Ojukwu: Pardoned Biafran Soldiers Paid their Pensions and Benefits

Late Dim Chukwuemeka Ojukwu 

Pension Military Board of Nigeria, (MPB) in a statement said that the Nigerian Federal Government has paid the late elderstatesman, Dim Chukwuemeka Ojukwu and other pardoned soldiers of the defunct Biafra during the Nigeria Civil War their pensions and arrears of  ₦1.5 billion. 
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      According to Admiral Mshelia their pardon took effect from 2000 but the payment of the pensions started since August 2011. To qualify for the payment the ex-soldier must have been alive by 2000. He said   “if you were dead by 1999 for instance, you or your next of kin (NOK) is not entitled to the benefit unless government shifts back the date.”
        Thank you Mr. President. It is quite over due. The rehabilitation of Biafrans has just begun after so many years. We are yet to see true pardon, reconstruction, integration. restoration. by true restoration, I mean restoring properties of Biafrans that were unduelly declared abandoned by varous states and the federal government. Thereby making it impossible for their owners to reclaim their properties. We are still hoping and waiting that justice would be done. It is never too late. Nontheless, we are getting some where. Thanks very much.

Dear reader what do you think? My heart is gladened about this news. What about you? Let your voice be heard, it concerns all of us. Thanks.

In a new developement following Ojukwu's demise, his widow, Bianca Ojukwu has engaged the services of a private security personnel to guard the Late statesman's home at Enugu and to prevent the warring family members from gaining access into his property.   

When our correspondent visited the house on Tuesday, the gun-wielding men moved round the compound with Rottweiler dogs.

One of them said, “If you must gain entry, you must identify yourself and madam must give us the approval before we allow you in.”

A prominent member of the Ojukwu family last week alleged that some of the ex-Biafra warlord’s family members were targeting the property he left behind.

He said, “This is very disturbing because it has led to accusations and counter-accusations and then the hatred that was already in the family is even getting worse by the day.”

Meanwhile, attempts made by our correspondent to speak with Bianca were not successful. She did not pick her calls, neither did she reply the text messages that were sent to her mobile telephone line.

However, Debe, the eldest child of the late Ikemba, restated again on Tuesday that he would open up soon on the “issues in the family”.

He said, “Whenever it would be convenient for me, I will speak in details about the issues in the family and several other matters.”

Mr. Azuka Okwuosa, who was Ojukwu’s closest aide from 1982 after he returned from exile till 2011 when he died, said it would not be proper for him to comments on the matter because Igbo tradition forbides him from doing so.

“In Igbo tradition, when a man like Ikemba dies, you wait for 30 days to say anything about his life and family. Under such condition, we are not supposed to be talking about his life unless we would be negating the Igbo tradition,” Okwuosa said.

He, however, said what was happening in Ojukwu’s family was not new. “It happens everywhere. People agree and disagree,” he said.

He called on the family members to be patient pending when Ojukwu’s Will would be read.

When asked if he was in support of Bianca hiring private security men to prevent other family members from visiting house. Okwuosa said, “Bianca’s decision is basically out of choice. The few times I have been to the house to see her; those security men were not rude to anybody. They would attend to you in so far your mission there is genuine and legitimate.”

On the other hand, Mr. Bismack Oji, former national chairman, Ohanaeze Youth Wing, berated the family for the act, describing their action as “a disservice to Ezeigbo (Ojukwu)”.

Oji, said, “When a king dies in Igboland, it is only proper that we give one year interlude before one begins to put up claims over his property or begin to cause problems that may not allow for the peaceful repose of his soul.

“It is needless fighting over his property and assets when there is obviously a Will that would assign any property to any member of the family.”

He added, “Even before Ikemba was buried, his children and other family members had even started the fight. Now that he has been buried and his wife has gone to seek protection by employing security men, one may not really blame her for such an action.”

One of Ojukwu’s aide, who is now a pastor in Enugu and didn’t want his name in print, blamed the crisis on Ralph Uwazuruike, whom he said had already proclaimed himself the Ezeigbo II and the new Igbo leader even before Ojukwu was buried.

He said, “His (Ojukwu) family members began to jostle for his property when they saw the way Uwazuruike was also jostling for his titles and positions even before the burial plans were concluded.”

As reported by the staff of  The PUNCH. www.onlinenigeria.com/