The Chief Judge of Imo State, Hon. Justice Benjamin Njemanze, who spoke in impeccable Owerri dialect, went philosophical in his tribute. He did not say much but went down memory lane. He wondered why some of the people, who betrayed him during the war are today pretending to be aggrieved by his demise. He wished Ojukwu well as he journeys back to his Creator.

Monday, February 27, 2012, started with a strong but not violent wind. This gradually snowballed into an early morning rain that started at about 3.05am in Owerri. The rain became heavier and poured till about 4am.

Names and titles are very symbolic. Names and titles that are ascribed to things and individuals often times go long ways in determining the character and structure that such entities turn out to be. And so it was for late Chukwuemeka Odumegwu-Ojukwu, defector Igbo leader, General of the People’s Army and leader of Biafra.

There was an event that happened during the Abacha Constitutional Conference of 1994/1995 that many may have forgotten and which nevertheless showed Dim Chukwuemeka Odumegwu-Ojukwu as a compulsive fighter against injustice and oppression.

The death of Dim Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu is a low point for all of us who are gathered here today. As we mourn his passing, we must not be lost on the significance of his immensely active and trail-blazing life. For living a worthy life that positively touched so many in our land, we must, as we mourn, also celebrate his life.