Dons at colloquium on Odumegwu-Ojukwu, extol virtues

EVEN in death the late Biafran leader,Chief Chukwuemeka Odumegwu- Ojukwu yesterday earned the respects of eminent Nigerians as he was described as a rare breed who championed the cause of the oppressed in the society. .At a colloquium organised in Osun State, academics fromvarious universities in the South West geo -political zone of the country brainstormed on the personality of Odumegwu-Ojukwu, saying that his virtues far outreached thenegative tendencies often ascribed to him by his detractors. .The academics including renowned Professors of History, Charles Olutayo Adesina Francis Egbokhare and Dr Adewale Yagboyajuspoke at a colloquium entitled, 'Emeka Ojukwu: The end of an Era'' organised to mark Prof.Siyan Oyeweso's 51st birthday at the Ikire campus of Osun State University. .Adesina who teaches History at the University of Ibadan said Nigerians should not regard Odumegwu-Ojukwu as a tribalised Nigerian but a freedom fighter who spent his life to liberate his kinsmen from injustice meted on them by the Nigerian state. 'If there was any man who had the courage, the audacity and the boldness to challenge how Nigeria was constituted by the colonialists in 1914, it was Odumegwu-Ojukwu. The death of Odumegwu-Ojukwu has therefore left a great vacuum that will be very difficult to fill by whoever succeeds him. One of the attributes that distinguished Odumegwu-Ojukwu was his principled stand, another is his fearlessness and selflessness,' Adesina stressed. .He urged Nigerians not to see the late Odumegw-Ojukwu as a rebel, but should be regarded as an agent of change in a country seeking greatness, unity and stability. He noted that there were positive lessons to learn from the civil war era led by Odumegwu-Ojukwu through the backing by his people. .Yagboyaju who observed that the failure by the late Ikemba of Nnewi to win the Anambra North Senatorial party when he offered himself for election was a minus to his popularity, but stated that despite some perceived shortcomings Odumegwu-Ojukwu still remained an illustrious son of Africa.For Oyeweso, the immediate past Provost of the College of Humanities and Culture, Osun state University, who is the convener of the colloquium described Odumegwu-Ojukwu as a nationalist, despite his tribalised posture and pointed out that Odumegwu-Ojukwu represented a new era in Nigeria's political history.
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