Ojukwu to Ndigbo: Seek peace, not violence over Kanu

By Gregg Mmaduakolam

The Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Mrs Bianca Odumegwu-Ojukwu, has urged people of the South-East to embrace dialogue and peaceful engagement in addressing the recent imprisonment of Mazi Nnamdi Kanu.

Ojukwu gave the advice at the 14th edition of the Dim Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu Memorial Day Celebration, held at the Ojukwu Memorial Library, Owerri, on Wednesday.

She said that although the court of first instance had sentenced Kanu to imprisonment, all hope was not lost, adding that through dialogue and peaceful measures, he could be released from the Sokoto Correctional Centre.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the annual Ojukwu memorial day was instituted by Chief Ralph Uwazuruike, founder of the Movement for the Sovereign State of Biafra (MASSOB).

The event is usually attended by Igbo people from across the five states of the South-East and beyond.
In her address, Ojukwu called for a minute’s silence for the late BBC journalist, Mr Frederick Forsyth, whom she said resigned from his job to report events that occurred during the Nigerian civil war between 1967 and 1970.

She said, “Nnamdi Kanu is in prison. We should not be angry, and it is not an issue to resolve with knives, guns or fighting one another.”

“This Christmas, all of us should endeavour to meet with our National Assembly members and our governors. Ask them the way forward to ensure that Kanu is freed from prison.

“We should also come together and plan how to use peaceful means to resolve this matter. We should plan how to meet with President Bola Tinubu and amicably settle the issue,” she said.

She added that the people of the South-East should emulate other regions in resolving challenges through dialogue and non-violent approaches.

The minister expressed concern that many Igbo children no longer speak the Igbo language, as their parents do not teach them their mother tongue.

She advised parents to teach their children how to speak Igbo, stressing that one’s mother tongue has a huge impact on a child’s upbringing.

Ojukwu further lamented that even during the civil war, Igbo people were not killing or kidnapping one another for ransom, describing the current insecurity in the region as strange. She urged the youths to be patient and embrace peace and dialogue, noting that these were the best ways to achieve progress and live peacefully.

She recalled that after the civil war, her late husband, Dim Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu, was in exile for many years, but through dialogue, former President Shehu Shagari granted him an unconditional pardon.
Ojukwu decried the low commercial activities in the region due to the Monday sit-at-home order, adding that insecurity had further worsened the situation.

She explained that killings and kidnappings had crippled socio-economic activities, noting that investors were now placing their money elsewhere.

“Before now, foreigners from countries such as Cameroon, Ghana and Togo were coming to invest in the South-East, but since insecurity worsened, many local and foreign investors have withdrawn,” she said.
Chief Ugwunna Ajaelu, chairman of the occasion, urged South-East residents to be patient and adopt diplomatic measures regarding Kanu’s imprisonment.

“All hands must be on deck to ensure that he is released in no distant time,” he said.
eadlines

(NAN)