Ojukwu
Abiodun Awolaja does a random sampling of the tributes paid to the late Biafran leader, Chief Chukwuemeka Ojukwu, from across the country, presenting few of the most striking ones.


The transition, penultimate Saturday, of Dim Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu, former Biafran warlord, has naturally attracted a torrent of tributes from across the country. As a figure in Nigerian history, Ojukwu ranks immediately after the nation’s founding fathers such as Nnamdi Azikiwe, Obafemi Awolowo and Ahmadu Bello, as a personage whose Odyssey is inextricably intertwined with the country’s, and as one of the most extensively studied academic subjects across the globe.

Declaring that his place in the country’s history was assured, President Goodluck Jonathan said Ojukwu’s ‘’immense love for his people, justice, equity, and fairness which forced him into the leading role he played in the Nigerian Civil War and, as well as his commitment to reconciliation and the full integration of his people into a united and progressive Nigeria in the aftermath of the war, will ensure that he is remembered as one of the great personalities of his time who stood out easily as a brave, courageous, fearless, erudite and charismatic leader.”

Senate President David Mark, speaking in the same vein, said: “ No matter how much you loved or hated him, Ojukwu was a man who loved his people and was ever prepared to lay down his life for them to have a better living. No matter the angle from which it is viewed, Ojukwu will be remembered as a man who stood up to be counted when it mattered most. He was a man who hated oppression and he did his best to liberate the downtrodden.”

Two major actors in the polity, Generals Olusegun Obasanjo and Ibrahim Babangida, gave touching tributes to the fallen Ikemba of Nnewi. Obsanjo said: “ It is with deep sadness that I received the news of the demise of my friend and colleague. He and I were subalterns in the Army at Nigeria’s independence in 1960. In a way, his death marks the end of an era in Nigeria, I commiserate with his family and pray for the repose of his soul.” While this might look like an ordinary statement, Obasanjo’s disclosure that he had, on several occasions, discussed the possibility of an expression of remorse from Ojukwu “on the Nigerian Civil War which in itself was a culmination of actions and reactions” no doubt touches the sorest point in the country’s history, and rekindles memories of the bloody crisis which did incalculable damage to Nigeria’s corporate existence.

For his part, Babangida, who urged the Federal Government to immortalise the late Igbo leader, said: “Dim Ojukwu’s patriotism about the oneness of the country was not in doubt. He believed that given the country’s diverse socio-political and cultural configurations, the nation-states within the nation must be given room to flourish in a mutually exclusive arrangement that would further the aspiration of the country.”

For his part, immediate past governor of Ekiti State, Chief Segun Oni, said: “With Ikemba’s death, there is nothing more to say other than “oke osisi din a nukwu ogha na ala igbo adawoo”(‘’The biggest iroko tree in the forest of Igboland has fallen.”). Like our own Colonel Adekunle Fajuyi, Ojukwu was, indeed, the power of the Igbo people and truly a Dikedioramma (beloved hero). He will be missed by all.”

The Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) said “Chief Ojukwu’s actions in his life time impacted hugely on the history of Nigeria and helped shape the country’s destiny. His endless quest for fairness and justice was reflected in his unmatched love for his people, and the sacrifices he made on their behalf,” while the Oyo State governor, Senator Abiola Ajimobi, operating on the wavelength of Igbo culture, said the late Biafran warlord mirrored the trinity of Igbo character. According to him, the trinity of Igbo character included Akpu uche (cult of reason), Ukwu n’ije (striving and enterprise) and Aka Ikenga (pride of attainment). He added that a good score by an Igbo man in all these three pronounced him to have attained Ntozu (accomplishment/high grade titles), which in turn brings Odenigbo (global acclaim).

In contrast to Ajimobi’s learned cultural discourse, however, former House of Representatives member, Patrick Obahiagbon, enthused in his rather quaint style: “The invitation to the celestial lodge of the soul personality of the irrefrangible and sui generis Ikemba himself—Dim Odumegwo Ojukwu—brings again to focal hiceps and biceps the ephemerality of life. Beyond the state of lachrymoseism, his celestial ascension has, and would, continue to righteously bestir.

“I do hope, however, that we take immutable cognition of the fact that the fundamental issues which Ikemba confronted have now even coagulated and ossified into Gorgon Medusa. For Nigeria to progress, we must apotheosise our centripetal proclivities above our centrifugal excrescence. All hail Ikemba.”

And the Yoruba Council of Elders (YCE), in a tribute which focused on the political dividends of the fallen soldier’s struggle for the Igbo nation within the Nigerian political ecology, said: “He was a political icon and a man greatly needed by many people to build and enhance their respective political influences. He was forthright, courageous, outspoken and a true patriot.”

Former Ogun State governor, Chief Segun Osoba, lamented the passing of the military strongman, but took solace in the fact that he died as a Nigerian rather than a separatist ethnic leader. “He was always passionate about any cause; he was passionate about Nigeria. He fled the country at a point but returned to die a Nigerian.”


(excerpt Nigerian Tribune)