by Ononye VC
President Muhammadu Buhari has disclosed what the late First Republic aviation minister Chief Mbazulike Amaechi told him about Nnamdi Kanu, leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB).
Buhari disclosed that Amaechi informed him that releasing Kanu would bring peace and stability, and rebuild the South-East and, by extension, the entire country.
He spoke while eulogising Amaechi, whom he described as a patriot whose character Nigerians should emulate for the peace and growth of the country.
Represented by the minister of labour and employment, Chris Ngige, the president spoke on Tuesday at a “Day of Tribute”, organised in honour of Amaechi in Abuja.
The president narrated that Amaechi accommodated in his private house in his country home, Ukpor, in Nnewi LGA, Anambra State, and in his house in Lagos, for a long period, the late South African president Nelson Mandela, during the most brutal era of the aparthied regime in South Africa.
Buhari said that when Mandela was declared wanted by the then-apartheid regime in South Africa, he sought refuge in Amaechi’s house.
He noted that such a gesture made the late elder statesman stand out as a patriot and lover of humanity.
Buhari said Amechi would be missed as his demise would leave a vacuum in the sands of history in the country.
The president said: “Mbazulike Amechi is an epitome of what every Nigerian leader should be aspiring to be. He was a man of peace and did everything possible to ensure that there is justice, equity and fair play, to promote unity and peace in every part of the country.
“The unconditional release of Kanu will not only bring peace to the South-East; it will rebuild the trust of the people in your administration.”
