The funeral ceremony and burial of the leader of former Eastern Nigeria/Biafra, General Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu, has come and gone. The event met all expectations, and even surpassed some. To us, his beloved Ndigbo, nothing can ever be too big for our Ikemba. His funeral proved to be the biggest funeral event in Africa, ever.
We are proud of that for many reasons, and I will only highlight THREE most important reasons for that pride.

The first reason is that the event proved to the whole world that the Ikemba was not a "Rebel" as the victorious side of the Nigerian opinion tended to describe him, almost throughout his life of struggle; rather, those who thwarted and sabotaged the Aburi Accord, are the true rebels. They rebelled against the wishes of the Nigerian people which they willingly articulated and signed in the Aburi document. Through their wicked act, the Nigerian nation was set back 3 million citizens and 45 years. Nigerian history will never forgive such people. This verdict will become clear when those people die.

The second reason is that Ndigbo and Easterners as a whole have, through the massive outpour of support, proved to the whole world that we honor our heroes. Nothing gratified my heart more than seeing ALL Eastern + Delta state governors physically present during various stages of the Ikemba's funeral services. That act shows in no uncertain terms, that they are all proud to identify with his legacy as a freedom fighter, defender of truth, and voice for the oppressed in Nigeria. This singular act has effectively unified the SE and SS (Eastern Nigeria) once more, and the future is ours to capture and hold confidently!

The third reason is that younger generation of Ndigbo and Eastern Nigerians have -by virtue of the standard and magnititude of Ojukwu's funeral- been exposed to the truth. For many years, some younger folks argued in futility against Ojukwu's legacy. Now, it has become abundantly clear, that the great Lion of Biafra is a true ICON who the youths can boldly claim as their role model. At a time that Nigerian politicians only sow seeds of graft and personal profiteering and political racketeering, our youths would once more be able to distinguish between a thieving class of "leaders" and a true leader who instead of stealing, contributed his own resources for the emacipation of his people -Eastern Nigerians.

My special thanks go to the governors of the SE for stepping up to the plate to claim their stake in the greatest leader of Eastern Nigeria. I would have reserved a special thanks to governor Peter Obi for paying the Ikemba's medical bills while sick in London, but I guess that other SE governors would have done the same thing, happily. Our govenors fully answered the call of history by organising the funerals in all 5 SE states. I want to say a whole dalu nu o!

My other special thanks go to President Goodluck Jonathan for FULLY answering his father's name by giving presidential accent to the National funeral led by the Nigerian army.
The president, by this singular act, has won the hearts of the Igbo nation. The same thanks goes to General Azubuike Ihejirika, the Chief of Army Staff, who led the group of generals from the army to receive the Ikemba's remains at the Abuja airport, and ensured that he received a FULL military honor both at Abuja and Nnewi.

Thank you Mr President! You are your father's son! 

I want to thank all the foreign dignitaries that graced the occassion, particularly the US Ambassador and the former president of Ghana, Jerry Rawlings. You have spoken loudly with your physical presence, and we Eastern Nigerians are so grateful! Thank you!


A Minor Glitch

Finally this vote of thanks would not be complete without identifying ONE minor glitch during the event. This glitch almost dented the whole sparkle, and it is that former Ghana President Jerry Rawlings private jet was forced to land in Lagos "for clearance" before proceeding to Enugu, by which time it had become dark, and his aircraft had to land in the dark! He (as a seasoned, courgeous and smart leader) claimed that the ghost of Ojukwu aided his pilot to land safely!  Well, we never knew that Enugu is NOT an international airport until yesterday. 


A HUGE thanks to Umu Igbo and Eastern Nigerians worldwide for your undying love and honor to our late leader.
May God bless you and honor you, just like you honored the Ikemba.

Signed,
Yours truly

Onlytruth, ndu di n'eziokwu 1 of Igboland, Eze Ndigbo Nairaland. 

I will be back to continue with the way forward.

Ok, I'm back now.

I wish to thank the Igbo leaders, from Ohanaeze to Aka Ikenga, to MASSOB.

Umunne m, you rose to the occassion and showed what makes us a deep, reflective, consumate and great people. A lot of foes where waiting for MASSOB to cause trouble during the burial, but they were thoroughly disappointed because none of that happened! This could not have happened without a thorough coordination between Igbo leaders (governors, Ohanaeze, Aka Ikenga, et al) and MASSOB. I cannot say more than to say, UMU IGBO, UNU DI EGWU O!

Igbo kwenu!

Kwenu!!

Kwezuonu!

Anyi zuru ka eme!

Eze gburu gburu of igboland the man behind the pillar that carry igbos along

onlytruth eze ndi igbo nairaland , i must confess i didnt expect the burial to be that big, ojukwu haters will be suffering from HBP by now, this shows that no matter how history is twisted the truth will eventually come out, am also impressed by the non eastern ethnic groups are calling for unity , this time around they are the one doing all the hursling to ensure the east is once again united . this is the biggest occassion so far since 1999. we are making progress , igbos will continue to speak the truth no matter how much it hurts others.

why did jerry rawlings feature so prominently in ojukwu's burial?

just wondering.

were any other past african leaders there?

Now, to the way forward

I hereby state without fear of contradiction that Eastern Nigeria is gradually emerging out of the over 40 years of political chaos and division.
The way forward, must consolidate on the gains of the past few years, made possible by the emergence of Goodluck Jonathan as the president of Nigeria.

I would be lying if I say that he has fully accomplished all his task as the de facto political arrow of Eastern Nigeria at this point; IMHO, he is only beginning. More importantly, his achievement would only go so far if we fail to "hold his feet to the fire" as the future gradually unfolds. It is easier to criticize him and call him names, but that would not solve much.
The most effective way to nudge him forward is to openly call his attention to specific areas where we need his attention and action.

One of such area is the Enugu International Airport project. It would have been a calamitous and international political nightmare had the plane ferrying the ex-president of Ghana, Jerry Rawlings, crashed in the Enugu hills as the plane was attempting to land IN THE DARK!   
But pray, what is still holding up this project? More importantly, IS ENUGU AN INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT? If the answer is yes, why did Jerry Rawlings have to land in Lagos first "for clearance" before taking off again in Lagos to land in Enugu hours later, when the man must have been told in Ghana that Enugu is an international airport?

WHAT IS REALLY HAPPENING?  

Mr President, this single airport can torpedo EVERY other political goodwill you have acquired from the SE if you fail to pay CLOSE attention to it.
In fact, this airport can be THE litmus paper by which Ndigbo guage whether the civil war has actually ended.
This airport must start FULL international operations BEFORE the end of this year, else,  you risk losing the Eastern Nigerian political leadership position you have worked so hard to get.  

I was particularly impressed and truly gratified that President Jerry Rawlings, a true African GEM, graced Ojukwu's funeral event.
A lion recognises another!

Jerry Rawlings is someone that I deeply respect. A true military man who changed his nation. I salute him.

You spoilt everything by not being gracious enough to thank non-Igbo Nigerians who participated in giving Ikemba a befitting send off. I'm not surprised anyway. ewu can beer

^^^

You want us to bend over backwards to thank those who played a role in keeping us in bondage?

I would however, give a special thanks to Wole Soyinka, Fashola, Asari Dokubo and GEJ.

Way forward continues,

I want to tell you, my Eastern Nigerian brothers and sisters, that you should not mourn like those without hope (according to The Bible).
The Ikemba came at the appointed time to unite us and give us a pride of place in Nigeria and Africa. His complete biography shows that God was DIRECTLY involved in his life, hence his exploits and achievements.

Watching how our peoples are gradually coming together politically emboldens me a lot to say that our days of slavery in Nigeria is gradually ending.

The rapport between the SE and SS must continue non-stop, and actually gather momentum! God chooses leaders, and it is not by chance that president Goodluck Jonathan is the leader of Nigeria just a little after 40 years of complete political isolation of the whole East.
Let us understand his place in history and accord him all the support he requires to resurrect and extract our submerged dignity from the snares of past invidious policies against us in Nigeria.

ndu_chucks:

You spoilt everything by not being gracious enough to thank non-Igbo Nigerians who participated in giving Ikemba a befitting send off. I'm not surprised anyway. ewu can beer

Ojukwu was the leader of Eastern Nigeria/Biafra, so I would only address this to Eastern Nigerians. I cannot thank those whose only contribution to Ikemba's burial, was to FINALLY accept the truth.
They did themselves a favor, so why should I thank them.

By their actions, they may have saved their own souls from eternal damnation and harsh judgement of history.

Was Gowon at the burial? What about OBJ?

Onlytruth:

They did themselves a favor, so why should I thank them.

wrong of you to say that.

the civilized thing to do is recognize their presence and thank them for being there.

tpia@:


wrong of you to say that.

the civilized thing to do is recognize their presence and thank them for being there.

we only thank those who believed in ojukwu and what he stands for and not those that came to make cheap political statements

^you limit yourself by doing that.

not good publicity for you either- too petty.

bashr8:

we only thank those who believed in ojukwu and what he stands for and not those that came to make cheap political statements

Which is why I said that they MAY have saved their own hides souls from eternal damnation and harsh judgement of history.
There are also those who didn't come and we know that too.
We owe BOTH groups of people no gratitude.  

I know that people like Wole Soyinka came, but he has never distanced from Ojukwu's struggle even from 1967; so why should I thank him for continuing in his chosen path of truth?
I can't thank someone for speaking the truth.  

tpia@:

^you limit yourself by doing that.

not good publicity for you either- too petty.

truth will not be jepordized for publicity. that if why we are different the more reason we shouldnt co exist in the same country. we know those that believed in him like wole soyinka and we have already recognized them.

suit yourselves.

tpia@:

suit yourselves.

[b]tpia [/b]listen.

Your approach to this is why Nigeria has TERRIBLE leaders.
Why should we thank people for identifying and embracing the truth? Should they have continued otherwise?
We ARE ENTITLED to the truth. If they fail to deliver that truth, history will judge them HARSHLY, and (as a Christian, I believe that) HELL awaits them too. 
Let's stop lowering our expectations from people.

I am particulary thanking the ORGANIZERS, and facilitators of this event, and INTERNATIONAL visitors to the event.
Nigerians can choose whether to identify with truth or not; I won't thank them for that!

Onlytruth:

I am particulary thanking the ORGANIZERS, and facilitators of this event, and INTERNATIONAL visitors to the event.
Nigerians can choose whether to identify with truth or not; I won't thank them for that!  

You are still not making any sense. Your ramblings connotes hate bitterness and pettiness. It's also crude, crass and tacky. This is not what you say to people when they go out of their way to help and stand with you regardless of your childish and misguided thoughts.


This is why people don't take you clowns seriously,

Your ramblings connotes hate bitterness and pettiness. It's also crude, crass and tacky

cant argue with that.

for goodness sake, get a hold of yourselves people, and be bigger than this pettiness.

why be miserable all the time?

There will never be a funeral as great as this again in the dungeon called nigeria,,,,NEVER!

Not even any of the ex-presidents of nigeria will attract such audience (locally and internationally).

I will cease this opportunity to also thank those countries who stood by us during those dark years. They even had their representatives at the funeral of the great one. Special thanks to Haiti (will be paying this country a visit soon in the spring ), Tanzania, Zambia, Ivory coast and Gabon . May they continue to prosper, AMEN!

where do you reside?

alex_101:

There will never be a funeral as great as this again in the dungeon called nigeria,,,,NEVER!

Not even any of the ex-presidents of nigeria will attract such audience (locally and internationally).

I will cease this opportunity to also thank those countries who stood by us during those dark years. [/b]They even had their representatives at the funeral of the great one. Special thanks to Haiti (will be paying this country a visit soon in the spring ), Tanzania, Zambia, Ivory coast and Gabon . [b]May they continue to prosper, AMEN!

Seconded POWERFULLY.

Imagine that Zambia just lifted the African Nations Cup for the very first time in her history. God rewarded them just as the Ikemba's funeral was about to start.
Both Ivory Coast and Zambia played FINAL.
Something to really think about.

There will never be a funeral as great as this again in the dungeon called nigeria,,,,NEVER!

Not even any of the ex-presidents of nigeria will attract such audience (locally and internationally).

Delusional statement!!! Even Dagrin's funeral was bigger than this, Ibos are pitiful, me thinks what's missing in Ibo people's lives is a big hug, It's evident these people are troubled,

bittyend:

Delusional statement!!! Even Dagrin's funeral was bigger than this, Ibos are pitiful, me thinks what's missing in Ibo people's lives is a big hug, It's evident these people are troubled,

Be honest with yourself for once as I would respond to you JUST ONCE.

Don't the bolded words accurately describe you and your people miling around this thread?
Do you notice that you are basically seeking that "big hug" and no one is interested? Poor lonely soul.

Well, you lot deserve none of our pity or attention. So, keep trying!

IGNORED henceforth.

Eko Ile:


You are still not making any sense. Your ramblings connotes hate bitterness and pettiness. It's also crude, crass and tacky. This is not what you say to people when they go out of their way to help and stand with you regardless of your childish and misguided thoughts.


This is why people don't take you clowns seriously,  

you beg for oil handouts now your begging for recognition and cookies for attending a burial of the greatest man to come out of nigeria, we should have charged you for even being part of that great opportunity to stand among lions , among people that speak the truth , among the last of the mohicans considering how many times you insult the man even up till today, pathetic humans.