First executive governor of Anambra State, Dr. Chukwuemeka Ezeife warned Ndigbo over the weekend to be watchful as some selfish individuals were ready and about to sell the macro interest of the Igbo. Ezeife, who spoke in Awka as a co-chairman at the formal presentation of the book, Who is Who in Anambra State written by a legal practitioner, Mr. Henryking Onyedikachukwu Adibe, also said that now was time for Ndigbo to make friends with other Nigerians. The former governor stressed that only the watchful eyes of Ndigbo would save them from those, he said, were ready to sell their fatherland for even misconceived self-interest. He said, “this is the time for Ndigbo to make friends with other Nigerians. This is the time Ndigbo must make friends with their host communities everywhere. I have a short and direct message; it is a warning to all of us Ndigbo. We know that some mal-addicted Igbos are prepared to sell the macro interest of Igboland for a tiny, even misconceived self- interest. We should open our eyes and watch out as people make statements, selling Igboland.” Ezeife also called for caution on the way Anambra people flaunt their successes, saying, “yes, Anambra has been the flagship of the South-East and even Nigeria but our mouths are to be tamed. We talk a bit too much, too lousy and irretensitive.” Also speaking, Chairman on the occasion and former vice president of Nigeria, Dr. Alex Ekwueme, commended the author on his effort in putting the book together, noting that it was not an easy task as he knew how much he toiled to put it together. Ekwueme, however, cautioned the people of the state to be mindful of the sensibilities of other states of the South-East geo-political zone when they flaunt their achievements. He said, “Anmabra State is a real peculiar situation, vis-à-vis South-East land of Nigeria or Igboland. Sometimes we have to be very careful in Anambra State and respect the sensibilities of our brothers from other Igbo states the way we flaunt our achievements too much. “But I think we have to thank the missions, the churches for giving us a head start. The head start Anambra State had in education because of Christianity, first, Church Missionary Society (CMS), Anglican on July 27, 1857 and the Roman Catholic Mission 1884, 27 years after that. Now, quite often we say the first so, so and so is from Anambra State and so, but we must be cautious.” Governor Peter Obi who was represented at the occasion by Sir Jude Emecheta, commended Adibe for authoring the book, which was in line with his government’s policy of celebrating achievers but warned against celebrating criminality by putting the heroes and villains together. Emecheta said Governor Obi had and continued to celebrate who is who in Anambra State, noting that in 2012 during 20th anniversary of the creation of the state, the governor honoured its sons and daughters living and dead who had contributed and made their marks either nationally and internationally. In his welcome address, the author, Adibe said the documentation was part of his humble contribution to the call for resuscitation of reading culture in Nigeria and also to honour and celebrate notable Anambraians. Reviewing the 768-page book that contains 240 ‘Ndi Anambra’s’ arguably most prominent citizens alphabetically arranged, the Head, Department of Mass Communication, Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka, Dr. Ifeoma Dunu said among other things that reading through pages was both illuminating and rewarding experience as it opened up a vista of knowledge of the various positions and accomplishments of Anambra people in Nigeria. She further said that, “Most interesting for me was the good number of women and youths who graced the pages of this seminal book such as Chimamanda Adichie, Chief Mrs. Stella Okoli, Dr. Obiageli Ezekwesili, Prof. Dora Akunyili, Michael Obi(the football superstar), Mr. Innocent Chukwuma, Prof. Philip Emeagwali, Bob Manuel Udokwu and a host of others.”
Posted on: Wed, 26 Jun 2013 04:36:06 +0000
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