50 years after Biafra war: Obasanjo, Osinbajo, 7 others to deliver fundamental speeches in Abuja
- It has been 50 years since the Biafra war was fought
- In remembrance of the war, Chief Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo and seven other leaders have been chosen for a crucial speech
- The conference at which the leaders will make their speeches, is aimed at stirring a sober reflection and giving a new direction of polity in Nigeria
Former President Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, Acting President Yemi Osinbajo and seven other leaders will be speaking to Nigerians regarding the importance of Biafra in Nigerian history.
The leaders are scheduled to speak on Thursday, May 25, at a conference on the "Memory and Nation Building – Biafra: 50 Years After".
At the one-day conference, which will hold at the Yar’Adua Centre in Abuja by 9am, Osinbajo is expected to deliver a keynote address.
A statement by the Foundation listed other speakers as a former permanent secretary of information, education and industry, Alhaji Ahmed Joda; President General Ohanaeze Ndigbo, Chief John Nnia Nwodo; and Professor John Stremlau of the University of Witwatersrand who will serve as lead speakers.
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Honourable Chudi Offodile and Honourable Nkoyo Toyo will chair panel discussions and Professor Pat Utomi will serve as the conference moderator.
The statement read: “The 50th anniversary of the declaration of the Republic of Biafra in 1967 offers an opportunity for sober reflection on a number of issues including lessons learned that may be useful in dealing with contemporary challenges confronting Nigeria."
A Cultural Night will feature performance poetry and a screening of Afia Attack – the untold “survival stories of women during the civil war."
It will be recalled that a similar event was held a month back in Washington.
NAIJ.com reported that world acclaimed Nigerian novelist, nonfiction writer and short story writer, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, is to lead team of scholars to Washington where a discuss bordering on Biafra will take central stage.
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The writer whose words on the the issues surrounding feminism has a global attention, would be the keynote speaker at a conference tagged: " Remembering Biafra", scheduled to hold at the The George Washington University in DC.
George Washington University's “Remembering Biafra” conference will bring together scholars, activists, and humanitarians to examine the global impact of the Nigeria-Biafra War of 1967-70.
Speakers will be analyzing the war in terms of its impact on US-Africa relations, its influence on the modern politics of humanitarianism, and the legacies of decolonization.
To do justice to these issues raised alongside Adichie, are: Michael Aaronson, Douglas Anthony, Gloria Chuku, Anthonia Kalu, Chima Korieh, Cecelia Lynch, Brian McNeil, Chika Okeke-Agulu, Peter Redfield, Brad Simpson, Olufemi Vaughan; all professors of different fields.
NAIJ.com visited National War Museum in Umuahia, Abia state to see what kind of machines were fabricated by Biafrian engineers during the war. Watch the video below: