Igbo leader Begs Federal Govt to Honour Late Anambra Monarch with National Award

By Praise Chinecherem

Former Regent of Enugwu-Ukwu in Njikoka Local Government Area of Anambra, Chief Donald Nwandu, has urged the Federal Government to posthumously honour late Igwe Osita Agwuna with a national award.

Nwandu in a letter to the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Sen. George Akume described Agwuna as a key figure in Nigeria’s independence struggle.

He decried the exclusion of Agwuna from the national honours list, despite Agwuna’s significant contributions to Nigeria’s anti-colonial struggle.

He said, “Late Igwe Agwuna, who held the traditional title of Eze Enugwu-Ukwu na Igwe Umunri, passed away in 2007.

“During his lifetime, he was renowned for his fearless activism and for delivering the historic lecture titled ‘Call for Revolution’, at the Tom Jones Memorial Hall in Lagos on Oct. 27, 1948.

“In the address, he called for mass civil disobedience, strikes and boycotts aimed at ending colonial rule.

“A move that led to his arrest just three days later. He was charged with sedition and imprisoned for three years and six months.

“This was a man who sacrificed his personal liberty for the collective freedom of Nigerians,”Nwandu said.

Nwandu urged President Bola Tinubu’s administration to correct the omission, suggesting a national honour and the naming of a monument in Agwuna’s memory.

“This is a humble plea for justice, remembrance and the restoration of dignity to a man whose voice helped shape the destiny of a nation.

“The labours of our heroes past shall never be in vain,” he said.