Magnus Eze, Enugu
Family of Nnamdi Kanu, leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) has said Governor Willie Obiano of Anambra State was the only South East governor that demanded the whereabouts of their parents after the September 14, 2017, military exercise, codenamed “Operation Python Dance II” which allegedly claimed several lives.
Nnamdi and his parents, Eze Israel Okwu Kanu and Mrs. Ugoeze Sally Kanu, disappeared for several months after the military onslaught at their Afaraukwu, Umuahia country home.
Speaking when a delegation of Biafra war veterans paid them a condolence visit following the recent passage of their mother, younger brother of the IPOB leader, Prince Emmanuel Kanu, expressed gratitude to Governor Obiano for always identifying with the family.
He said Governor Obiano, though mindful of the sensitive circumstances of the military operation, displayed a rare benevolence that was in the spirit of Igbo brotherhood, to help them in their time of need.
“We are grateful to Governor Willie Obiano for his kindness towards our parents. In all we’ve passed through, he is the only governor that asks after our parents’ wellbeing and has been there for them despite our stance which often conflicts,” the younger Kanu stated.
President of Biafra war veterans, Major Emmanuel Udemezue, who was accompanied on the trip by Governor Obiano’s Liaison Officer on war veterans, Arinzechukwu Awogu, applauded the governor for hosting the final burial rites for those killed during the war.
“Governor Obiano hosted Ozoemezina, a funeral rite for the passing and eternal rest of restless souls lost in the Biafra civil war. It was yet another delicate and extremely sensitive issue, that no South East government dared touch even with the longest prong. But Obiano braved all odds to organize and fund a final funeral rite for our kith and kin; wandering souls, long lost in the sad, yet historic and survivalist war,” he said.
The team conveyed the condolences of the Governor to the family.