BY PRINCE CHUKKA OJUKWU
THE late Dim Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu was my maternal uncle. My father’s mother who hails from Nnewi is from his kindred. She was married to Chief Hyacinth Ezennia Ojukwu from Awka Etiti. Dim Emeka Ojukwu, an icon was a dogged fighter of inestimable value.

He fought for the Igbo nation and rescued them from the shackles of oppression, marginalization and pandemic hatred. Yes, the great icon is dead physically but he is still alive spiritually.

The Lagos Funeral for Late Dim Odumegwu-Ojukwu held at the Tafawa Belewa Square Lagos.

And we live to remember him for his exemplary leadership. The entire Igbo nation will continue the struggle for justice which he lived for in the Nigerian state. Some people believe that the demise of Dim Ojukwu would end the Igbo race but that name, that surname Ojukwu runs in the vein of every Igbo man that bears it and I am not an exception. He was an inspiration to me in my business and my political career.

As we bury him on Friday, March 2, 2012, I call on Ndigbo to immediately find a credible leader like the person of the former governor of Anambra State , His Excellency, Dr. Chris Ngige as a replacement for the late great Iroko, Dim Emeka Ojukwu. The successor of Ojukwu should not be politicized if the Igbo nation must move ahead.

The late Ezegburugburu had stood for one Nigeria but hated injustice and marginalization of any tribe of the country particularly the Igbo nation.

So, I advise Nigerian leaders and stakeholders to give peace a chance for us to grow from a developing nation to a developed country. President Goodluck Jonathan should tackle the issue of Boko Haram head long. Security agencies should be deployed to their states of origin to ensure that the security of lives and property of the citizenry is guaranteed. He should not agree to the demand by some Nigerians that he should have a dialogue with a faceless group.

As the remains of the late Ojukwu is being buried Friday, I advise that his family should be united more than ever. They should not allow the family to be a battle field because Ojukwu, their father and husband left a good legacy which they must sustain by ensuring peace, unity and endurance.

Finally, as an ACN chieftain in Anambra State, I thank the Anambra State governor, Mr. Peter Obi for his immense contribution to the burial of the late icon, Dim Odumegwu Ojukwu. In one of the tributes to this great man it was said that: “Ojukwu deserves far more than this adulation in death.  His struggle was not myopic, neither was it vain. Ojukwu’s idea of justice is that little acorn that has grown into a giant iroko tree, for an idea is a seed which once sown, germinates and hardly dies.

“What shrub or giant tree it will grow into, is what defies conjecture. MASSOB, O’dua People’s Congress, Sovereign National Congress, Resource Control – are they all offshoots of this seed of justice sown by then Lt Colonel Emeka Odumegwu Ojukwu? Adieu Ikemba. Adieu man of courage. You were greatly loved and admired by many while you were here.” I agree no less.