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Tag: Nnamdi Azikiwe University

  • Youth leader to varsity students: key into Fed Govt’s job schemes

    The All Progressives Congress (APC) youth leader in the Southeast, Hon Olisaemeka Onyeka has urged students of Nnamdi Azikiwe University (NAU) to key into the empowerment programmes of the federal government.

    He said if they do that, it would take their minds away from joining cult activities and other vices in the society.

    Onyeka was speaking in Awka, the Anambra State capital, when the students from the Law faculty of the institution presented him with an award of excellence.

    He listed some of the empowerment programmes of the APC government going on right now for them to choose from, instead of making themselves willing tools of the devil

    The president of the Law students association of NAU, Mark Anthony Ezeoha, said the recognition was for his immense contributions not only to the institution, but to the society.

    While presenting the plaque to the APC Southeast leader, the students used the forum to congratulate President Muhammadu Buhari on his victory during the last presidential election in the country.

    The students urged Buhari to increase allocation to tertiary institutions in the country, while also improving on the welfare of lecturers.

    In his response, the APC youth leader, commended them for remembering hard work, while urging them to key into the youth Empowerment programmes created by the Buhari administration.

    Onyeka, equally told them that fighting crime was one of the cardinal points of the Buhari’s administration, adding that they should take off their minds from crime and criminal activities.

    He told them to support the present government of APC, noting that the previous administrations wasted the country’s resources on frivolities.

  • ‘Media is key to credible polls’

    Dr Uche Ebeze, the Head, Department of Mass Communication, Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka, says the media is key to credible, free and fair elections in the country.

    Ebeze told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Sunday in Awka that the media should be objective and avoid reporting fake news that could jeopardise the 2019 general elections.

    “The media are supposed to be objective, balanced, fair and critical in its analysis of issues. The issue of fake news is everywhere and the media should be careful not to use such stories,’’ he said.

    The don, however, said that some media organisations were doing well in election coverage by refusing to be partisan.

    “There are some media organisations that are doing well and have remained objective. In this election, the media should be balanced, objective and fair to expose any activities that will mar the process.

    “ This process will make our democracy grow,” he said.

    Ebeze said that the people are relying on the media for balanced information to judge the government and ensure the success of our democracy.

    He also advised election observers not to compromise their reports.

    “The observers should help the media to tell the observers the truth and be objective in their reports. When they (observers) are here, they appraise the elections to be free and fair.

    “When they leave the country, they say otherwise. They should be bold to say the truth,’’ he said.

    Ebeze called on the observers of the forthcoming to assist the press with objective reports to enable them report facts.

    NAN

  • ANAN, UNIZIK sign MOU on accounting management

    The Association of National Accountants of Nigeria (ANAN) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka on the management of the Tony Nzom Accountancy Research Center.

    The Centre built at the institution by the association and commissioned on March 17, 2017, was targeted at encouraging accountancy education and research in the country.

    Speaking during the signing ceremony in Awka on Tuesday, the President of the Association, Alhaji Shehu Ladan, said the center was one of the contributions of the Associations in ensuring that the best practices in accounting profession is promoted.

    “The Center is among the seven similar ones built by the association in seven universities in Nigeria including the Centre for Financial Accounting Research, Nigerian College of Accountancy in Plateau State,” he said.

    Read Also: UNIZIK expels 14

    He said the MOU provides the guidelines for the management of the center, including the obligations of the association and the University as well as the modes of evaluating the periodic performance of the centre.

    Ladan further revealed that the body has continued to donate accounting laboratory materials, books and equipment to universities and polytechnics.

    Responding, the Vice Chancellor, Nnamdi Azikiwe University Awka, Prof. Joseph Ahaneku, restated the institution’s dedication to providing the best opportunity for students and staff to practice and excel in their various careers.

    Ahaneku, represented by the Deputy Vice Chancellor, Academics, Prof. Charles Esimone, pledged the institution’s continuous partnership with the group to become the best in the training of accountants.

  • Girls are not sex objects – Ex-beauty queen

    Immediate past Miss Nigeria, Chioma Obiadi, has advised young girls and women to flaunt their gender with dignity to protectprotect them against being used as sex objects.

    Obiadi spoke with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Saturday in Lagos on her pet project,  “Green Girl”, which projected decency and dignity of the female gender.

    She said that it was wrong for young girls and women to be seen as sex objects by the men folks in the society.

    “I think it is completely wrong for women to be seen as sexual objects by the men folk in the society, it is totally degrading and terrible.

    “Those men who see girls as sex objects are opportunists who capitalise on the weakness of female gender and use it for their selfish interests,” she said.

    According to her, many girls fall victims out of desperation for wealth or positions which can be avoided through self-development and achievement.

    The 24-year-old beauty queen reminded girls that their bodies were meant to be the temple of God which must not be defiled but accorded some respect.
    Chioma, a Geography student of Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka, Anambra, frowned at the manner some girls threw themselves at men who capitalised on their weaknesses.

    “It is really disheartening to see the way some of our girls flaunt themselves on men just to get one favour or the other from them.

    “Those who go into such acts are not good representation of the female gender and as such I advise ladies to display serious mindedness.

    “There is no situation you cannot overcome through self-achievement, no need to look for short cut with selling of your God made temple, we must stop it,”she said.
    She noted that if ladies could carry themselves with dignity, no man would be able to abuse them or bastardised their womanhood.

    “In all of these, I think women should say ‘no to nudity’ and then the men would have no choice than to follow suit in maintaining a sane relationship with women,” she said.

    On her pet project, Chioma said she had gone round schools where she spoke with young girls and boys on keeping themselves and their environment clean, decent and disciplined.

  • Deans of Students’ Affairs chart course for crisis management

    With the growing tide of students’ restiveness, addiction to harmful substances as well as crisis in tertiary institutions, it has become imperative that students’ managers find solutions to issues bedeviling institutions of higher learning.

    These and many others formed the thrust at the 2nd Annual Conference of the Association of Deans of Students’ Affairs in Tertiary Institutions in Nigeria (ADOSATI), which held at the Nnamdi Azikiwe University (NAU), Awka.

    Expounding on the theme: “Sustainable Peace Building and Crisis Management on our Campuses”, the keynote speaker and Resident Electoral Commissioner in Imo State, Prof. Francis Chukwuemeka Ezeonu, listed some of the ills bedevilling  the education system in the country to include poor funding, poor remuneration of teachers, poor management, teacher quality and delivery and great emphasis on paper qualifications.

    He maintained that poor welfare on campus remained a major cause of conflict, identifying inadequate hostels and classroom accommodation leading to congestion, poor transportation, inadequate water supply, poor health facilities, epileptic power supply, increase in service charges or extortion, bureaucratic bottlenecks, and dictatorial style of administration by vice chancellors, among others, as contributing to conflict in higher institutions.

    His words: “There is too much emphasis on paper qualification in Nigeria, rather than knowledge, skill and competence. Most students with requisite knowledge, skills and competence, but lack the ability to reproduce what the teacher taught often feel frustrated.” This anomaly, according to him, frustrates most students to the level of taking solace in bribing lecturers for marks, while the female ones resort to offering sexual gratification to lecturers, just to acquire certificates, thereby abandoning the skills and competence they earlier acquired.

    The former Students’ Union leader and former Dean of Students’ Affairs in UNIZIK averred that the burden of managing crisis in tertiary institutions rested on the shoulders of deans of students’ affairs, advocating that the deans must try to establish interpersonal relationship with students, such that they retain the confidence of students as that was the only way they could access information about cases of planned restiveness among students.

    Prof. Ezeonu condemned the growing cases of drug addiction among students, calling on the association to dedicate part of its three-day conference to mapping  out strategies to nip the trend in the bud.

    He further opined that improving funding, providing teaching and learning materials, ensuring proper consultation with stakeholders as well as encouraging private partnership in running institutions were the panacea for mitigating conflicts.

    Ezeonu urged managements of tertiary institutions to avoid conflict suppression by encouraging responsible unionism, pointing out that managements should be impartial, but firm.

    Earlier in his address, the President of the association, Prof. Stanley Udedi, said Nigerian students’ situation was characterised by an increased uncertainty and by lack of trust in the future.

    Providing evidence to the assertion, Prof. Udedi noted that it is meaningful to take into account the steady rise of youth unemployment, which adversely affects students’ performances. He posited that the conference was expected to proffer solutions to the myriad of challenges bedeviling institutions.

    He stated that peace and crisis management were indispensable for the smooth running of academic programmes, effective interactions among stakeholders and quality scholarship. This, he noted, underpins the importance of the conference and the gathering of the Deans, who directly superintend over the students in institutions of higher learning.

  • Don’t allow Amaechi to deceive you, Secondus urges Southeast

    National Chairman of People’s Democratic Party (PDP), Prince Uche Secondus on Friday accused Minister of Transport, Rotimi Amaechi of trying to deceive people of the south east zone with his call on them to vote President Muhammadu Buhari in 2019 and be rewarded with Presidency in 2023.

    Amaechi had at a convocation lecture of the Nnamdi Azikiwe University in Awka on Wednesday urged Ndigbo to join main stream politics by supporting the APC which he claimed remembered the south east more than the PDP that ruled the country for 16 years.

    But Secondus, while speaking in Afikpo town in Ebonyi state at a rally organised to honour Governor David Umahi, urged the people of the South East not to allow Mr Amechi to deceive them.

    He also accused the ruling APC of marginalizing Ndigbo and minority groups in the country.

    “We will not be deceived; nobody can pull the wood on our eyes any more. The best party for Ndigbo is PDP and that is where the future is. No one will deceive us. A minister went to University at Awka the other day talking about APC and the chances of Ndigbo, that’s another deceit and he cannot succeed.  We have been meted here with
    deceit and lies and nepotism”.

    “When we talk about how they have instituted nepotism, they will say it is a hate speech. Our people have been marginalized, our party was founded on the ground of National unity and that’s why nobody can lay claim on this party.

    “When you cannot include Ndigbo and the minority in your government and you expect such people to be happy. PDP will restore the dignity of Ndigbo and the minority in the country. PDP was in government for 16 years and it was all inclusive government. Even the opposition were appointed “, he said.

    He commended Governor Umahi for his development strides and unity of the party in the state.

    The National Chairman also promised that their will be no imposition of candidate by anybody in the party in next year’s election.

    In his remarks, Umahi said despite attempts to destabilize the PDP by the opposition, the party will remain strong and united.

    He expressed dismay that former Governor of the state, Chief Martin Elechi who he described as his grandfather was teaming up with the Minister of Science and Technology to wrestle power from him in 2019.

    “I came by the mighty hands of God. You know the irony of life? In 2007 when Dr. Onu who is the Minister of Science and Technology was contesting against the same Elechi, I was supporting Elechi and all my properties in the village; my country home, my filing station, my hotels were all burnt down. Dr. Onu’s supporters burnt them down because I was supporting Elechi. Today, two of them have teamed up against God’s own anointed,” he said.

    Read Also: APC accuses Wike of lying against Amaechi

  • Criminalise marital rape, says DVC

    Criminalise marital rape, says DVC

    The Deputy Vice Chancellor (Administration), Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka, Prof Carol Arinze-Umobi, has advocated that wife rape be treated as a serious crime.

    Prof Arinze-Umobi made the call while delivering the 39th inaugural lecture of UNIZIK titled: “The wife and right to ‘no’ in matrimony: The divide,” at the university auditorium.

    The professor of rights law said many criminal justice systems across the world either grant legal impunity for marital rape by upholding an exemption for sexual assault in marriage or by treating marital rape as if it was fundamentally different from other sexual assaults.

    “Women who are sexually violated by men who are their husbands or intimate partners are left unprotected,” she lamented.

    The DVC argued that marital rape was a crime and, therefore, punishable under both domestic and international laws.  She said women must be free from any form of violence, sexual, physical, economic or psychological. She said Nigeria had not criminalised rape in matrimony, saying it was time to do so.

    She called on the government to amend Section 6 of the Criminal Code Act (CCA) and move along the global best practices.

    She said: “The Legislature, the Judiciary as well as the Executive arms of the government must take the leading position in making the laws, executing the laws and interpreting the laws where conflicts exist on issues of human rights of women.

    “In Nigeria, the absence of such laws meant that women who are married are stripped of their fundamental legal protections and basic human rights afforded to other women, denied equal benefit and equal participation in social, economic and domestic life.”

    She said wife rape inhibits women’s expressiveness, noting that wife rape and beatings were very serious and cruel forms of husbands’ abuse of their power over their wives.

    She identified ill-health, unreadiness to accept the psychological, physical and emotional involvement in sex, unhappiness, ill-treatment by husband, economic conditions/depression, as reasons why a woman might deny her husband sex.

    In his remark, the Vice Chancellor (VC), Prof Joseph Eberendu Ahaneku, explained that the inaugural lecture series were used to celebrate excellence and the traditions of the institution.

    Ahaneku described the Prof Arinze-Umeobi as a seasoned teacher, adding that the institution was not just famous for teaching and research, but also carrying out community services through inaugural lectures to give back to society.

    The Inaugural Lecture Committee Chairman, Prof. Amechi Oyeka, praised the lecturer for becoming first woman professor from the faculty of Law and the seventh woman Professor to deliver inaugural lecture in UNIZIK.

    The decoration of the inaugural lecturer by the VC and a short drama to illustrate the lecturer’s topic marked the high points of the event.

     

  • Behold the First Class women

    Behold the First Class women

    The University of Nigeria, Nsukka (UNN) in Enugu State and the Nnamdi Azikiwe University (UNIZIK) in Awka, Anambra State have inducted pharmacists. Two women – Mrs Janefrances Okafo-Ofomata and Miss Chinasa Ofondu – emerged the best graduating students, winning coveted academic prizes at the ceremonies. FRANKLIN ONWUBIKO (UNIZIK) and SAINT EKPALI (UNN) report.

    They have never met,but they share some things in common. Apart from studying the same course in schools that are miles apart, Mrs Janefrances Okafo-Ofomata and Miss Chinasa Ofondu are women of excellence. They surmounted life challenges with sheer willpower to achieve distinction in pharmacy.

    With a Cumulative Grade Point Average (CGPA) of 4.90, Chinasa became the Overall Best Graduating Student at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka (UNN) – a feat, she said, was propelled by her father’s death. She was also the best in the Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences.

    In a class of 76 students, Mrs Okafo-Ofomata, a young mother of one, was the Overall Best Graduating Student of the 2016/2017 graduating set of the Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences of the Nnamdi Azikiwe University (UNIZIK) in Awka, Anambra State.

    Chinasa, who hails from Ozubulu in Ekwusigo Local Government Area of Anambra State, said her father’s death almost terminated her academic career, but added that she never despaired despite the challenges she faced during the period.

    Chinasa said the death of her father encouraged her to strive towards achieving life goals.

    She said: “The death of my father came as a rude shock to us and I had thought that would be the end of my education. But, rather than being discouraged, it served as a source of motivation for me while I struggled to go to school.”

    Chinasa’s strength of mind to get education earned her a scholarship from the late Bishop Eke Obiefule and Valerian Okeke, who were astonished by her brilliance and determination.

    After graduating with a First Class in pharmacy, Chinasa said: “I was not the one who read the most in the class. A good number of colleagues read far more than I did, but I read smartly. I knew exactly what to read in all the courses.

    “I aimed to be the best graduating student in my faculty, but being the best in the whole school was what kept me awake at night. Achieving this feat is like an icing on a cake. This is evidence that God never abandons his children.”

    Chinasa said she did not expect to be the school’s valedictorian, having engaged in extracurricula activities. She was a strong member of the National Fellowship of Christian Pharmacy Students, in which she served as Vice President, Music Director and Academic Director at different times.

    She said: “In the midst of my academic and extracurricular demands, I devised a formula which is rooted in hard work, smartness and fervent prayer.”

    Chinasa expressed gratitude to the late Bishop Obiefule and Okeke, saying: “The scholarship they gave me laid the foundation for my academic excellence and future.”

    Sharing her story with CAMPUSLIFE, Mrs Okafo-Ofomata, who graduated with a CGPA of 4.72, described her academic journey as one “riddled with sleepless nights, disappointments, struggles, failures and pains”.

    She said: “I didn’t always keep to my study timetable, because we always had tight class activities. But, whenever I read, I assimilated faster. This worked well for me.”

    Mrs Okafo-Ofomata explained that she had always wanted to study pharmacy, but she was disappointed when she was offered admission for Pure and Industrial Chemistry at the UNN. After graduating with a Second Class (Upper Division) in Pure and Industrial Chemistry, she sat for another Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) and applied to study pharmacy at the UNIZIK. After two attempts, she was admitted for pharmacy in 2013 through Direct Entry.

    Mrs Okafo-Ofomata got married to Mr Franklin Ofomata, as a student, and had her baby in 2016. She described this period of her life as “scary”, saying she juggled between taking care of her family and attending to demands of academics.

    At UNIZIK, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences runs a strict system which requires a high level of concentration from students.

    Despite all odds, Mrs Okafo-Ofomata studied hard to become the best in the faculty. At the induction held for graduating pharmacy students, Mrs Okafo-Ofomata went home with 10 awards and a cash prize of N500,000.

    Appreciating her lecturers for the knowledge imparted on her, she said: “We take pride in knowing that we have a set of intelligent, dedicated, updated and hardworking lecturers who have given us the confidence to touch the lives of others. We have been taught to act true to our calling in saving lives and not take them. These values inculcated in us would open doors for greater achievements in the future.”

    Congratulating the inductees earlier, the UNIZIK Vice-Chancellor (VC), Prof Joseph Ahaneku, represented by his deputy for Academics, Prof Charles Esimone, reminded the graduands of the need to guide their professional practice by the oath they took.

    He urged them to always remember the school’s values of discipline, self-reliance and excellence. He said the university would continue to encourage staff and students of the faculty by providing the infrastructure needed to facilitate teaching and learning, including classrooms, laboratories and hostels, among others.

    Administering the oath on the graduands, Registrar of Pharmacists Council of Nigeria (PCN) Mr N.A.E Mohammed urged them to be acquainted with the code of ethics which prescribed the professional and moral responsibilities to patients, colleagues and the public.

    He urged the graduands to maintain strict compliance to the ethics, noting that a stringent penalty awaited anyone who engaged in unprofessional practice.

    UNIZIK’s Acting Dean of Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences Prof Ikemefuna Uzochukwu said the university has contributed 431 pharmacists to the profession since inception in 2006. He disclosed that the school was working hard towards implementing the PharmD programme which had been approved for implementation in all universities by the National Universities Commission (NUC), beginning from the 2019/2020 academic session.

  • Echoes of restructuring at Zik’s Lecture

    Echoes of restructuring at Zik’s Lecture

    The 6th Dr Nnamdi Azikiwe Lecture has been held at the Faculty of Social Sciences of the Nnamdi Azikiwe University (UNIZIK) in Awka, the Anambra State capital. Burning national issues were discussed at the forum. FRANKLIN ONWUBIKO reports.

    Eminent Nigerians gathered at the Faculty of Social Sciences of the Nnamdi Azikiwe University (UNIZIK) in Awka, Anambra State, to discuss the state of the nation. It was at the 6th Dr Nnamdi Azikiwe Lecture, where contemporary challenges facing the country, including restructuring and secession, were debated.

    Among notable dignitaries at the event include Governor of Rivers State Nyesom Wike, President-General of Ohaneze Ndigbo, Chief John Nwodo, a pro-democracy activist, Ayo Opadokun, Obi of Onitsha, Igwe Alfred Achebe, and the wife of the late Azikiwe, Prof Uche Azikiwe.

    Others are elder statesmen, including Alhaji Tanko Yakassai, Chief Chukwuemeka Ezeife, Dr. Dozie Ikedife, Chief Emmanuel Iwuanyanwu, among others.

    Chief Nwodo, who was the guest speaker, said restructuring remained the solution to agitations from different parts of the country. For Nigeria to overcome its political challenges, the leader of Igbo socio-cultural group proposed two models of devolution of powers, which he categorised as conservative and fundamental.

    He explained that the conservative type should be aimed at reducing some of the exclusive powers of the Federal Government, such as issuing of mining licences, permission for constructing on federal roads and regulatory role for investments in power and other critical sectors of the economy.

    The fundamental devolution of powers, he said, is to create big federating units and a lean Federal Government that must have exclusive powers for defence against external aggression, customs, immigration, foreign relations and federal legislature and judiciary.

    He said: “The first approach simply wants the states as the federating units and Federal Government with limited powers. It wants the states to control a percentage of revenue accruing from their areas and contribute agreed percentage of such revenue to the Federal Government.

    “The second approach proposes the states as federating units, with a region as each of the six geo-political units, whose constitution will be agreed to and adopted by the states in the geo-political region. The regions will have the powers to merge existing states or create new ones. There will be regional and states legislature in the respective political entities.”

    Opadokun warned that there would be dire consequences if the Federal Government continued to suppress constitutional arrangement that would give all ethnic nationalities that make up Nigeria independence.

    He described the current 1999 Constitution as an “inconsistent document” that fueled injustice, inequity, unfairness, and discrimination, adding that it gave undue advantage to a clique to the detriment of other groups.

    Opadokun argued that restructuring would not lead to the breakup of the country, but would restore power to the federating units and make them legitimate authorities.

    He said: “The campaign for restructuring, be it in form of resource control or agitation for secession, is being accompanied by violence and bloodshed. This shows dimensions of the suffocating nature of the current unsustainable overreaching unitary government deceptively called Federal Government.”

    Governor Wike, who chaired the occasion, urged Nigerians to keep the country united and protect its corporate existence.

    He said: “Irrespective of the side of the political and social divide we may belong, we all share a common responsibility as leaders and ordinary people to advance and preserve the unity and corporate existence of Nigeria, which for me, is the greatest honour we can ever give to the memory of the Great Zik of Africa.”

    The governor hailed Senator Ben Obi for the initiative, while also praising school management for providing the intellectual platform for effective propagation of the “timeless ideas and enduring values of the Great Zik of Africa”.

    Senator Obi said the lecture was initiated to celebrate the legacies of the first Nigerian president and to immortalise him. He described the late Azikiwe as “a true democrat, erudite scholar and  man who achieved unparalleled success”.

    The Vice-Chancellor (VC), Prof Joseph Ahaneku, in his remarks, described restructuring as the master key to all challenges facing the nation. He said restructuring remained the most contentious political issue in Nigeria and has become a singsong, drawing emotive advocacy in all zones on whether to restructure or not.

    The VC said the lecture, in the last six years, had afforded members of the university an opportunity to discuss issues of national and international concern, and give practicable recommendations in line with political philosophy of the late Azikiwe.

    The Dean of the Faculty of Social Sciences, Prof Stella Okunna, expressed optimism that the lecture would chart a new course for the nation.

    Highpoint was the cutting of the late Azikiwe’s posthumous birthday cake and the presentation of awards to some of the speakers.

     

  • Deserved honour for Anyaoku

    Deserved honour for Anyaoku

    The Nnamdi Azikiwe University (UNIZIK) in Awka, Anambra State, has honoured former Commonwealth Secretary-General Chief Emeka Anyaoku. It has named a proposed Institute of International Studies and Diplomacy after him. FRANKLIN ONWUBIKO and DIMSON CHUKWUEMEKA report.

    The Nnamdi Azikiwe University (UNIZIK) in Awka, Anambra State, stood still for the former Commonwealth Secretary-General, Chief Emeka Anyaoku, when he was honoured by the school. People from all walks of life converged on the school auditorium for the inuaguration of the Institute of International Studies and Diplomacy named after the renowned diplomat.

    Dignitaries at the event included former President Goodluck Jonathan, represented by former Minster for Power, Prof Chinedu Nebo; former Head of State Gen. Abdusalami Abubakar; Anambra State Governor Willie Obiano;  former Chief of Army Staff and Minister of Defence Gen. Theophilus Danjuma; former Minister of Foreign Affairs, Gen. Ike Nwachukwu; and former Minister of Education Dr Oby Ezekwesili, among others.

    The Vice-Chancellor (VC), Prof Joseph Ahaneku, said the establishment of the institute was inspired by the diplomatic exploits of the honoree, expressing delight that the institute would take off in the university.

    He noted that UNIZIK was chosen because of the school’s “quantum leap” in the discharge of its core mandate of teaching, research and public service.

    He pointed out that the institute’s objectives would include dispensing knowledge on diplomacy and the multifaceted international relations through research and quality teaching. Ahaneku said the aim was to build a strong nation, and promote the application of international laws and treaties, as well as foster peaceful coexistence in the country.

    Abubakar described Anyaoku as a “consummate diplomat, whose activities projected the image of the country in good light”.

    The former military leader urged the youth to build on the legacies of the country’s founding fathers, noting that it would ensure that the country did not break up. He condemned secessionist agitations across the country, cautioning the agitators not to tear the nation apart.

    Abubakar said the nation’s diversity must be positively explored by all for its continued existence.

    “We must allow peace to reign without which development would be impossible. Altogether, there is strength in our diversity. All hands must be on deck to take our country, Nigeria, to greater heights,”he said.

    Nwachukwu, who chaired the event, described Anyaoku as a man with great wisdom, noting that he personally benefitted from his (Anyaoku’s) advice. He said the call for the nation’s restructuring was in order, saying there was nothing wrong with reorganisation of the nation’s political space. He, however, said restructuring should be implemented without violence.

    Nwachukwu cautioned the youths calling for secession, saying the country’s disintegration would not bring good to the units.

    Obiano extolled Anyaoku’s leadership qualities. According to the governor, the diplomat was created with great wisdom.

    Dr Ezekwesili congratulated Anyaoku and praised his exploits in positioning Nigeria through his “giant diplomatic strides”.

    Onitsha traditional ruler Igwe Alfred Achebe also extolled Anyaoku’s diplomatic efforts, which, according to him, were pivotal to quelling the problems bedeviling the country.

    Responding, Anyaoku said he was humbled by the encomiums showered on him. He thanked the university’s management for the honour done to him in his lifetime.

    He said he devoted over 50 years of his life to international service, promoting cordial relationship between nations, resolving political crisis as well as tackling global challenges, including climate change and terrorism.

    Anyaoku said he had been battling a challenge to document his personal papers and major achievements like his predecessors in the Commonwealth. He said the institute would provide the platform for him to do so, and enable people to learn about his diplomatic exploits.

    He said: “One major challenge I have is my inability to deposit my personal papers, which arose during my service as third Secretary-General of the Commonwealth. I am glad that Nnamdi Azikiwe University has provided the opportunity to help deposit my personal papers and the books I have written.”

    Highpoints of the event were the fundraising for the project, presentation of artistic paintings to Gen Abubakar, Gen Danjuma and Gen Nwachukwu as well as the unveiling of Anyaoku’s portrait at the proposed site of the institute.