UNN Igbo centre rekindles nationalists’ spirit… As Oritsejafor delivers maiden Zik public lecture

The University of Nigeria, Nsukka (UNN) recently played host to scholars, Igbo sons and daughters, and stakeholders from different parts of the country.

They had come for the maiden edition of the Nnamdi Azikiwe Memorial Public Lecture on Nationalism and Igbo Leadership organized by the Centre for Igbo Studies, UNN.

The Vice Chancellor of the institution, Prof Benjamin Ozumba, was on hand to welcome the guests.

Ozumba told them that his administration was doing everything possible to ensure that the dreams of the founding fathers of the university epitomised by the late Dr Nnamdi Azikiwe was made real, adding that “this institution has continued to provide Igbo land, Nigeria and the world at large with impeccable human resources in various spheres of life.”

He added that “as a leader in the education sector, I am aware of the consequences of violence in the education sector which can be in form of truncated academic calendar and diminished funding for education which results from the diversion of money meant for it to other areas such as combating terrorism. Thus, any lecture geared towards proffering solutions to this is a welcome development for us all.”

The lecture which was held at the Princess Alexander Auditorium saw the President of Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), Pastor Ayo Oritsejafor, holding the audience spell-bound as he spoke on: Nationalism and the Politics of National Security: The Christian and the Boko Haram Challenge.

Oritsejafor, who dwelt much on the challenges facing the country went down memory lane to recall past efforts made by some Nigerian nationalists to unite the country, pointing out that one of them was the late Dr Nnamdi Azikiwe, popularly called the Great Zik of Africa.

He recalled that Zik had after his acquisition of western education came back home to lead in the fight against colonialism after which he became the first president of the country.

According to him, Zik had stood for one Nigeria and believed in a Nigeria in which every part of the country would become home to every Nigerian without consideration of ethnic or religious affiliations.

He noted that Azikiwe was the only one whose political ideal and practice virtually touched every nook and cranny of the nation, adding, “as an Itsekiri, I am here proud to say that we the Itsekiri equally enjoyed the legacy of the Great Zik”.

His words: “Dr Nnamdi Azikiwe might have been criticized by the Igbo for being more Nigerian than Igbo, as against the views of others which seemed to have placed their people’s interests over and above the collective interest of the Nigerian nation. But today, Zik remains vindicated by the course of our national history as defined today by the circumstantial security challenges of our present time.

“He was the symbol of the nationalism our nation is now in need of; the symbol of unity our nation now battles to recreate. He was the symbol of that mutual respect in our diverse ethnic and religious differences that now begs our conscience.

“Dr Azikiwe believed in a Nigeria with a strong nationalist spirit in which every Nigerian will enjoy an all-time equal freedom of speech, association and worship. This is the fundamental bane of our present nation called Nigeria’.

He, however, regretted that the dreams of the likes of Zik were yet to be fulfilled as their efforts for true nationalism have been rubbished by the different security challenges that have crippled the nation.

Oritsejafor noted that the country is today “a collection of separate roofs of diverse forms and character unwillingly joined together by the faulty thread of British colonialism and sheltered under one common larger colonial leaking roof called the Nigerian nation”, saying that to resolve the challenges facing the country today, “we must go back to the very beginning of the encounter that brought us together.” He insisted that we must not overlook the imperative of seeking to know and understand the fundamental cause(s) of it.

“If we cannot understand the cause of the present state of our weak national spirit, we cannot equally understand the root cause of our present national security challenges defined by Boko Haram”, he said.

He, therefore, suggested that for the country to be unified as envisaged by the nationalists, the unity must begin with the sincerity of the heart and providing a level playing ground for everyone.

“There must be a situation where the stakeholders in the country will come together and say, ‘we want a nation’. We must all make sacrifices, starting from our leaders to the common man. If we agree to do that, then there could be a unified Nigeria”, he said.

The Centre for Igbo Studies had in addition to the public lecture given awards to some personalities it said had made significant contributions to the development of the interest of the Igbo and Nigeria in general.

Some of the awardees included the former governor of Anambra State, Dr Chukwuemeka Ezeife; and the National Chairman of All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), Chief Victor Umeh.

The CAN President, thanked the centre for the awards presented to them and promised to continue to work for Igbo Interest.

Also speaking, Chief Umeh, who was presented with an award of excellence for his contributions to the interest of the Igbo, urged the gathering to ensure that the culture and traditions of the Igbo in the country remain alive.

He said that the Igbo have to be conscious of their origin and environment, adding that they must protect their language and culture which is the identity God has given to them, saying that “it is our identity that will stand us out wherever we are”.

The APGA chairman identified the challenges facing the Igbo culture which included negligence of the Igbo language, urging parents to always ensure they teach their children the language starting from tender age.

“It is an aberration for people to speak English Language to their children at home because it is mainly for communication with outsiders, but at home the Igbo language should prevail” he advised, adding that “by so doing our children will naturally grow up and continue to move on with that consciousness that they are Igbo people”.

Earlier in his welcome address, the Director of the centre, Dr Tony Nwaezeigwe, said that the centre decided to initiate the lecture series as part of its contribution to keeping the spirit of true nationalism alive, which was the dream of the late Zik.

He described the late Zik as the doyen of African nationalism who fought with all he had to ensure that the nationalist cause was actualized, adding that the centre was poised to make continued research in different areas that would help develop the interest of the Igbo and the nation at large.

According to him, “the subject matter of Igbo studies remain acutely relevant to every facet of human knowledge. The centre provides the needed intellectual platform for those people who are keen in exploring in in-depth form and structure, those historical factors that have through the years shaped what has today become the Igbo identity”.

The Sun publication