Raphael Ede, Enugu
President General of Ohanaeze Ndigbo Worldwide, Chief John Nnia Nwodo, has called on those agitating for restoration of Biafra as a sovereign nation to refrain from name calling, fighting, quarrelling or insulting others, which he said cannot lead to actualisation of Biafra.
Nwodo said the restoration of Biafra can only come through ‘political diplomacy’.
The Ohanaeze president general stated this on Wednesday at a lecture series organised by the Students Affairs Department of the University of Nigeria, Nsukka (UNN), College of Medicine, Ituku-Ozalla, Enugu, with the theme: “Excellence in character and learning as a tool for restoration of the dignity of man.
The Ohanaeze chieftain, who was the chairman of the first excellence lecture series delivered by erudite scholar cum politician, Prof. Pat Utomi, said things can be changed through the ballot box and urged students to participate in the electoral process.
Nwodo said: “We cannot get Biafra by fighting and insulting people. We cannot get restructuring by shouting, we can get it through political diplomacy. I must tell you the truth.”
The president general, who had recently accused INEC of secretly plotting to disenfranchise Ndigbo from participating actively in the 2019 general election by not making it possible for them to partake in the Continuous Voter Registration (CVR), urged everybody, especially Ndigbo, to obtain their voters’ cards and be part of the electoral process.
Speaking earlier, Nwodo counselled the students and management of the College of Medicine to use the knowledge they acquire to effect changes in the society, pointing out that most of the influential people in the world were not the brightest of students, but those who pursued their objective to conquer.
He said, for instance, he was to be trained a medical doctor, but he read economics instead, which his father did not sanction; but, that did not deter him from pursuing excellence. “The gift of God is different. Discover your gift and use it to serve humanity,” he urged them .
Delivering the lecture, Prof. Utomi challenged the students to be committed to anything they are doing and never lose focus in order to achieve their dreams.
Utomi, who described Nigeria as a country with a collapse of culture, “where you don’t do anything without bribery.”
He said: “If we do things with commitment, there is no stopping us. With the will to dare, if you can dream it, you can make it. Seize every opportunity. Do not procrastinate. Nothing is impossible. It is only your will that can stop you,” Utomi encouraged the students.
He said he had wanted to be a pilot, but ended up an academic and intellectual. He urged the students “to blend character with learning to be a wholesome man, which in the long run would make for a wholesome society.”