Gubor(CT), Dr. Berthram Okpokwasili, Dr. Prudence Nwobi, Mr. Cornelius Akubueze, Engr. Eleazu, Mr. Magnus Ezeji (CT), Sr. Ebere Amakwe, Engr. Mike Amuzie, Lolo Beatrice Duru, Hon. CY Njoku, Mr. Mike Anazodo, Mrs. Ifeyinwa Egu, Ms. Jennifer Uzosike, Princes Augusta Njemanze, Mrs. Ifeoma Ndupu, Mrs. Ifeoma Nwaizugbu, Mr. Uchenna Bonny-Life Ndu, Chief Emeka Anara, Lolo Adaeze Ezinmachi Anara and Mrs. Nwakaego Ezeanuna.

Before the New Jersey event, Igbo, in Dallas, on February 4, also celebrated Ojukwu at Garland Convention Center, Garland, a suburb of Dallas, Texas. At the event, Igbo community came out in droves to pay their final tributes to Ojukwu.
There was church service, tributes, traditional dances and performance of Biafra war veterans led by Mr. Paul Iwuchukwu.
In his remarks, Chief Sam Nwankwo, president of Igbo Community Association of Nigeria (ICAN), called for Igbo unity. “Ojukwu lived ahead of his time for Igbo cause. In remembering Ojukwu’s sacrifice, I beckon every Igbo to come together. I call for Igbo unity everywhere,” Nwankwo said.

On his part, Rev. Dan Ofoegbu said: “I pray for the unity of Igbo everywhere they live.”
Also in attendance are HRH Eze Walter Ekwu, Mr. Geoffrey Nzeadibe, national chairman of Pan Ndi-Igbo Foundation-USA; Chief Ken Jerry Ike, chieftain of PNF-USA; Mr. Sylvester Udeze, pharmacist; Nze Godwin Ihegboro, business executive; Dr. Elias Okonkwo, pharmacist, Edwin Nwokocha, Godson Anyanwu, Philip Odoemena, publisher of Around Town, Dr. Richard Nwachukwu, publisher of African Herald, and Chief Chike Momah, who moved the audience with a powerful eulogy. Earlier, on January 28, the celebration was marked in Atlanta, Georgia, where many Nigerians paid tribute to Ojukwu. Nze Joe Eto, chairman, Ojukwu Memorial Planning Committee, delivered a scintillating speech at the event.

In Washington, Igbo also remembered Ojukwu. Speaking of the event, Ugo Harris Ukandu said: “The all night wake keep, eulogies, presentation, speeches, church services, dinner and celebration of life of Ikemba Dikedioranma Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu of Igboland was well-attended. It held at The Plum Orchard Conference Center, in Silver Spring, Maryland on January 27, 2012 for Igbo in Washington, DC Metro Area. It was sponsored by Igbo organisations and people in Washington, DC, Maryland and.”

BIAFRAN FRIENDS & PARTNERSHIP PROGRAMS: Ojukwu’s burial: Committee unveils program of even...

BIAFRAN FRIENDS & PARTNERSHIP PROGRAMS: Ojukwu’s burial: Committee unveils program of even...: The final burial plan for t...

Ojukwu’s burial: Committee unveils program of events

The final burial plan for the late Dim Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu has been released by members of the committee, with activities programmed to take place in all parts of the country and oversea.

Briefing journalists in Abuja, Vice-Chairman of the burial committee, Senator Uche Chukwumerije stated that due to Ojukwu’s status, his burial was planned to have a national outlook, most importantly, as prominent people from all parts of the country insisted that they should not be left out of the burial.

He also stated that social and political groups such as the Movement for the Actualization of the Sovereign State of Biafra (MASSOB), as well as intellectual bodies would all be integrated into the events and would be welcomed without inhibitions.

The program, which commenced formally yesterday with the mounting of billboards in all strategic places in the country, has all the states in the old Eastern Region firmly represented and playing active role in the burial.
Chukwumerije made known at the briefing that youth bodies in the South-east states would commence the Icho Mmadu (looking for the deceased) in every part of the zone to bring up the tempo of the burial to the hinterland and the nooks and crannies of the country.

Speaking further, Chukwumerije said special prayer for Nigeria and justice for Ndigbo and other groups in the country would be held on Sunday, while Icho Mmadu would be held in Zungeru, where Ojukwu was born and in Abidjan, where he took refuge after the Civil War. “There would be similar programs in Kaduna and Accra, while people in Abidjan and citizens in the Diaspora would also carry out their activities on Wednesday, just as same program would take place in Makurdi, Benue State, Kano, Calabar, Kano, Uyo, Port Harcourt, Yenagoa, Lagos, Aba, Owerri, Umuahia, Aba, Enugu, Awka and Nnewi, at dates between February 14 and 25.

“The remains of the foremost Igbo personality would arrive at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, on February 27, where a program tagged Onye Ije Nnoo (welcome home) would be held, while the body would depart immediately to major towns in the South-east, for further funeral ceremonies. “The final journey for the Eze Igbo Gburu Gburu, would take place with a national funeral ceremony on February 29, with series of activities going on simultaneously in Awka and Nnewi, while the interment would take place on March 2, in Nnewi, according to the Nnewi customs and traditions,” Chukwumerije stated.

Chukwumerije, who said he was representing Justice Chukwudifu Oputa, who is the chairman of the committee, explained that though the Federal Government was yet to make known to the committee, its level of involvement in the burial, it had received assurances from the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Anyim Pius Anyim of the government’s full participation in the burial.

He explained that though the earlier burial programs were disrupted by the nationwide fuel subsidy strikes, the “activities lined up for his burial will progressively increase in scale and intensity as the interment date draws closer.”
While saying that the program he reeled out was the outcome of the agreement reached with the family and Nnewi traditional institution, Chukwumerije said: “There will be all sorts of people coming to the South-east and particularly, to Enugu and Nnewi at that period. They are all welcome. We expect MASSOB, social and youth groups, masquerade groups, as well as other groups. And all of them are welcome.

We will make our stand known after Ojukwu’s burial- Uwazurike

...As Umeh, Ekwunife charge Ndigbo to stand up and defend their land




The burial of the 12 Adazi-Nnukwu citizens killed in Mubi Adamawa State yesterday threw up another round of calls for Ndigbo to stand up and take their destiny in their hands. Leader of the Movement for the Actualization of the Sovereign State of Biafra (MASSOB), Chief Ra;ph Uwazuruike who was present at the funeral, told newsmen that Nigeria would hear from Ndigbo as soon as Dim Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu is buried.

Uwazuruike who was in tears beholding the bodies of the 12 innocent citizens of Igbo land said, “You see am here, am not happy that this has happened to Ndigbo. I have to show presence, I have to show the solidarity the Igbo people have for the fallen heroes. I want to say that when we finish burying our leader Dim Odumegwu Ojukwu, we shall come up with the position of Ndigbo regarding the massacre of Ndigbo in the Northern states.”

Also speaking to newsmen, the National Chairman of All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), Chief Victor Umeh said what would solve the present problem of Nigeria is a national conference.

He said, “What happened is very unfortunate, Igbos have continued to take the major number of all casualties in matters like this principally because our people live everywhere in Nigeria. We have listened to the homily by the Bishop, he said it is not for us to choose when we will die or how we will die, the only thing we will do is to accept what has happened to this community and to the Igbo race with total submission to God.

“But people who are alive must take steps to protect themselves. We have continued to ask for national conference; it is only through a national conference that all the problems facing this country can be discussed.

A national conference is not about breaking up Nigeria, some people think is about breaking up Nigeria, it is not. It is an opportunity for all parts of Nigeria to come together and air their grievances, so that the government of Nigeria will find a lasting solution to the bickering and spate of violence engulfing this country from time to time.
“We the Igbos we are the most oppressed in Nigeria, apart from the fact that we are killed the most every time in all parts of Nigeria, we are suffering the gravest injustice in this land.”

In her own comment Hon. Uche Ekwunife said Ndigbo must wake up and put something on the ground to tackle what was happening to them in Nigeria. She said, “This is monumental loss we must look into what is happening, this thing is not going to stop. Where are we as Igbos, how prepared are we? Must we continue to loose our beloved ones? So if we say no, what plans do you have to maintain the no? It is more than saying no. When the time comes our stakeholders in the South-East must show us the way.”

Secretary of the Alliance of Igbo Youths (AIY), Mr. Emeka Muoneme warned that Igbo youths have resolved that the blood of Ndigbo should no longer be sacrificed for the stability of the federal government where Ndigbo benefit nothing.