Amaechi to Buhari: I want peace in Nigeria before joining my ancestors

A former minister of aviation and transport in the first republic, Mbazulukike Amaechi, on Friday, urged President Muhammadu Buhari to restore peace in the country before he (Amaechi) dies.

He said there was a need for peace, especially in parts of the country bedeviled by crises. The elder statesman said he would be unhappy dying without peace in Nigeria and the Southeast region.

He spoke in Abakaliki during the Southeast stakeholders meeting with President Buhari who was on a two-day working visit to Ebonyi State.

Amechi, who was also a member of the House of Representatives on the platform of the National Council of Nigerian Citizens in 1959, pointedly told Buhari that if he can give the Southeast a presidential mandate in 2023, he (Amechi) can guarantee him peace in Igboland.

“I want to see peace in this country before I join my ancestors, I want to see peace in the Southeast, particularly where there is an upsurge of crisis and something that will lead to that peace is around the corner and we are asking you to give me the mandate and I will give you peace. I guarantee you this Mr. President

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“We say in Igbo land that a madman is owned by his people. If somebody was mad yesterday, and on the guarantee of elders like me and other elders, I will bring him out and that is to get peace. Help us to get the peace and I will give you peace in this part of this country and also in Nigeria because I am a Nigerian, I took part in the struggle for the independence of this country.

Chairman of the Southeast Traditional Rulers Council, Eze Charles Mkpuma, on his part, pleaded with the president to support Ndigbo’s bid for the presidency in 2023.

He also pleaded for the release of Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, the leader of the prescribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB).

“We plead with you Mr. President to grant the plea for the Southeast to produce the next president of the country in 2023.

“We stand by you in all efforts towards the fight against insecurity in the Southeast and the country in general. We, however, plead with you as a compassionate father to temper justice with mercy in the case of your son, Nnamdi Kanu. We have started a dialogue to ensure that all those who feel aggrieved are brought to a round table discussion.

“We shall continue to support you and your administration. Do not listen to those advocating for the interim government for they are inviting anarchy.