In death, Ojukwu Rallies Ethnic Gladiators for Peace, Unity

• Bianca, MASSOB leader, OPC Founder, Arewa Youths Leader, Al Hamza
• Mustapha Lead Tribute, Unity ‘Parade’

In death as in life, Ikemba Nnewi and foremost Igbo leader Dim Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu remains a central figure in the history of Nigeria. The 6th memorial ceremony of the late Igbo leader, held at the Ojukwu Memorial Library in Owerri, Sunday November 26, 2017 provided a rallying point for some of Nigeria’s ethnic warlords to not only sheath their swords but preach peace and understanding.

Leader of MASSOB/BIM, Ralph Uwazuruike, leader of Arewa Youth Forum, Shettima Yerima, whose quit order to the Igbo in the north had sparked a global outrage and founder of the Odua People’s Movement, Dr. Frederick Fasehun were among the notable Nigerians who gathered at the Ojukwu Memorial Library, not only to give honour to the late Biafran leader but to give expression to his later day preoccupation, a united Nigeria founded on equity and justice.

If the assemblage of ‘warlords’ was spectacular, the flotilla of over 200 mini buses that freighted the sheer human armada to the venue, the ecstatic presentations, the food vendors and ‘keke NAPEP’ transporters who made brisk business and, now this, the cordon/guard mounted by unarmed uniformed “Biafran” loyalists lit the atmosphere with such incandescence as to herald the ambience of the Yuletide season. It was carnival-like, yet solemn and dignifying. Dignifying? Yes. The arrival of Her Excellency Iyom Bianca, Ojukwu’s widow at the venue had all the trappings of ambassadorial plenitude. (Iyom, is Igbo title for a great Lady). Of course, her arrival had taken some time and even the usually staid and unruffled Uwazurike could be seen shuffling his feet and occasionally looking askance when she was not yet in sight. That made the event to start without her. The event compeer, the award-winning Nollywood actor Francis Duru, and his expert guide, superstar events manager, Sir Bright Nwelue, showed the qualities that have placed them on top of their trade.

Without much ado, they brought on stage a theatre group of teenagers who, while extolling the leadership qualities of chief Uwazurike, left everyone one reeling with laughter as they parodied the dignitaries present. Al-Mustapha, former ADC to late Head of State, General Sani Abacha was among those parodied. But starting without her was like playing masquerade without the Ijele. Interestingly, the Ijele Ndigbo, Ralph Uwazurike himself, was there. Yet, on this occasion, nobody was going to be higher than the symbol of that great leader, that orator, that mover of men and women, the Ikemba who, Bianca represented. On this, there should be no mistake again. For, Bianca, in her own right, represented royalty poise, dignity and class. As she waltzed her way majestically to the high table, there was no mistaking the daughter of former Governor of Enugu State, the late C. C. Onoh; there was no second guessing the six-footer whose angelic beauty dazzled the judges to name her Miss Nigeria beauty pageant in 1990, that was before she resigned; there was no mistaking the ambassadorial poise of this beauty and brain who, for five years, was Nigeria’s ambassador to Spain, there was no mistaking the confidence and joy of this political Amazon who, only a few days earlier, had collaborated with other stakeholders to emphatically return Willie Obiano as governor of Enugu State.

The crowd roared, some crowed as she waved to the standing ovation that ushered her to the dais: the envoy of peace had descended on the venue; Ojukwu’s spirit had come alive; all thanks to the MASSOB/BIM leader, Ijele Igbo Ralph Uwazurike. Did the occasion achieve the goal? That is left to be seen. But the event was animated by very candid presentations. Perhaps, most controversial was by the leader of the Movement for the Actualization of the Sovereign State of Biafra and founder of Biafra Independent Movement (MASSOB/BIM), Chief Ralph Uwazuruike when he declared that the Arewa Youths Coalition did not owe the Igbo any apologies for issuing quit order to the Igbo living in the North. This was just as the President of Arewa Youths Coalition, Aljaji Shettima Yerima disclosed that Uwazuruike’s intervention made them to withdraw the quit order last August. Uwazurike’s position was that the Igbo should rather be held responsible for allowing the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Mazi Nnamdi Kanu to insult the sensibilities of the Hausa/ Fulani and the entire people of the North in what he described as his blind quest to cause another civil war in the country in the name of Biafra agitation.

According to the MASSOB leader, if he were to be a leader of the Arewa youths, he would have done the worse. Uwazuruike said when the IPOB leader started insulting the entire nation, he quickly moved in to appologise on his behalf because he (Uwazuruike) was the one who employed Kanu in Radio Biafra, London. “I want to thank the northerners for withdrawing the quit notice and for not tampering with the lives and property of the Igbo in the North as a result of Nnamdi Kanu’s hate speeches”, he said. However, the widow of the Igbo leader, Iyom Bianca Ojukwu sharply disagreed with the leader of MASSOB/BIM leader for saying that the North did not owe the Igbo apologies over the quit notice issued to the Igbo in the North by the Arewa Youths. According to Bianca, “apologies are due on both sides because two wrongs can never make a right”. She commended the MASSOB leader for organizing a memorial in honour of her husband to imbibe virtues of the late Ikemba, which are love, courage, sacrifice and togetherness. “I thank all of you who have come to celebrate Ojukwu our hero and to reflect on thoughts, value and to critically examine the problems that have continued to bedevil the nation that we have inherited. “Ojukwu had stood for justice, peace and unity.

And we know that without justice there will be no peace or unity”, she said. However, she called on the leaders of the country to reintroduce the teaching of history in our secondary schools for the new generation of Nigerians to know the history of the country that they are born into, saying that it was the absence of history about the Nigerian civil war that had led youths who never witnessed the war to always fume for war. Earlier, the President of Arewa Youths Coalition, Alhaji Shettima Yerima disclosed that the intervention of the MASSOB leader during the period Nnamdi Kanu was insulting the North and Nigerians, saved the situation and made them withdraw the quit notice. He explained that he had to disagree with the IPOB leader on his struggle for the actualization of the independent state of Biafra because he resorted to abuse and insult on everybody rather than on negotiation and consultation. Yerima said that while Arewa youths and indeed the north as a region are not averse to self – determination or independence of any part of the nation, but that such struggle must be anchored on consultations and due democratic process. He wondered why the IPOB leader should describe Nigeria as a zoo country and went further to derogatorily label the HausaFulani collectively as animals and other unprintable names all in name of Biafra agnation.

According to Yerima, “we are not against any group agitating for self determination but it should be in line with the provisions of the constitution of the country. You cannot run a parallel country within a country. ”We have been working with the leader of the Movement for the Actualization of the Sovereign State of Biafra (MASSOB), Chief Ralph Uwazuruike and we have been going on well without friction until two years ago when Kanu came out with IPOB and started insulting everybody and referring to the Northerners as animals, that was why we decided to make it easier for him to go because we were thinking that he was speaking on behalf of the Igbo.

“Because of this conspiracy of silence, we felt that it be must the position of Ndigbo and its political class and as a result we had asked the entire Igbo people in the north to vacate the region”. He further disclosed that the quit order had to be withdrawn on August 25 after the visit of Chief Ralph Uwazuruike the leader of MASSOB/BIM to Zaria, a development he added, led to consultations with the elders of the North and the northern governors’ forum.

The Arewa Youth leader noted that whereas MASSOB has conducted its agitation for the Actualization of the sovereign state of Biafra with civility and following due process since 1998, the IPOB leader has been quite uncivil in his agitation which had almost sparked ethnic hostilities within the country.

He explained that the action of the Arewa Forum was largely misunderstood by majority of Nigerians who thought it was a plot to unleash mayhem on the Igbo in the North, adding that it was in retaliation to the continued insult and denigration of the North and other parts of Nigeria by the IPOB leader. Speakers at the event which included the founder of Odua’a Peoples’ Congress, Dr Fredrick Fasehun and Ex- Chief Security Officer to late Head of State, General Sani Abacha, Major Al Hamza Mustapha, also extolled the personal sacrifices, integrity and morality of the late Biafran leader, who they said was a true patriot even though his actions during the crisis were misconstrued then.