Sequel to the partial demolition of the Akachi statue/monument erected by the immediate past government, located on a large acre of land along Owerri-Aba Road and the attendant controversy with accusations and counter-accusations by the press officers of the previous administrations, on who ordered the demolition exercise, a Catholic clergy, Nathaniel N. Nduokwere has come out to state that “Akachi Tower is an Islamic Symbol or Minaret”, used to announce the presence of Islam in ancient Tigris Valley.
In a release made available to our reporter on Monday, the clergy gave the Islamic name of the tower as “Malwiya or twisted tower, which is part of the “great Mosque” of Samarra, a city in the South East of present Iraq, the city headquarters of Islamist Jihadist, and that the Malwiya was used according to Islamic tradition for the “call to prayer”, hence it is designed as strong visual statement of the presence of Islam in the Tigris valley”.
He further disclosed of “Tigris and Euphrates” that Tigris is a river in South Western Asia, the most easterly of the rivers of Mesopotania and likened the Akachi Tower to the Panthern or Pantheum, the Roman Temple of “all ancient Roman gods”, the best preserved building from ancient Rome, built during the reign of Emperor Hadrian, today’s one of the most important or sign from historical buildings of tourist attraction.
In his analysis, the writer opined that, whatever the case, Pantheon – the temple of the gods (Pan-all assembly, Theos-god) as a symbol of cultic, can be said to have the same significance as the “Samara Mosque” (ancient Iraq) and Rochas “Akachi monumental”, Owerri, Imo State, Nigeria.
He then argued that there is no doubt that Akachi is an Islamic Mosque, but questioned why it would be in Imo,the Igbo heartland and centre of Christianity in African and black world. Okorocha’s decision to construct the statue thus questions his claims of Christianity.
He also theorized that there is no denial that Akachi is associated with Islamic agenda in otherwise heralding the dawn of “Fulanization or complete Islamazation”, defining “Aka as the Igbo word for hand and Chi” as deity, hence suggesting that a practicing christian leader before erecting such a monument should have consulted some other christian leaders. He therefore concluded that Akachi is Islamic symbol of victory and oppression.
