Bianca Ojukwu Makes Case For Kanu’s Release For Peace

Iyom Bianca Ojukwu, wife of late Dim Odimegwu Ojukwu, has called on President Muhammadu Buhari to release leader of Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) Nnamdi Kanu from detention to heal past wounds.

Speaking yesterday at the 10th edition of Ojukwu Memorial Day in Owerri, the Imo State capital, Mrs. Ojukwu decried the continued detention of IPOB leader and called on the Federal Government to consider the pleas for his release.

The former Ambassador to Spain also thanked the Igbo leaders who visited the president recently in pursuance of this objective, and appealed to President Buhari to consider the caliber and age of these igbo statesmen and grant this request in order to demonstrate a genuine commitment to healing the wounds of the past.

The wife of the late Biafra Leader equally stressed that no sacrifice was too much to promote and sustain a peaceful coexistence of all the tribes in the nation.

While noting that the clamour for secession, which has reached fever pitch in the country today “is a direct consequence of the inequities of the Nigerian state as currently constituted, she maintained that the Igbos continue to feel the pains of marginalisation and exclusion on a daily basis, adding that in as the issue was not addressed, there would continue to agitations for separate state.

“For as long as this is not addressed, and in so far as the Federal Government continues to  exclude the South East from certain political positions and critical developmental projects such as the National Railway plan , and the zone continues to suffer the ravages of the deteriorating conditions of existing federal infrastructure, most especially roads in the  South East , the feelings of collective victimization can only be reinforced and will continue to sustain the agitations for a separate state.”

The son of the Late Biafra Leader Engr Afamefuna Odumegwu Ojukwu who was present at the event thanked Chief Ralph Uwazuruike for consistently hosting this event every year following the demise of his father.

The event, a cultural festival of sorts, featured a brief interdenominational service, traditional dances and masquerades, colorful parades, drama sketches and a live band eulogising in music, the exploits of the Biafra hero.  There was an outpouring of tributes in celebration of the Igbo hero.