Tributes have been pouring in for Nigeria’s first Aviation Minister Mbazulike Amaechi.
Amechi, popularly called “The Boy Is Good”, died on Tuesday in Abuja. He was 93.
A former Secretary General of the Commonwealth, Chief Emeka Anyaoku; the apex Igbo socio-cultural organisation, Ohanaeze Ndigbo; Senate Chief Whip Orji Uzor Kalu, and a former Deputy Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Prof. Kingsley Moghalu, yesterday paid glowing tributes to the late minister.
Anyaoku wrote: “Mbazulike Amaechi’s passing represents a step to the end of the epoch of the stalwarts who played a seminal role in Nigeria’s attainment of independence in 1960. He was a foremost nationalist and served meritoriously in the country’s first cabinet after independence as Aviation Minister. He sustained until his death the belief in and patriotism for a united Nigeria which was the common attribute of our founding fathers…
“I, therefore, say fare thee well, Chief Mbazulike Amaechi, a true symbol of an aspiring Nigerian nation.”
In a statement by its National Publicity Secretary, Mr. Alex Ogbonnia, Ohanaeze said: “This is a tribute to a rare courage, uncompromising principle, sacrifice, stoic heroism, patriotic dispositions and extra-ordinary faith in the struggle for Nigerian independence.
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“These attributes earned Amaechi the Member of the Parliament at a very young age of 29, parliamentary Secretary and subsequently the Minister of Aviation of the Federal Republic of Nigeria in the First Republic,” he said.
In a condolence message yesterday in Abuja, Kalu wrote: “…The deceased was well respected for his ideology, which was anchored on genuine and credible leadership.
“He left behind good legacies for leaders to emulate.
“The late politician will be remembered for his noble contributions to humanity.”
In his tribute, Prof. Moghalu, a political economist, said: “Amechi was a frontline nationalist who hosted Nelson Mandela in his home in Lagos State in the 1960s when Mandela was on exile as a political dissident in South Africa.”
“I was privileged to have visited Amechi in his country home in Ukpor, Nnewi South Local Government Area of Anambra in April 2019…
“In Mbazulike Amechi, the last of the titans of Nigeria’s nationalist struggle for independence has departed. May his brave soul rest In peace,” Moghalu said.