Mrs Bianca Ojukwu, Nigeria’s Former Ambassador to Spain and widow of the late Igbo leader, Dim Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu, has commended former Governor of Anambra State and Vice Presidential Candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in 2019 elections, Mr Peter Obi, for his efforts in immortalising Ojukwu and ensuring that his memories are not eroded.
Speaking recently at a public function, Bianca explained that the legacies of her husband were being eroded, particularly in Anambra State while berating Governor Willie Obiano for deriding Ojukwu and not living up to the expectations of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) as a party. She lamented that the present APGA leadership had not deemed it fit to hold a remembrance event in honour of late Ojukwu, but would always roll out his pictures for campaign purposes during elections.
“The last remembrance event that was conducted in Anambra State to commemorate the anniversary of the death of Dim Chukwuemeka Odumegwu-Ojukwu by APGA-led government was in March 2013 under Governor Peter Obi, but it still doesn’t stop this Anambra State government from rolling out his pictures for campaign purposes whenever the elections come up,” she said.
Bianca further stated that in an effort to immortalise Ojukwu, Peter Obi re-named the former Anambra State University to Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu, University. She also noted that Odumegwu Ojukwu’s birthday anniversary has been held in the university every year in honour of the great Igbo leader.
It would be recalled that Peter Obi in 2012, as the then governor of Anambra State, also constructed and re-named the dual carriage way from Onitsha Bridge Head to Upper Iweka and other critical roads in the state to Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu Boulevard, amidst having his statue in strategic places in the state. Commissioning the dual carriage road on August 30, 2012, Obi noted that part of his reasons for naming the road Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu Boulevard, was to leave behind, projects that would keep alive the memories of Ojukwu, whose great sacrifices for the Igbo nation, should never be forgotten.