–Regrets worsening security situation
The Action Alliance AA candidate for the Imo State governorship election scheduled to hold on November, 11,2023, Major General Lincoln Jack Ogunewe (Rtd) while addressing Owerri Archdiocesan Council of Catholic Men Organization recalled his childhood memories of the fast eroding Igbo values of love, unity, sanctity of life and principle of one for all and all for one.
Ogunewe who stated this, while expressing regret at the way and manner Ndi Igbo are fast losing grip of their age-long cherished moral values that translated into unity of purpose, sincerity, trust and patriotism called on the church as an instrument of social change to rise up to the challenge of ensuring that political leaders of Igbo extraction shun all kinds of avarice, rancor and acrimony and come together as a team for the common good of the Igbo nation.
The retired army general stated this while delivering a keynote address at the 2023 Owerri Archdiocesan Council of Catholic Men Organization.
The text of his speech reads,
“1. I am Major General Lincoln Keonyemere Jack Ogunewe (Retired). I was born in 1963 to Eze (Col) David Sunday Ogunewe and Ugoeze Stella Lucy Ogunewe. Eze (Col) David Sunday Ogunewe was the 34th Nigerian to be commissioned as an Army Officer in the Nigerian Army and was the Military Adviser to the then Head of State of Biafra, Dim Chukwuemeka Odimegwu Ojukwu. He was part of the Biafran delegation for the instrument of surrender in 1970.
2. “I saw the Civil War as a child. I saw the hunger, diseases, destruction, rampages and killings all across Igboland, yet we rose from ashes to glory. We saw hope, we saw the glory land, we saw a prosperous and peaceful Igboland. How did Ndi Igbo overcome the indignation and misery of the Civil War and saw a glory land ahead?
“3. To my childhood memories, I can postulate that Ndi Igbo saw the glory land because of the bond of Igbo Unity and Love premised on the principle of “Ofo na Ogu.” This principle guided our actions and inactions and created a bedrock from which sayings like “Egbe Bere Ugo Bere, Ke Si Ibeya Ebela, Ya Zi Ya Ebe Oga Ebe, Ndu Miri, Ndu Azu, Onye Aghala Nwanne Ya, Ajuzie Ogu” and many more. To foster unity across border, we have sayings like “Nwanne Di Na Mba, Oje Mba Enweghi Iro.”
4. Then it was a taboo to spill Igbo blood by Igbos and had consequences if it happened. I don’t know if in the 1970s, any of us here woke up to see a dead body on the streets or bushes in our villages? It will generate commotion and sorrow. It will bring tears from our eyes. We cried and mourned because the Igbo bond is broken by spilling of the blood of Onye Igbo.
5. Ndi Igbo saw the glory land because of the role played by church especially the Catholic Church and Caritas Organization during the Civil War. Hunger and diseases ravaged us. We would have lost faith, hope and love during the Civil War to an extent if not for the role played by the Catholic Church. The Catholic Church never ceased to organize programs that built our faith and hope in God and a better tomorrow. The Catholic Church showed us love through the Caritas Organization that ran a food and medical program during the Civil War that saved many Ndi Igbo. The Catholic Church contributed immensely in building our faith in God, hope for a better Ala Igbo and love among us. The Catholic Church energized the Igbo spirit to rise from ashes to the glory land. I watched a documentary about the Nigerian Civil War, Biafra Versus Nigeria on Youtube. You will see the role played by the Catholic Church and the Caritas Organization. You will see one Irish Catholic priest conducting Mass in this very Assumpta Cathedral that bears the scars of bombing. He had utmost faith in God and was not afraid of death and so was the congregation. I hereby challenge all of us to watch that video.
6. Today, Ala Igbo is in agony and pain. Ala Igbo is under siege and fear pervades all of us. We live in fear, walk in fear and sleep in fear. The sanctity of life is almost gone in Ala Igbo and by extension Imo state. The dignity of Ndi Igbo is trampled once again, not by strangers but by ourselves. Leadership which is the arrowhead for development of a society is non-existent in Ala Igbo. Leadership at the family level, Communities, Local Governments and States is broken down. According to Maxwell, the great author, “Everything rises and falls with Leadership. Who will bail Ala Igbo? Can the Catholic Church once again rise and build our faith, hope and love as it did during the Civil War.
7. I love the theme of this Seminar, “Practical Christianity As a Prerequisite for a Healthy Society and Eternal Life: The Role of Catholic Men. This theme gives me hope that Ala Igbo will once again see the glory land championed by the Catholic Church. The way and manner, I do not know but certainly God has ordained it. We should remain prayerfully committed to the Churches, men and women that will join the Catholic Church in restoring our faith, hope and love for a peaceful and prosperous Ala Igbo and Imo State in particular.
8. I will conclude by asking some questions among many in my mind that is “Why is it that most of our Governors past and present from Imo State do not see eye to eye? Do they know that their actions and inactions impact on our actions and inactions? Do they know that they can share their experiences for a better Imo State? Do they realize that there is Strength in Unity. Where is that Igbo spirit of “Onye Aghala Nwanne Ya.” What has befallen the Imo leadership represented by the Office of the Governor, past and present? We need their unity to foster unity in Imo because the interest of the State overrides personal interest.
9. I task this audience and the Catholic Church to please summon our Governors, past and present and ask them; Obu Gini Na Ese? Ha Makwa Na Ha Bu Nwanne?
10. Thank you and God bless us all”.
