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Onoh’s legacies must not
die, says Gov Chime
By SEYE OJO
Friday, July 3, 2009
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Photo:
The Sun Publishing |
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Ahead of today’s interment of the remains of the former governor
of old Anambra State, Chief Christian Chukwuma Onoh, Enugu State
Governor, Mr. Sullivan Chime, said the ideals which the deceased
stood for during his lifetime should be kept hoisted in order to
build a prosperous Nigeria.
Speaking at the reception of the remains of the late governor on
Thursday, Chime stated that the ‘Okaa Omee of Ngwo’
might have passed on but his “legacies will live on forever
in our hearts, in the lives he touched, in the institutions he built,
in the illustrious sons and daughters, he mentored and in the Enugu
and Ebonyi states that he fought for and realised.
“Let us resolve today to keep the flag that Chief Onoh and
other heroes hoisted, flying even higher. We must not let the light
that they handed over to us go off. We will be doing justice to
their memories and legacies if we join hands together to build a
prosperous Nigeria, a more united and dynamic South-East and a new
Enugu State of our collective dream.”
The governor maintained that Onoh’s quest to have more states
created in Igboland, made him to make heroic sacrifices, which led
to some personal pains he suffered. He added that until his death,
he remained undaunted in his campaign to have another state created
out of the Igboland.
He continued: “Although his reign as the governor of the old
Anambra State was cut short by the military, he continued to fight
for the emancipation of his people by ensuring that subsequent leaders
were always put under check and their perceived excesses exposed.
In this regards, he was simply a one-man riot squad.”
Chime declared that people were consoled by the fact that Onoh’s
last days on earth publicly affirmed on many occasions that even
in death, he would be a happy and fulfilled man with the situation
on ground in his beloved Enugu State. In death, according to the
governor, the candle lit by the deceased continues to show them
the way.
He described Chief Onoh as a finest patriot, excellent example of
a fearless leader, who spent his life fighting for the downtrodden,
the less privileged, the powerless, the poor and sometimes, the
oppressed rich.
The governor, however, thanked all the governors, the burial committee
headed by Chief Jim Nwobodo and other distinguished sons and daughters
of Igboland, as well as other Nigerians for their support and prayers
throughout the processes leading to today’s interment.
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