By BONIFACE AKARAH

Author and public affairs commentator, Dr. Okey Anueyiagu, has described Nigeria’s first military Head of State, late Gen. Johnson Thomas Umunnakwe Aguiyi-Ironsi, as a patriot who genuinely sought to unite the country but whose peace efforts were “thwarted by agents of evil and hatred.”

Anueyiagu made the remarks in a statement titled “A Prelude to an Excerpt of My Unpublished Essay Titled: The Fault Lines in Our Country’s Politics,” while reflecting on the recent 60th anniversary remembrance organised by Abia State Governor, Dr. Alex Otti, in honour of the late military leader.

According to him, the ceremony celebrated “the distinguished and courageous life” of Aguiyi-Ironsi and underscored the qualities of “a patriot and of a national hero who stood and sought to serve and unify the country during the dark and anarchistic era in our political history.”

He also commended Otti for preserving history and recognising national heroes.

Anueyiagu said: “Dr. Otti has gradually and steadily, and with unparalleled valor and vision, acquired the reputation of not only being a worthy, working and diligent administrator, but has intrinsically recognized the need to recognize the importance of honoring and preserving our past and useful histories, and using them to reconstruct our present and our future.”

Reflecting on Aguiyi-Ironsi’s leadership, he argued that the late Head of State paid the ultimate price while attempting to heal a deeply divided nation.

“Aguiyi Ironsi became a part of the tragedies that befell our young nation, and he paid with his life the supreme price, as he made efforts to heal the festering wounds that brought sorrow and pain to many,” Anueyiagu said.

He added: “Ironsi raised his voice of reason to the nation, calling for peace and unity. His voice carried with it, a very strong, deep and passionate feeling, and a sense of penetrable truth, anguish and torment, but he came by it with absolute honesty, candor and conviction—a great commitment to justice and peace. His voice was thwarted by the agents of evil and hatred.”

The author maintained that the political events preceding the Nigerian Civil War and their aftermath continue to shape the country’s present realities.

According to him, “Most of us alive before the civil war, and particularly during the crisis that preceded that war, must recall with sadness the episodes of the period, and must also recognize the rise of the epitome of the hateful practices in our land since.”

He further alleged that Britain left Nigeria with a legacy of ethnic division.

“When the British grudgingly left in 1960, they deliberately left as their parting gift, the culture of tribalism which they designed to afflict mostly the Igbo who had the temerity and uppitiness to seek for Independence from Britain. When the war ended in 1970, the Nigerian government and its people, reintroduced this British nonsense and have carried on with it since,” he stated.

Anueyiagu said Nigerians should not shy away from discussing the country’s history, insisting that confronting the past was essential for national healing.

“Many have asked that we stopped speaking and writing about our ugly history, lest we provoke our country’s tormentors. But we must continue to defy the evil plans of those whose intentions are to stifle our history, because our history is not just about our past — it is the present. We must carry our history with us, because it is our history,” he said.

The author noted that his book, “Biafra, The Horrors of War, The Story of A Child Soldier,” was written to preserve historical facts, expressing appreciation that Governor Otti referenced both him and the book during the Aguiyi-Ironsi memorial event in Umuahia.

While lamenting what he described as enduring tribalism, nepotism and corruption, Anueyiagu stressed that he remained committed to Nigeria’s unity.

“To be clear, like General Aguiyi Ironsi, Dr. Alex Otti, and many others, I remain an advocate for a peaceful one Nigeria that must thrive in equality, equity, fairness, freedom for all, justice and prosperity,” he said.

Recalling a conversation he said Aguiyi-Ironsi had with his father shortly before his assassination, Anueyiagu quoted the late military leader as saying: “…Chukwuma… I am a Nigerian… with me there’s no Yoruba, there’s no Hausa… we are all one and the same….”

He concluded by urging Nigerians to embrace peaceful coexistence, saying, “We must all continue to seek common ground and live peacefully together.”