Ikemba Nnewi: Fashola Pledges Full Cooperation With National Funeral Committee
• The late Ikemba was as much a Lagosian as he was a Nigerian", he says[b]

Jan 27, 2012 - Lagos State Governor, Mr. Babatunde Fashola (SAN), Friday hosted the National Funeral Committee of the Late Ikemba Nnewi, Dim Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu, pledging the support of the State Government to the Committee to ensure a befitting burial for the former Military Governor of the defunct Eastern Region.[/b]

Late Dim Odumegwu Ojukwu, who died in a London hospital in the early hours of Saturday, November 26, 2011, will be buried on February 30 after a 40 day funeral ceremony which will be held variously in parts of the country including Lagos, Kano and Enugu between February 14 and 29, 2012.

Addressing members of the Committee led by its Deputy Chairman, Senator Uche Chukwumeruje, Governor Fashola said his administration would be more than glad to do all that would guarantee a befitting burial for the late Ojukwu including providing venue and adequate security for the Ikemba Day scheduled to take place in Lagos on February 24, 2012.
[b]
The Governor who said the Late Ikemba Nnewi was as much a Lagosian as he was a Nigeria, also pledged to handle directly from his office the logistic challenges that would be posed by transfer flights from Lagos to Enugu for foreign dignitaries transiting to Enugu for the final funeral event of the deceased on February 29, 2012.

Noting that he had earlier received official communication from the committee requesting him to send in a tribute, Governor Fashola promised that the activity would be coordinated directly from his office for adequate and effective execution, assuring that his team would be able to cope as long as it gets"reasonably sufficient notice on the arrival and departure times as well as names of guests".

Governor Fashola also promised to facilitate the prayers for the repose of the soul of Ikemba Nnewi in mosques and churches in the State on Friday and Sunday preceding the final burial of the deceased.

Pointing out that he got to know that the late Dim Odumegwu Ojukwu was a close friend of his Uncle and was visiting the family home in Isale Eko in those days, Governor Fashola disclosed, "We are already meeting at that level too within our family to see what we could do".

Expressing the "deep sympathy of the Government and people of Lagos to the entire Ndigbo for the transition of this Great Nigerian, a true son of Nigeria about whom I am certain the ink would not dry for a long time to come", Governor Fashola prayed for the repose of the soul of Ikemba and divine support and encouragement to his family, especially his wife and children.

He told the Committee members which included Senator Ben Obi who is the Chairman Contacts Sub-Committee of the Funeral Committee, and Professor A.B.C. Nwosu, Secretary of the Committee, "You do have an enormous task ahead of you but with the quality of men in your delegation, it will be more successful than probably can be imagined".

Earlier, in his remarks, Senator Chukwumerije said the mission of the Committee to the State House was to inform the Governor of and seek his support for the activities lined up for the funeral of the Ikemba Nnewi especially the Ikemba Day scheduled to take place in Lagos on February 24, 2012

Senator Chukwumerije who congratulated Governor Fashola on his "track record as one of the most proactive and diligent modernizers we have among the governors",prayed that God would continue to grant him the strength to sustain the pace of development he has started in Lagos State.
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He said the events leading to the final burial of Ikemba Nnewi would commence on February 14, 2012 adding that the event would include delivering of speeches and also traditional dances to take place at different dates in different parts of the country including Lagos, Kano, Minna, Abuja and Enugu.

Giving more details of the events, Senator Ben Obi said highlights of the Lagos event would include reminiscences aimed at recapturing the Nigeria of the adolescent and post adolescent days of the late Ikemba which he spent in Lagos and during which all Nigerians, irrespective of tribe and tongue, saw themselves as Nigerians adding that Governor Fashola would be the Guest of Honour at the event.

Senator Obi commended Governor Fashola for "doing extremely well to the pride of all Nigerians".

Also present at the occasion were the Commissioner for Tourism and Inter-Governmental Relations, Mr. Disun Holloway, his Transport counterpart, Mr. Kayode Opeifa, Information and Strategy, Mr. Lateef Ibirogba among other members of the State Executive Council on the Government side as well as Professor George Obiozor and Dr. Kelechi Ikechukwu among members of the Funeral Committee.

Akanbi_edu:

There is nothing you can do to please those people. Better not spend Lagosians money on Eastern affairs.

Akanbi_edu:

There is nothing you can do to please those people. Better not spend Lagosians money on Eastern affairs.

Eko Ile:



We are not trying to please them because you can not please hate and twisted souls, we are just trying to show them how normal, sane and rational people behave in a civilized society.


Fashola is their their master and school teacher. See as Fashola sit them down like house boys waiting for orders,

Negro_Ntns:

When ibo bow and stop bashing Yoruba. . . we will declare peace! Until then, there is nothing here that bothers my consciense at all. They had no shame of marching on our land. . . until they were beaten back in 67. They have no shame of marching on our civility and cordiality online. . . . .as it was in 67, so it shall be online in 2012. They will be severly beaten on that pygymy Igbo until they succumb and bow out. Its a promise!

Valon4ego:

I don tire for some people o! Must we always show our ethnic bigotry and cultural 'unsavvines' to the full glare of the world? Peace!

Eko Ile:



We are not trying to please them because you can not please hate and twisted souls, we are just trying to show them how normal, sane and rational people behave in a civilized society.


Fashola is their master and school teacher. See as Fashola sit them down like house boys waiting for orders,

In London, Ojukwu was lonely, dumb – Igwe Nwokedi


Dim Emeka Odumegwu Ojukwu’s death, last Saturday, has continued to generate comments from eminent Nigerians, especially those who were with him from the time
of the Civil War till his death. Igwe Alex Nwokedi, a veteran journalist and Igbo monarch who served in the war as head of counter intelligence under Ojukwu’s Republic of Biafra gives graphic details of Ojukwu’s health in London hospital.

Q: Your Majesty was very close to the late Ikemba of Nnewi, Dim Emeka Odumegwu Ojukwu so much that you visited him at his London hospital before he died. What is your account of his life in London hospital?

A: When I visited London, I went to the hospital where he was admitted. His chief- of-staff was with him and I was told upon entering the ward that I should just hold his hand and speak; that he could hear but he could not talk.

I held his hand and greeted him, “Gburugburu,” that is Igwe of Igbo Land. He was a very good Catholic. I told him that he had suffered for the Igbo and that our mother, the Blessed Virgin Mary would take very good care of him.

I spoke to him, encouraged him but to tell you the truth, I was not happy at all with his situation. There was a Philipino nurse taking care of him, and his daughter was also there with him. They were the only two people with him in that ward.

Logic Mind:

Useless aboki slave.
Biafran forces that headed to lagos were led by Victor Banjo, a yoruba man. A betrayer like all his kin.
If your objective was to defend your land why did you continue fighting for us to remain in nigeria after we pulled back to biafra in 1968?
I'll tell you why: because you submitted to your hausa-fulani masters! They have been phucking you over since. ( drove awo to suicide, murdered abiola, slapped shonekan out of office, disgraced diya in front of the whole world, have since confirmed that they spared obasanjo because he danced to their tunes about sharia.)
And you want to compare yourself to an igbo man! You useless non productive azzhole. Subsidy beggar! SUBSIDY BEGGAR!!
Now you want a southern nigerian nation with us? May Amadioha curse the igbo tribe the day we agree any such nonsence with you. I would rather stay with boko haram, at least that one is face to face fight, not backstabbing. The same stick cannot poke one's eye twice.
Cowards!
Cowards!
Cowards!

KINGwax:

relax son. I knw it becomes hard and uneasy when people {like you} wit overbloated ego gets your ego dented! It's jst like expectin d yorubas to save u and they prefer not to{which to me is a choice}. Then when u were badly wounded because your ojukwu was being deceived by some european countries{who definately but wisely were interested in d oil}, u decided to leap and point blaming fingers on d yorubas whom u thought should join u then but refused. The question is, u want biafra, not them, so what's theirs? Secondly, remember, it wasn't d yorubas only dt fought you, nigeria did. And d coward aspect is never new to us, that wot u igbos says when your brothers refused to take up arms. Violence runs in your blood. And d funniest thing is, u suck & Get whipped everytime. Now you're callin for war, u think you're ready, jst like u thought u were. I think u knw d world power is changin. Don't get dead. The crude oils in d yoruba state are nicely reserved. U think they're silly, intellectually, you're reversed out there!

Logic Mind:

After all these misyarnings, I'm still expecting why you sent your sons to fight and die so that we remain in the same nigeria with you? Why? Why? You love too much you don't want us to go?
You are right it wasn't only the yorubas that fought us but there is a reason we hold it against you. We were never betrayed by the hausas. We know them, they know us. Our words are our words. But the yorubas. Chei. Nobody trusts you! We hate you. Hausa-fulani even hate you pass. You though they were going to respect you because you served them during the war? Think again.
Even middle beltters want nothing to do with you. Edo and itshekiri guys are always denying to be related to you. Why, why why? I'll tell you why: It's because your are slimy. You are worse than snake. If a rattle snake and a yoruba man enter my house, I will leave the rattlesnake and kill the owambe Yoruba useless backstabber.
We biafrans are not calling and have never called for war. We just want to be on our own but you just can't do without us. Please tell us why.