•He was deputy I trusted – Shagari
Geoffrey Anyanwu, Awka; Jeff Amechi Agbodo, Onitsha
Anambra State yesterday stood still for the late first elected vice president of Nigeria, Dr. Alex Ekwueme, as public and private businesses were shut to honour him with a commendation ceremony.
This is coming at a time when the burial committee said all is set for the funeral of the former vice president in Oko, Anambra State today.
Those expected at the burial include Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Boss Mustapha, governors, ministers and other dignitaries.
Yesterday, the biggest event centre in the state named after the late icon, Alex Ekwueme Square Awka, was filled to the brim with crowd from all walks of life.
Beautified as never before, the Ekwueme Square began to receive people as early as 8:00am for the event that started officially at 12:00noon.
Prominent Anambra sons and daughters, some Igbo leaders led by the President General of Ohanaeze Ndigbo, Chief Nnia Nwodo, and friends of the state like former governor of Jigawa State, Alhaji Sule Lamido, former Minister of Information, Dr. Labran Maku, and representatives of Enugu, Imo, Abia, Ebonyi and Ogun states’ governors were on hand to bid farewell to Ekwueme.
The cart carrying the casket arrived the Square at about 1:05pm in company of Governor Willie Obiano and members of Ekwueme’s family, including his younger brother and monarch of Oko, Igwe Prof. Laz Ekwueme, and was received at the entrance by the clergy, led by the Anglican Bishop of Awka, Rt. Rev. Alex Ibezim.
In his sermon, Bishop Ibezim described the funeral event of Ekwueme as a celebration of life and said the late elder statesman lived a life worthy of emulation.
Citing James 4:14, he asked, “What is your life?” and urged the people to emulate Ekwueme’s ethics and humility.
“We need elders like Ekwueme who care, he was an elder who did not pull others down. He impacted on others positively. Nigeria has lost an elder statesman.
“Who will replace Dr. Ekwueme; who shall we run to for advice and solutions to our problems? The greatest respect we can give to Ekwueme is to eschew politics of bitterness and rancour in Igboland.”
In his tribute, the Minister of Labour and Employment, Senator Chris Ngige said the late Ekwueme was an exceptional politician who did not soil his hands while in service and after.
He scored him high in all spheres of life, but said he failed woefully in corruption, fake promises and lies which have been synonymous with Nigerian politics and public service.
“Our dear Ide was, indeed, a great man who passed in all walks of life. But there were some areas he failed and I marked him F9 in them. He had F9 in bribery and corruption; he also had F9 in fake promises and lies which are hallmark of Nigerian politics today.
Ngige, who said Ekwueme was his boss in politics, said the late sage suffered a lot of betrayal, even from his brothers in Anambra State, but had a forgiving spirit.
Governor Obiano described Ekwueme as a great man who redesigned Nigeria as a workable country.
“Indeed, if history is kind to Dr. Alex Ifeanyichukwu Ekwueme, his name should go down as pillar of modern Nigeria. No one has devoted as much time and vigour redesigning Nigeria into a workable federation as Ekwueme did.
He said by supporting a preferred candidate of his party after he was denied the ticket, Ekwueme taught all that Nigeria should always come first before personal or ethnic interest.
President General of Ohanaeze Ndigbo, Nnia Nwodo, said Ekwueme “left significant footprints in the sands of time,” and urged Ndigbo to use his death to locate their gift and use it for the good of the zone.
Former Senate President, Chief Ken Nnamani, described Ekwueme as “one who had a good soap to wash Nigerian politics as he showed integrity in politics” and called on younger generations to imbibe his virtue of having second address in politics.
He noted that he was one of the very few who came out of service unbattered as he never had any case of EFCC or ICPC during or after service.
Meanwhile, former president Shehu Shagari has described the late Ekwueme, as a vice president he trusted while their service to the nation lasted.
Shagari also said because of the deep trust he had for Ekwueme, it was difficult for mischief makers to drive a wedge between them.
The Second Republic president of Nigeria said this in a tribute to the late former vice president.
The deceased was a close ally of Shagari and first democratically elected vice president of the country between 1979 and 1983, under the defunct National Party of Nigeria (NPN).
“He was a loyal lieutenant and because of his excellent contributions to the success of our administration during our first tenure, I had no hesitation to nominate him to run with me again for second term,” he said.
Shagari recalled how their administration was infamously terminated through a military coup in December 1983.
The former president said the deceased was a courageous man, who suffered several months of imprisonment and house arrest with a number of politicians who served in the Second Republic.
“This great democrat dared the military government of Gen. Sani Abacha, by demonstrating against the infamous agenda to transmute from military head of state to civilian president via a contrived political transition programme.
“Taking a great risk, Dr. Ekwueme, together with other nationalists, under the aegis of G34, doggedly withstood the military rule of Gen. Abacha, and later mid-wifed the People’s Democratic Party (PDP). It is left for those of us still alive to emulate the virtues he exemplified,” he said.