Ojukwu was raised for specific assignment in Nigeria – Jonathan

(Anambra) – President Goodluck Jonathan on Friday described the late Dim Chukwuemeka Odumegwu-Ojukwu as a leader raised by God for a specific assignment in Nigeria.

Speaking at a requiem mass in honour of the ex-Biafra leader in Nnewi, Anambra, Jonathan said Ojukwu was not raised for the Igbo alone but for the entire country.

He said no Nigerian leader had been accorded the respect by Nigerians as Ojukwu had received since he passed on.

The president said that the popularity of Ojukwu could be seen from the way his body had been taken round the south eastern states.

He said such show of acceptance was rare in Africa where the bodies of former leaders were not allowed into their country when they died in exile.

Jonathan also expressed his gratitude to the Igbo for their support for his administration.

Speaking earlier, Gov. Peter Obi of Anambra said Ojukwu fought against injustice so that Nigeria would be liberated from oppression.
Obi said the ex-Biafra leader was a man who lived the life of service for the people and called on leaders in the country to follow Ojukwu’s example so that a better future would be build for Nigerian children.

The governor praised Jonathan for his love toward the late Ikemba, saying that by that singular act, he had ended the Nigerian civil war and integrated the Igbo into the main stream of Nigerian politics.

In his sermon, the Catholic Bishop of Nnewi, Most Rev. Gregory Ochiagha, expressed the hope that by what Ojukwu lived and died for, the present Nigerian leaders would see leadership as a means of service and not an avenue for the acquisition of material wealth.

Ochiagha said Nigerian leaders should show love and concern for the people.

“Anybody who does not have the virtue of goodness, gentleness and self-control should not aspire for leadership position,’’ he said.

He noted with regrets that what was happening in the country was not corruption but gross selfishness.

The service was attended by the president, his wife, Patience, the governors of Anambra, Abia, Cross River, Delta, Ebonyi, Ondo and Kaduna as well as Deputy Senate President Ike Ekweremadu, House Speaker Aminu Tambuwal and hordes of top government functionaries. (NAN)