Mr. Bismark Oji, who spoke for the youths, said President Goodluck Jonathan must be commended for taking the step, which he said, “would go a long way in healing the wounds of the Nigeria civil war and strengthen the bonds of unity as a nation.”
He said, “After all, he (Ojukwu) served the Nigerian Army meritoriously in different capacities including being the Nigerian Army first indigenous Quartermaster General before declaring Biafra at the behest of his people and under very delicate circumstances.”
He added, “The Governor of Niger State, Dr. Babangida Aliyu, stated at Zungeru, Niger State (Ojukwu’s birth place) on Friday, February 17, 2012 during a programme by the Ojukwu Burial Committee that he would have done the same, if he were in Ojukwu’s shoes.
“Besides, Ojukwu does not have any stigma of rebellion hanging on his neck since the Nigerian Government granted him state pardon in 1982. Moreover, Late Major Chukwuma Nzeogwu received a full military burial in Kaduna after he died fighting on the side of Biafra at Nsukka during the war.”
Oji, however, chided those who compared the full military burial for the ex-Biafra warlord to the proposed state burial that was turned down by the Senate in December 2011.
“What the Senate turned down was a motion sponsored by Senator Uche Chukwumerije and others, seeking that Ojukwu be accorded a national burial. It was turned down on the ground that he was not a former Head of State (of Nigeria). There was never a motion requesting for full military burial for him tabled before the senate,” he said.
