‘Nigeria Lost A Rare Gem’ – Ohanaeze Mourns Ezeife

The Ohanaeze Ndigbo Worldwide, Friday, said it received with shock ‘the passing on of former Governor of Anambra State, Dr Chukwuemeka Ezeife’.

Our correspondent reported that Ezeife died in Abuja Thursday night.

Dr Chiedozie Alex Ogbonnia, the National Publicity Secretary of Ohanaeze Ndigbo Worldwide, stated this in a release he made available to THE WHISTLER in Enugu.

According to him, “Okwadike (as Ezeife was fondly called) was a consistent purveyor of morals, justice and equity. He was a remarkable advocate of progressivism in its purest tradition.

“When the Moshood Abiola Mandate was truncated, Ezeife risked the military dungeon in the pursuit of justice.

“He was a detribalized patriot who warned that unless there is a re-federalisation of Nigeria and fundamental restructuring of the polity, Nigeria will continue to grope in the dark.

“Ezeife was an unwavering and steadfast personality. He was on the side of the masses, the vulnerable and the downtrodden.”

The President General of Ohanaeze Ndigbo Worldwide, Chief Emmanuel Iwuanyanwu, in the release, lamented that ‘the Igbo have been afflicted with a chain of catastrophes within a very short space of time’.

He made references to the departed such as Prof George Obiozor, Prof Joe Irukwu, Prof Ben Nwabueze, Chief Mbazulike Amechi, and Dr Sylvanus Olisanye Ebigwei.

Iwuanyanwu qualified Ezeife ‘as a quintessential Igbo in all ramifications’, adding that ‘Nigeria has lost a rare gem’.