A renewed call has gone to the Federal Government to unconditionally release the leader of Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, from prison.
The wife of the late Biafran leader, Mrs. Bianca Ojukwu, who made the call in Owerri, at the 11th Memorial Lecture of Dim Chukwuemeka Odimegwu Ojukwu, at the weekend, reasoned that “there cannot be any cogent reason for defying orders made by courts of competent jurisdiction in the land, as it will amount to self help”.
Mrs. Ojukwu said: “I plead with the Federal Government to let Mazi Nnamdi Kanu have his freedom. I call for his unconditional release from prison. We are in a democracy. No country that brazenly holds its citizens in captivity, ever progresses, develops or creates the spirit of patriotism in the citizenry.
“Nobody can hold the Igbo spirit down. This is one truism many people have refused to appreciate. Ndigbo have always opted to hold our heads held very high, than to die on our knees, begging.
“At no time in Igbo history, have we seen the type of brutality and wickedness, like we are seeing now. Nigeria has sadly become a crematorium of sorts. Our youths see nothing but a total wasteland ahead of them. Federal Government presence is non-existent in the South-East.”
Taking a hard look at the nation’s economy, Mrs. Ojukwu said, “it has irretrievably collapsed”, adding that life and property are neither guaranteed nor protected.
She said: “The economy has irretrievably collapsed. The system failure has affected virtually everything and everybody. Government can no longer guarantee the preservation of life and protection of property. The system collapse has also affected trade, commerce, agriculture, education and all facets of life and living.
“There are people who sit in the comfort of their homes and constantly steal the oil in our communities and roll in dollars.
“2023 is around the corner. We must hold our leaders to account for their deeds or misdeeds, actions or inactions. This is payback time.”
While commending Chief Ralph Uwazuruike for singlehandedly bankrolling the yearly event, Mrs. Ojukwu said: “No government is assisting Chief Uwazuruike in this endeavour.
“As we celebrate my late husband, we must also recall that there is no family in Igboland that did not lose a single soul during the 30-month old war. We will continue to remember all these people that died during that fratricidal war.”