Paul Osuyi, Asaba
One of the children of the late Biafran hero and civil war veteran, Col. Joseph ‘Hannibal’ Achuzia, Simeon, on Thursday, said he would continue to venerate his father for providing direction to all his children and those around him.
Simeon spoke, in Asaba, while giving a vote of thanks during a Day of Tributes organised in honour of the late Achuzia who was a former Secretary-General of Ohaneze Ndigbo, as part of activities for the burial ceremonies of the fallen hero.
He said his father was harsh and yet compassionate and providing education and direction to him and his siblings.
“He was harsh, compassionate and an educator. He put me straight. For us his children, he was just a dad. For my cousins he was Uncle Joe while for my auntie, he was Bros.
“My father was a man of many parts. When I was born, he was an engineer. As we grew, he became a business man and later a militia and then a soldier. And he was very successful in all the endeavors. I will never stop venerating him,” he said.
President-General of Ohaneze Ndigbo, Chief John Nnia Nwodo who was present at the solemn ceremony tasked the children of Achuzia to take steps to emulate the footsteps of their father.
Chief Nwodo seized the opportunity to charge Ndigbo not to relent in the agitation for a better country where equal rights will be accorded to all citizens irrespective of region as a mark of honour for Achuzia.
Lamenting how Asaba indigenes were gruesomely murdered during the civil war, Nwodo advised Ndigbo to avoid any action to would cause another war, saying diplomacy should be adopted to achieve a better nation.
“What we need is a diplomatic warfare. Each time I had the opportunity of speaking with Achuzia, he had always told me that the strategy and tactic must change but that our will must remain undiluted. It will be a long and tortuous struggle but no obstacle should dilute our resolve to have a better treatment in this nation,” Nwodo said.
Other speakers including Prof. Epiphany Azinge, Chief Emma Okocha, Chief Chukwuma Okolo, Bishop Udeze Anibogu, Prof. Uzodinma Nwala eulogised the late Achuzia who held the traditional title of Ikemba of Asaba.