‘Stop unproductive street warfare with IPOB members’,- Ohaneze ex- President tells Army

By Cynthia Igbokwe

Former Minister for Information and immediate past national President of Ohaneze Ndigbo world wide, Chief John Nnia Nwodo yesterday frowned at the incessant street warfare by the Nigerian Army and the members of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), requesting for a ceasefire.

www.odogwublog.com reports that Nwodo, advised the federal Government of Nigeria to instruct its Police and Army to promulgate a cease-fire and disengage from further unproductive street warefare with Indigenous people of Biafra (IPOB) and MASSOB, while he insisted that there are no problems which could not solved by negotiation.

Chief Nwodo spoke at the Auditorium of Academic Staff Union of University (ASUU) NAU Awka, Secretariate on 6th July 2021, while presenting a paper during an international conference organized by the Centre for Health And Allied Legal And Demographical Development Research And Training ( CHALADDRAT) Nnamdi Azikiwe University, (NAU)Awka led by former Commissioner for Health Anambra state, Prof Brian-D Adimma.

The themes of the international conference were “50 YEARS POST NIGERIAN CIVIL WAR: ATTITUDE OF THE PEOPLE OF THE OLD EASTERN NIGERIA TOWARDS NIGERIA NATIONALISM” and “GOVERNANCE, CONFLICT RESOLUTION, AND SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT”.

Chief John Nnia Nwodo, in his paper titled “ Issues, Challenges and Prospects Towards National Integration, Justice, Peace and Security” regretted that amongst other challenges facing Nigeria, that the educational system takes the lead as he noted that in the recently published world population reviews on the literacy rate for most countries around the world, Nigeria does not come up at all amongst the ten most educated countries in Africa.

The former Ohaneze Ndigbo National President Worldwide also noted that according to several other reports Nigeria has the highest number of children out of school and on of the world’s worst education system due to a combination of corruption, conflict and lack of investment.

Contributing, the wife of Late Dim Chukwuemeka Odimegwu Ojukwu and former Nigeria’s Ambassador to Spain Ambassador Bianca Ojukwu, regretted that amongst other policy that was set out to aid integration in Nigeria nation, National Youths Service Corps (NYSC) was among those that is not fulfilling it’s reason of creation.

Bianca Ojukwu also frowned at the rate of discrimination, marginalization that South Eastern states are facing in Nigeria especially in quota educational system of admission.

In her words ‘how does one justify, for example, the admission guideline currently implemented in unity secondary school which prescribed cut of mark in Anambra State to be 139, Ogun State 131, Bauchi State 35 Yobe State 2 for male and female 27, Zamfara State 4 for male and 2 for the female. This is purely opposite of integration’.

The conference, www.odogwublog.com gathered was borne out of emergent disturbance of issues that led to war that had continued to occur unabatingly.

Delivering the welcome address, the Vice Chancellor , Nnamdi Azikiwe University Awka, Professor Charles Esimone, described the conference as monumental importance to the present day Nigeria.

Esimone, noted that the landmark time frame of 50 years after the end of civil war should be considered apt to look back at the factors that precipitated the civil war and to the extent those challenges had been engaged.
He however, disclosed his optimistism towards the conference that it would lay bare useful ideas and recommendations towards building an enduring peace in the country.
The Keynote speaker, and erstwhile Senate President of Nigeria, Chief (Dr) Anyim Pius Anyim, described civil war as common occurrence in traditional societies but a cause for concern in modern nation states.

www.odogwublog.com further reports that Anyim, insisted that building a nation of multi ethnic nationalities requires deliberate planning, conscious and constant review at all stages which he said if not considered would trigger conflict.

In his words ‘it is the responsibility of the leadership at all levels to evolve broad based strategies to preempt the trigger and diffuse them before they snowball into national crisis because they will keep springing up as different ethnic nationalities interact and compete for space’.

Senator Anyim, who also was erstwhile Secretary to the Government of Federation (SGF), Nigeria said that the research conference is a step to right direction and also vital to the current issues facing Nigeria while he suggested that it would be fascinating if the university at the end of the conference provides a fact based and Data driven research study on the attitude of the various geopolitical zones, Nigeria nationalism and it’s implication for national integration, justice and security.

He also maintained that the outcome conference should bridge the gap and ward off any reckless desire for war at the damages from out would be so glaring.

‘ We need a detailed and factual account of the war in sequence of events, social and economic costs, number of lives Lost, details of the victims, this will help the upcoming generation to appreciate the scale and extent of the unfortunate events, like in the case of Rwanda, memorials may not only provide a soothing effect but will highlight the war as a national tragedy that must never be contemplated again,’ Anyim explained.

Further In his constructive examination of Nigerian state after 50 years of civil war he revealed the need for Nigeria to confront it’s past from the prism of ethnicity and religion which he said would hinder national progress in the aspect of productivity, integration, justice, unity and equity.

In his remark, the chairman of the conference organizing committee, Prof Brian-D Adinma while welcoming everyone stated that the uniqueness of the program lies in the fact that the conference assembled distinguished experts , mostly the intelligentsia to interrogate issues related to the Nigerin Civil war. He assured that the output would input into a broader nation-wide multi perspective study.

Other speakers included, Prof Uzodimma Nwala, President of Alaigbo Development Foundation, Prof Akachi Ezeigbo, and others.