Governor Willie Obiano, former Vice President Alex Ekwueme, oil magnate, Prince Arthur Eze and National Chairman, All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), Chief Victor Umeh, yesterday led Ndigbo mainly from Anambra State, to give victims of the civil war and other pogroms and violent killings in Nigeria a formal burial.
The Ekwueme Square venue of the ceremony was filled to the brim with Igbo across the country and war veterans including Col. Joe Achuzia (rtd) and Gen. Ben Gbulie (rtd). Also at the ceremony which kicked off with an interdenominational commendation service were civil war veterans, market unions, the clergy, town union leaders, women and youth organizations and representatives from Abia, Imo, Enugu and Ebonyi states.
The event had all the trappings of the typical Igbo funeral as various masquerades and cultural displays added colour to the occasion just as the traditional 21 gun salute was observed.
Addressing the people who put on mourning dresses, Governor Obiano whose government funded and organized the ceremony, said the event was the beginning of the symbolic effort of casting a long look backwards beyond the immediate horizon of the national experience to honour the memories of Ndigbo that lost their lives to various dark chapters of the national history. He said the Igbo ancestors believe that a people without memory have no future, adding that to underscore the significance of the memory, they handed the concept of Ncheta ka (recalling is supreme).
He likened the event of the day to the Jewish efforts to honour the memory of the Holocousts as well as the recent efforts to commemorate the Rwandan Genocide in Kigali, adding, “sadly, although we share a similar experience with the Rwandese, our attitude to the memory of that sad experience has lacked boldness and organized response.”
According to him, “Umu nnem, it is a thing of pride to be onye Anambra. We are indeed a remarkable people. However, throughout history, there has always been a prize to pay for greatness. Our natural disposition to seek wealth-creating opportunities in known and unknown places worldwide and support the local economy with our famed energy has made us imminent targets of conflicts that we had no hand in fomenting.
“Ndi Anambra, happily, our brave spirit has helped us navigate the mine fields of this experience. We have become one of the most successful black people in the world. We have set high standards in literature, business, the academia, science, Information Technology, entertainment and nearly every field of human endeavour.
“Umu-nnem, we are the owners of a proud history; paved with pain and anguish and watered by the blood of the innocent. Hardly is there a family in this gathering without a story; a story of profound loss. But beside every story of loss sits a story of success; of glory and of abundance. Ndi Anambra, to the glory of God, we are not a people with a SINGLE STORY…we are a proud, intensely driven, hardworking, innovative, adventurous and forward-looking people with more gifts than the world can take!
“…Umu nnem, in my inaugural address, I informed Ndigbo that the time had come for us to climb over the recriminations of the past and build new bridges of understanding across Nigeria. I argued that if our ancestors sacrificed so much to create Nigeria, we must not sacrifice any less to rebuild this country. I also re-emphasized my belief that our future as a people is better guaranteed in a united, indivisible Nigeria. Ladies and gentlemen, that is why we must all vote for Dr Goodluck Azikiwe Ebele Jonathan in the presidential election that will hold next month. Among the candidates running for the Presidency, Dr. Jonathan offers Nigeria the best chance at national integration and unity. So, we must vote for him.
“We must also vote for all the candidates standing election on the platform of APGA here in Anambra and other states. We must sweep every available position in Anambra State and win the gubernatorial election in Imo, Abia, Ebonyi and Zamfara states. Ladies and gentlemen, this is APGA’s year of self-actualization and we must grab it with both hands.”
Earlier in a homily titled, “The duty to remember,” the Catholic Bishop of Awka, The Most Rev. Paulinus Ezeokafor, advised Igbo to always trust in God in spite of the circumstances of their lives. He admonished the people to always let God be at the centre of their lives, noting that Nigerian history would not be complete without mentioning the Nigeria civil war.
He encouraged parents to tell their children the story of the civil war so as to prevent them from thinking of or planning to engage in wars, stressing that forgiveness should be uppermost in the minds of the people so as to foster love and unity.
Speaking to newsmen, Chief Umeh commended Governor Obiano for accepting to organize the event which he said the late leader of APGA, Dim Chukwuemeka Odumegwu-Ojukwu wanted and asked for it before his demise.
Umeh said having given the fallen heroes the honour they deserve, “the Igbo race can now behold the future with great promise, with great hope, and with great bride knowing that the journey of a people will be marked with pit and falls but what is important is the number of times they get up when they fall. The Igbo have gotten up from this war and will never go down again.”
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