@ 2012 NNAMDI AZIKWE DAY: Eminent Nigerians hail Zik

* Task politicians to extol virtues of nationalism

 By Ikenna Asomba

Eminent Nigerians on Friday, November 16, 2012 gathered at the Nigerian Institute of International Affairs (NIIA), Victoria Island, Lagos, to celebrate the 16th Post-humous Birthday of Nigeria’s great nationalist, Dr. Nnamdi Benjamin Azikwe in an elaborate ceremony tagged: “ZikDay 2012.” 

L-R: Chief Sony Iroche, Igbo leader; Eze Hycinth Ohazulike, Eze-Ndigbo of Lagos State; Chief Debe-Odumegwu Ojukwu during the presentation of Kolanut to Chief Olabode George at the event

While lauding the high ideals and values of nationalism which Dr. Azikwe preached and practiced, with his onerous efforts to the attainment of Nigeria’s independence in 1960, they however, beckoned on today’s generation of politicians to extol the ideals of true nationalism, while playing politics 

devoid of corruption, rancour, violence and ethnic 

differences.

L-R:  Eze Hycinth Ohazulike, Eze-Ndigbo of Lagos State; Chief Debe-Odumegwu Ojukwu and Chief Bode George speaking at the event

Personalities who graced the occasion were Chief Debe-Odumegwu Ojukwu; Eze Hycinth Nwabueze Ohazulike (OON), Eze-Ndigbo Lagos State; Chief Olabode George, former National Vice-Chairman of the Peoples' Democratic Party (PDP); Sen. Florence Itta-Giwa; Chief Olatunji Shelle, Lagos State PDP Chairman;Chief Sony Iroche, Igbo leader, Chief Udoka Udeogaranya, Coordinator ZIKDAY Initiative and Baldwin Spencer, the Prime Minister, Republic of Antigua and Barbuda, also represented.

Chief Debe-Odumegwu Ojukwu, son of the late Biafran warlord, Chief Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu, who chaired the occasion, in his opening remarks, said Dr. Azikwe will forever be remembered for the high virtues and ideals of nationalism which he preached and practiced.

“Dr. Nnamdi Azikwe, the Owelle of Onitsha, will forever be celebrated by us. Even though he's no more with us today, his legacies still live on. To live in the hearts of those who love you is not to die,” he said, noting that “Zik was a man who strongly believed that violence was never to be espoused to settling political differences.”

He also lauded the efforts of the great Zik of Africa, Chief Herbert Macaulay, Alhaji Ahmadu Bello, Sarduana of Sokoto and others who fought and won the struggle for Nigeria’s freedom from colonial imperialists.

On the discord that has for long torn apart the Ojukwus and Azikwes families, Ojukwu (Jnr.) said the younger generation are bent in redressing what according to him, “is an aberration that has imparted negatively to the fortunes of Nigeria. This explains infact my prominence today, aimed to rejig the friendship between the Ojukwus and Azikwes families.”

He also described the Owelle of Onitsha as "the cuncator quintus fabius maximus," whose polemics, logic and share thought had confounded a lot of people over the years. He said: “For being a rabid apostle of that strategy, Dr. Azikwe in 1966 declared openly that violence was never espoused in settling political problems. Today, we are celebrating his life and times.”

In the same vein, Sen. Itta-Giwa, represented by Mr. Patrick Doyle said Zik played a pivotal role in her political evolution, noting that “today, the acute absence of political actors of equal charisma and sagacity of the likes of Dr Nnamdi Azikwe in the country is lamentable.”

Itta-Giwa opined that for a like this that celebrate the life and times of great nationalists like Dr. Azikwe will trigger higher ideals in Nigeria's current political actors.

Sheath your swords, Boko Haram

Meanwhile, while affirming that the country has today, disregarded the true spirit of nationalism and brotherliness preached and practiced by its founding fathers, Chief Debe-Odumegwu Ojukwu admonished the nation to go back to the cradle, as the founding fathers wanted it to be, noting that the recent suicide bombings, killings and terrorism rocking especially the Northern part of the country is steadily disconnecting the country we call home.

His words: “Violence has surreptitiously crept and is replicating itself permanently into our social lexicon. As we leave here today, we must all ponder over the best way forward. Occasions such as this will be worthless, if we don’t deploy it as a veritable vehicle in order to strengthen our quest for domestic and global peace. This is a clarion call for our Northern brothers to sheath their swords, because violence has never been known to solve political problems. Peace is the only key to sustainable development,” he enthused.

Share Nigeria’s resources equitably

On his part, Eze Hycinth Nwabueze Ohazulike, described the great Zik as a true Nigerian nationalist, who stood for the struggle of a one and indivisible Nigeria. He, however, opined that the call for an indivisible Nigeria is unattainable if some ethnic regions are better favoured in terms of distribution of Nigeria’s rich resources than their counterparts.

His words: “When Chief Herbert Macaulay, Dr. Nnamdi Azikwe, Alhaji Ahmadu Bello and others fought for Nigeria’s independence, they never planned for the dehumanization of the South-Eastern region. For the attainment of a true one Nigeria, I implore our current crop of leaders to engender the immediate creation of one more State for the region, so that our God-given natural resources could be equitably distributed.”

Our politicians must extol unifying nationalistic vision

In the same vein, Chief Olabode George, described Azikwe and his great grand Uncle, Herbert Macaulay, as “two of a kind, thoroughbred soul mates, selfless, self-sacrificing personages woven in Siamese idealism. They devoted their lives to the endurance and workability of the Nigerian Union even in that tumultuous formative stages when it was almost ruinous to collide against the mighty British imperialism.”

While noting that the paramount idealism of the duo, reached beyond the narrow purview of partisan pursuits, despite their ethnic differences, the Atona Oodua of Yorubaland implored today’s crop of politicians to toe the line of the great Nigerian nationalists.

“No nation moves forward when the constituents are permanently detained in sheer mercenary fixation. The nation must come first before the clamour for party interest, before the selfish uproar about ethnic concerns. We must all eschew the politics of hate, but embrace the selfless credo of our founding fathers who insisted on unity in diversity,” he urged.