For the Records: DARA MBAZULIKE SPENT ALL HIS LIFE FOR THE LOVE OF NIGERIA. HE WAS A TRUE ZIKIST UNTO DEATH – GOV. SOLUDO
Being Excerpts Of Governor Chukwuma Charles Soludo’s Statements On Anambra Day Of Tribute In Honour Of the Late Chief Mbazulike Amechi, Dara Akunwafor (The Boy Is Good)
Today is a special day. We have come to mourn Nigeria’s greatest patriot and statesman, who laid the groundwork for the country’s independence.
Anambra laments on a day when the world celebrates love. Late Mbazulike Amechi joined the zikist movement as a student and dedicated majority of his life to the love of Nigeria. In his home state, we are mourning him today.
He spent his entire life in Anambra; didn’t reside in Lagos or Abuja. His home state today is hosting the national tribute. He spent his life mentoring and assisting others in their growth. Today, Anambra mourns but also rejoices in the memory of a glorious life
I would like to take this opportunity to thank the Chairman of the National Planning Committee, Chief Dr. Emmanuel Iwuanyanwu, Distinguished Sen Ndi-Obi, Retired Justice Umeadi, Prof. Amucheazi, all the traditional rulers in their various communities, and others who have come to celebrate one of the finest souls to pass through Nigeria.
I urge you all to spend your time to honour our heroes while they are still alive because everyday, our lives are worth honouring. Just as today, we have gathered to commemorate the late Mbazulike Amechi’s life and times.
Our paths did not cross much on a personal level. I first learnt about him in a lecture. My lecturers talked about their tenacity and their belief in what Zik stood for- in Nigeria’s unity, and were willing to lay down their lives for what they believed in.
I also had a brief encounter with him in his home in January 2010 during a courtesy call when i was contesting for governorship, and we only spoke for a few minutes before we had to leave. I’ll never forget the conversations we had. His presence was enveloping, and he spoke with appropriate authority, admonishing us to carry out the manifesto we were presenting to him.
He lived in Anambra, specifically Ukpor, and traveled from the state to Abuja or elsewhere whenever he needed to.
One of our greatest gifts to the world is no longer with us. Giants are born in Anambra. Anambra has more than its fair share of people who have helped to shape this country.
Umunem ndi Anambra, ndi Igbo, and ndi Nigeria, one of the greatest lessons that Dara Akunwafor left for us is that our future is in our past.
When I think back on the lives of our founding fathers of the first generation, they were patriotic, nationalists, and valued service above self.
M.I. Okpara, the Premier of the Eastern Region used taxes paid by peasant farmers to construct the modern cities of Onitsha, Enugu, Port-Harcourt, Aba, and Umuahia, all of which had adequate supplies of pipe- borne water, clean streets, electricity, and pedestrian walkways.
The South Eastern Region, comprised of the current nine states had the fastest growing economy in the country, growing at a rate of 9.8% per year. Everything came to an end fifty years after.
During the civil war, M.I Okpara went into exile, and when he returned, he didn’t have a hut in Umuahia. It took some generous people to construct a home for him.
The late Mbazulike Amechi left us with the legacy that Ndigbo’s future lies in the fundamental values of the past. He demonstrated the importance of walking the talk.
I consider myself a neo-Zikist! The late Amechi had faith in his homeland!
The late Mbazulike Amechi made a strong call for Mazi Nnamdi Kanu’s release, and that call was justified.
The issue of Nigeria will be resolved at a roundtable of dialogue with all stakeholders involved.
When I visited Nnamdi Kanu in prison, I told him about how criminals posing as freedom fighters were kidnapping and killing people. He called it an abomination!.
Ukpor the home of the late Amechi was overtaken by these hoodlums. They created camps everywhere when we took over office, before it was liberated
My goal in calling for Nnamdi Kanu’s release is to separate the chaff from the substance. When he is released, we will know who the true agitation fighters and criminals are. This is why I’m pleading for his release, not because his release will automatically end insecurity. I am confident he will be released.
The late Mbazulike Amechi’s Zikism philosophy, particularly in the aspect of Pan-Africanism ideology, sees the black race as an integral part of the world and the future of Ndigbo, which he believes is better in a united Nigeria.
It is a future that will benefit Nigeria in the zikist Pan-African movement. The future of Ndigbo lies in the restructuring of Nigeria, which is one of the legacies left for us by late Mbazulike Amechi.
While we mourn, let’s also celebrate but not forget that the greatest tribute is to keep the flames of his legacies, ideas, the values he espoused burning.
Ndi Anambra and ndi Igbo will continue to win if we stick to the values he lived and died for.
Compiled by
Christian ABURIME