Ohanaeze Ndigbo, the apex socio-cultural organization in Igbo land, , has rejected offer to rename the University of Nigeria Nsukka after Queen Elizabeth.
Recall that a former presidential aspirant of the Young Progressives Party, Adamu Garba, had advised President Muhammadu Buhari to immortalise Queen Elizabeth by renaming UNN after her.
Ohanaeze asked the Presidency to jettison the call UNN, noting that such a move is best for Aso Rock in Abuja or other parts of the North.
Secretary-General of Ohanaeze, Okechukwu Isiguzoro, who stated this in a statement, said such a remark was capable of instigating conflict in the country.
Isiguzoro said Garba must apologise to Ndigbo for making such an unhistorical remark.
The statement read, “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.