Chukwuemeka Odumegwu University was on Saturday thrown into a frenzy when the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Air Peace, Mr. Allen Onyema donated a whopping N70 million towards the upgrade of its infrastructure and pledged to build Nigeria’s first Centre for Nonviolence and Peace Studies in the institution.
Onyema made the donation shortly after he was conferred with an Honorary Doctor of Business Administration (DBA) at the 9th Convocation Ceremony of the Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu University.
He said the planned Centre for Nonviolence and Peace Studies would replicate the success he achieved with his organisation, The Foundation for Ethnic Harmony in Nigeria (FEHN), in restoring peace in the Niger Delta and other parts of the country.
Onyema appealed to the youths and other Nigerians to shun their ethnic sentiments and join the campaign for peace and unity to speed up the country’s socio-economic development.
“I want to help education. I want to fight the incidence of violence and ethnicity in this country. The greatest bane of our development is ethnicity. That is why I want to set up the first Centre for Nonviolence and Peace Studies for them (Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu University, Anambra State) by collaborating with the university and making it an elective course for students, so that people will start learning how to manage conflict.
“Conflict is a catalyst for change but it depends on how you manage it. The institute I want to set up here will help Nigerians with the ways and means of managing conflicts to achieve better results,” Onyema said.
The Air Peace boss insisted that ethno-religious violence could be effectively tackled with education and job creation.
Onyema said Air Peace had continued to lead the way in creation of job opportunities with the provision of thousands of direct and indirect employment to Nigerians without ethnic bias as part of the airline’s contribution to the socio-economic development of the nation.
He confirmed that the carrier currently had 27 aircraft in its fleet, besides the firm order it recently placed with Boeing for 10 brand new B737 Max 8 aircraft.
He added that the carrier had demonstrated enough capacity to close the gaps in air transport operations on the domestic and international routes, including Dubai, Sharjah, London, Houston, Guangzhou-China, Mumbai and Johannesburg.
He advised the Federal Government to resist the urge to set up a national carrier, insisting that experience around the globe had proved that the model was a drain on scarce public resources.

Air Peace Chairman/Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Allen Onyema flanked by the Vice Chairman, Mrs. Alice Onyema and Chancellor of Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu University and Ewi of Ado Ekiti, HRM Oba (Dr) Rufus Adeyemo Adejugbe Aladesanmi III (right) during the conferment of an Honorary Doctor of Business Administration of Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu University on Onyema on Saturday

The Chancellor of Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu University and Ewi of Ado Ekiti, HRM Oba (Dr) Rufus Adeyemo Adejuggbe Aladesanmi III (right) performing the conferment of an Honorary Doctor of Business Administration of the institution on Air Peace Chairman/CEO, Mr. Allen Onyema (2nd left) on Saturday

He can also give free flight
Tickets this coming
December holidays.