Ohanaeze Ndigbo, the leading sociocultural organization in Igbo land, has urged the Presidency to withdraw the suggestion to rename the University of Nigeria Nsukka after Queen Elizabeth University of Nigeria, arguing that such an idea would be best suited for Aso Rock in Abuja or other regions of the North.
It further emphasized that Adamu Garba, a previous presidential candidate for the Young Progressives Party, should apologise to the Ndigbo people for his offensive statement.
“The UNN should be renamed in honor of Queen Elizabeth, who passed away on Thursday at the age of 96,” Garba had recommended this to President Major-General Muhammadu Buhari (retired) on Friday.
However, in response, the Chidi Ibeh-led Ohanaeze Ndigbo said in a statement released by its Secretary-General, Okechukwu Isiguzoro, that such a remark is capable of creating violence in the country.
According to the statement;
“The Ohanaeze Ndigbo Worldwide has cautioned the Federal Government against renaming the foremost and most prestigious University, the University of Nigeria Nsukka after the late British monarch, Queen Elizabeth II.
“The University has bequeathed a legacy in south-eastern Nigeria and it’s worthwhile for the former APC presidential aspirant, Adamu Garba to know that the Federal Medical Centre, Umuahia, Abia State, was renamed after the late British monarch, and is known as Queen Elizabeth Medical Centre, Umuahia, yet Nigerians have yet to see the late Queen Elizabeth’s legacies in northern Nigeria. It’s appropriate for the North to have a fair share of the Queen’s legacy.
“If the Federal Government and the Presidency wish to immortalise late Queen Elizabeth II, it should look at the role of the Queen in granting Nigeria political freedom and independence on October 1, 1960. And the most appropriate place to show gratitude to Great Britain should be at Aso Rock.