OJUKWU: Jonathan, Soyinka, Rawlings, Anyaoku, others pay final respect

LAST RESPECT—Vice President Namadi Sambo laying a Wreath as he pays last respect during the National Funeral Ceremony of Late Dim Chukwuemeka Odunmegwu Ojukwu, yesterday, in Enugu State. Photo: Hill Ezeugwu.

PRESIDENT Goodluck Jonathan, Thursday, acknowledged contributions of the late former Biafran warlord, Dim Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu towards the unity of the country, describing him as “a rare patriot and humanist.”
The president, who was represented by Vice President Namadi Sambo, at the national inter-denominational funeral rites and lying-in-state for Ojukwu at the Michael Okpara Square, Enugu, said he had no hesitation in describing the Ikemba Nnewi as a rare patriot because his life epitomized enduring love for his country.
Ojukwu was rare patriot  —Jonathan
“Ojukwu was indeed a rare patriot because his life epitomized enduring love for the country he belonged to and a special place of Nigeria, a relentless critical love. Critical, because he wanted to be the best he could be, a civil, just, prosperous and a united nation where no one is oppressed and a rare humanist because his love for humanity was particularly defined by self sacrifice,” President Jonathan said in a special tribute in honour of the late Igbo icon.
According to him, Ojukwu’s contribution in the nation’s political sphere cannot be overlooked, stressing that after his ordeal, he (Ojukwu) continued to play a major role in the advancement of the Igbo nation in a democracy.

“Ojukwu has played significant role in Nigeria’s return to democracy since  the Fourth Republic began in 1999. He has contested as the presidential candidate of his party, the All Progressive Grand Alliance, APGA, for the last three elections and until his illness he remained the party leader, the party that was in control of two states and largely influential among the Igbo ethnic area of Nigeria.
The president said he was committed to ensuring that all the wounds of the past were healed completely and that “we do not ignore the lessons of the past as we strive to build a great nation that justifies the labour of our past heroes, Ojukwu inclusive.”
Jonathan said the achievements that set Ojukwu apart and which had made him subject of “edifying posthumous commentaries,” though undeniably solid, were far from personal.
He said: “They were solid altruistic achievements of a man whose life epitomized love and self sacrifice.  For only such love could explain  his preference for the great risk involved in the leadership role he assumed in his lifetime to the privileged background into which he was born.”
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In his tribute, former Head of State, General Yakubu Gowon, said Dim Ojukwu would ever be remembered for “his courage, focus, boldness and unwavering desire to fight for justice, equity and fair play for his people"
Former Secretary-General of the Commonwealth, Chief Emeka Anyaoku, said news of the death of Ojukwu struck him not just on account that his exit means a huge void  in the lives of many Nigerians he touched, but also because he was a personal friend.
Chairman of the South East Governors’ Forum and Governor of Anambra State, Mr. Peter Obi, thanked the Federal Government for according due respect to Ojukwu and likened the demise of Ojukwu to the “falling of a great iroko tree.”
 Governor Sullivan Chime of Enugu State said: “This great hero lying before us today, Dim Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu, is one of those rare enigmas, the discussion of which can never be exhausted or caused to expire. The story of his life is actually a huge collection of stories. It is a massive montage and kaleidoscope of dramatic and historic events.

To the Ikemba of Nnewi, Eze gburugburu Ndigbo....RIP sir!

source: VANGUARD NEWSPAPER