Ojukwu: Leave Iweka Road Alone, find alternatives

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Published on Friday, 24 August 2012 10:17

Written by Okelo Madukaife

The proposal of the out-going Anambra State Government led by Peter Obi to de-honour an ancestral Royal father, illustrious son of Anambra State, and prime mover of the development of Onitsha in order to honour Chief Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu, our own Ikemba,the legend is tantamount to ridiculing two Anambra icons

 and honouring none, because it can generate altercations between individuals, families and communities that will erase any honour ,if truly intended.  

It is an established fact that Chkwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu’s name is larger-than- life in Anambra, Eastern Nigeria, Nigeria and the World and it takes landmark physical structures to honour such figures. But  the past seven years  wasteful APGA administrations, under Peter Obi’s mandates has not thrown up any monument that can match the name of the Ikemba in the skyline of the state in spite of the massive funds that came into the state in the era. So it has become convenient to simply barge into an emblem of honour for another citizen, uproot his name and serve Ikemba’s soul with the remnant. This is a disservice to the name of Ikemba Nnewi. 

ACN dissociates itself from this self-serving move and urges the government to retrace its steps, be more imaginative and take steps to respect, Ezeigbo GburuGburu rather than destroy another name to mock Ikemba. In the same breathe, we condemn in the strongest terms the idea of  continuing to honour persons by placing their names on public facilities without public hearing, because that is the opportunity to throw up all claims and objections.Unfortunately, the government in Anambra State is run like a militaary affair,reminding us of an era we would like for forget. 

If the government sincerely desired to  honour Ojukwu properly, It  should have, beside the fact that  the street in question honours another, considered renovating and refurbishing the facilities and street furniture beyond its current squalor  state, to a point that we it can properly be associated  with our hero. Instead, the out-going government is in a hurry to score cheap political points, particularly against the opposing factions of their crisis-torn All Progressive Grand Alliance, APGA.  

Peter Obi’s government boasted that it had done a Stadium in Onitsha, yet the Stadium cannot be named after Ojukwu. It claimed that wonders have happened to enthrone Anambra in the hall of oil-producing States, but it is too ashamed to find an icon-infrastructure in the sector to name after Ojukwu. The government boasts of building a teaching hospital where none existed, but it lacks the courage to draw the attention of the world to the empty claim with Ikemba’s name. 

Ndi Anambra are familiar with the propensity of the current Anambra state government to boastful claims on things that are not on the ground, but speaking as a party and for our people in Anambra who concede us the highest following in the state today, no Anambra man should be dishonoured without cause, let alone to honour another who has all the honour the world can offer without a bustling street in disrepair.

Okelo Madukaife This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.  

For: ACTION CONGRESS OF NIGERIA, ANAMBRA STATE CHAPTER

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