THE youths in the northern part of Nigeria operating under the umbrella of Arewa Youth Council have commenced the process of real unification of the country hence their counterparts in the southern part should emulate them to ensure a more united nation where each citizen would have a sense of oneness, fairness and equity.
Chief Oliver Okpala, who is currently the National President, Nigeria League of Veteran Journalists, made this statement at the weekend in Abuja where he was honoured by the Arewa Youth Council with the “2019 Sir Ahmadu Bello Sarduana Platinum Leadership Veteran Journalist of the Year Award.” The group said Okpala was honoured for his positive contributions to the journalism profession.
Okpala, who began his journalism career in the 1960s and worked in the defunct East Central State Broadcasting said in a statement made available to The Nation that: “For the entire northern youths to honour an Igboman with such an award of leadership lends credence to the fact that our journey towards ensuring the unity and corporate existence of Nigeria in all parts of the country has begun in reality,” adding, “with this award, I feel that the north has started a germane race for the unification of the country and for this I am proud of the north and northern youths and thank them.”
Chief Okpala advised “youths from other parts of the country, including the South-south, Southwest and Southeast to borrow from this nationalistic move of the entire northern youths since the Arewa Youth Council stands as the umbrella of most northern youth organisations.”
He said the award coming to him in the name of a man who once symbolised the political and economic development of the entire northern Nigeria – late Sir Ahmadu Bello – was very symbolic and unique to him in “our quest to build a united Nigeria and bridges across the six geo-political zones of the country.”
He said when he joined journalism profession in the 1960s before the civil war, he never knew that certain people were following his activities, hence this award and therefore advised upcoming journalists to be “careful about how you go about doing your jobs for someone somewhere is watching you without you knowing it.”
Okpala was one of the pioneer staff of Weekly Punch newspaper in 1976 before he became editor of the defunct Daily Nation newspapers, Aba in 1981. He was later appointed Media Consultant to Ebonyi State Government during the tenure of former Governor Sam Egwu before becoming the Special Assistant on Media and Publicity to the then National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Alhaji Bamanga Tukur, among other positions.
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