Hot SourceOmon-Julius Onabu in Asaba
The Asagba of Asaba, HRM Prof Epiphany Azinge, has described the unprecedented levels of development and peace in Asaba, the Delta State capital, as evidence that the blood of Asaba sons and daughters slain in cold blood on October 7, 1967 by troops of the Nigerian Army was not shed in vain.
Addressing thousands of his people who thronged the Asaba Ogwa Ukwu (Cultural Centre) on Tuesday at the 58th anniversary of the cold-blooded mass killings by the ravaging troops, the Asaba monarch noted that the courageous spirit of the people of Asaba was not dampened by the painful and tragic loss of their parents, sons and daughters, but rather they deliberately rose from the ashes of that disaster to become the highly successful people of the fastest growing city in Nigeria today.
Obi Azinge, who lamented that no formal apology in form of acknowledgement of the genocidal act has been received from the Federal Government of Nigeria 58 years after, vowed the determination of Asaba people to continue to call the attention of Nigerians and even the global community to the unfortunate incident and to press for appropriate compensation for the incalculable human losses in one fell swoop.
Asaba people are poised to take to the international stage the demand for proper and official action of the national government that would become documented evidence of sympathy and compensation for the community.
Obi Prof Azinge, who also led the people of Asaba and the Diaspora in observing of one minute silence, at exactly 12 noon, to honour the memory of the hundreds of unarmed and peaceful Asaba indigenes gunned on the fateful day, said that the communal loss had actually engendered an unbroken bond of unity and courageous drive for prosperity among the people.
The Asaba royal father observed, “The once rustic, quiet town by the River Niger has today transformed into one of the fastest-growing capital cities, not only in Nigeria but in sub-Saharan Africa. Asaba has progressed because of the blood of our sons and daughters massacred 58 years ago.
“They are martyrs we proudly identify with; they are indeed our forebears and the closest ancestors we can relate to. As we pour libations today, we invoke their spirits as ancestors in their own right.”
Nevertheless, he urged President Bola Tinubu to take a bold step by offering a formal apology to the people of Asaba, and follow that up with a federal university in Asaba to immortalize the victims of the massacre of October 7, 1967.
“We must have a fitting memorial for them. We deserve an apology from the Nigerian government, and we need a Federal University established here in Asaba in their memory,” he insisted.
The Asaba monarch, who disclosed that Asaba has in March this year brought the matter to the attention of Mr President, maintained, “We must have a fitting memorial for these Martyrs. We have told the President that we deserve and need an apology from the Nigerian government; and, we need a Federal university established here in Asaba in their memory.”
While paying glowing tribute to the resilience and commitment to peace by the Asaba people, Obi Prof Azinge stressed that they will not rest on the oars until their demand for justice was met.
“We are prepared to take this matter wherever necessary. If Rwanda can come out of the ashes stronger, Asaba has already risen from the ashes. From the going down of the sun till morning, we will always remember them.”
Buttressing the statement of the traditional ruler and legal luminary, the convener of the memorial service and the Isama Ajie of Asaba, Chief Chuck Nduka-Eze, disclosed that a recently finished film documentary on the October 1967 Asaba Massacre would premiere in London, the United Kingdom, on 26th October, underscoring the determination to make post-Asaba Massacre a lesson for the whole world.
According to Nduka-Eze, whose biological murder was one of the victims of the Asaba Massacre for daring to tell the soldiers to halt the abominable act, harped on the need to draw global attention to another October 7, 1967 that occurred more than 55 years before the Hamas sudden attack on Israel in Gaza jolted the world to the persistence of ethnic intolerance in the world.
He announced that the annual remembrance for the Asaba Massacre victims will subsequently be part of the Asaba official cultural calendar.
Nduka-Eze, who described the elaborate memorial event as a historic and necessary act of honour, gave a vivid picture of the Day, going forward: “From today henceforth, Asaba will observe a one-minute silence every October 7 at 12 noon to honour our people who were killed in the Asaba massacre. A 21-gun salute will mark the occasion as a symbol of our collective respect.
“We have been speaking about the massacre to raise awareness; and, it is now time to institutionalise this in our city’s calendar.
“When we met with the President, we raised all our concerns. Although, he was silent on the Asaba Massacre, it does not mean he is unaware. We do not remember it with anger but with reflection, because it is what the living owe the dead.”
He said that regarding the massacre with sober reflection rather than with anger and bitterness was the way to go, hence the Middle East and the world at large have a huge lesson to learn from Asaba people, who have chosen to stoically weather the storm and make remarkable progress after the darkest moment in their history.
The member representing Oshimili South (including Asaba) in the Delta State House of Assembly, Hon Bridget Anyafulu, had also drawn the attention of the state legislature to the unfortunately monumental event on October 7, 1967.
The highpoint of Tuesday’s memorial event was the public reading of the names of hundreds of people, mostly men, killed on October 7, 1967, presented by representatives of the five Asaba traditional villages, including Ezenei, Ugbomata, Umuagu, Umuaji and Umuonaje.
The Omu of Asaba, Dr Amaka Boise, likened the victims of the Asaba Massacre as Martyrs whose blood of innocence had ushered peace and blessings, urging the people not to weep anymore but to “tap into the blessing of the Asaba Massacre.”
The choir of Saint John Bosco Catholic Church Asaba also rendered soulful and resurrection hymnals in English and Igbo languages, with Asagba Prof Azinge and his queen (Agu-Nwanyi) joining the choristers from their royal seats.
