Ojukwu: An Iroko Has Fallen- Ekweremadu
The Deputy President of the Senate, Senator Ike Ekweremadu has described as most excruciating and a grievous loss to the nation and Africa as a whole, the death of Chief Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu.
Ekweremadu who said he was short of words to describe the great attributes of the deceased, said the story of Ikemba Nnewi was like an interesting folktale which every well meaning Nigerian would have naturally wished it never came to an end.
“A mighty Iroko has fallen and a big masquerade has touched the ground,” Ekweremadu lamented, adding that “Ojukwu was a legend, intellectual, patriot, and a great statesman who contributed immensely to the development of the nation.” He stressed that Ojukwu's wits, pieces of fatherly advice and wealth of experience would be utterly missed.
The Deputy President of the Senate said the Ezeigbo Gburugburu was a courageous man who never feared to tell the truth, and helped in the post war reintegration of Ndigbo into mainstream politics.
“Ikemba exhibited an unequalled patriotism and statesmanship when he joined the National Party of Nigeria (NPN) on return from exile in the Second Republic and continued even after the fall of that democratic dispensation to join forces with other patriots and progressives to build Nigeria into one indissoluble entity” Ekweremadu stressed.
He further said that “the nation and her leaders owe it to the memory of Chief Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu to strengthen Nigeria as an indivisible political entity where justice, peace, love, and unity reigns; where national interest is supreme; and where every Nigerian is free and able to actualise his or her legitimate dreams and aspirations in any part of the country, irrespective of religious, political, and tribal affiliations and origin”.
Ekweremadu therefore expressed his heartfelt condolences to the family of the Ikemba, his hometown - Nnewi, the government and people of Anamara State, Ndigbo, and the nation as a whole, praying God to grant the nation the inner strength to bear the great loss.
Uche Anichukwu is Special Adviser (Media) to the Deputy President of the Senate
