Ojukwu may be flown home this week

Ailing ex-Biafra warlord and the Ikemba Nnewi, Chukwuemeka Odumegwu-Ojukwu, may be flown home this week, regardless of the state of his health.

One of his aides, who did not want his name in print, confirmed this on Sunday shortly after Governor Peter Obi of Anambra State held a five-hour meeting with some members of the family and friends at Ojukwu’s GRA residence in Enugu.

Those present at the meeting included Obi, Ojukwu’s wife, Bianca; a former commissioner in the old Eastern Region, Prof. Okwu Okwu; one of his aides, Mr. Fred Nwosu, among others.

The aide, who earlier had informed reporter of the meeting, said Okwu, a professor of Economics, might have been appointed chairman of the burial committee should Ojukwu return dead.

He said, “With the kind of people that have been coming to the house since last week, Dim may have died or has lost all hopes to live again. Otherwise, why are Governor Peter Obi and his wife, Bianca Ojukwu, making frantic efforts to bring him back home any moment from now?

“If he is still alive, they obviously would not want to discharge him from a London hospital and bring him back to Nigeria where our medical facilities are of low standard. Just like that?

“Already, some of his family members have been coming around since last week. On one of the days they came around, they had a heated argument with Bianca and that may be the reason why Obi was invited to intervene.”

Our correspondent, who stayed around Ojukwu’s premises until the meeting ended at 4.51pm, observed that the Anambra State governor came in a convoy of five jeeps and left the house obviously depressed.

Men of the State Security Service and about 15 riot policemen were seen loitering around and Okwu, who rode in the same car as Obi, was close to tears.