UMUAHIA—FIFTY years after the first military coup d’état which tragically claimed the life of the then Head of State, Late General Johnson Thomas Aguiyi Ironsi, Ohanaeze Youth Council, OYC, has called on the Federal Government to immortalize the slain Head of State.

Ohanaeze Youths argued that the late Ironsi staked his life for the unity of the country and therefore deserved to be immortalized and given his proper place in the annals of Nigerian history.

Ohanaeze Youth Council, in a press statement issued by its National President, Mazi Okechukwu Isiguzoro, expressed great regret that 50 years after his tragic death, the Federal Government was yet to immortalise Ironsi “who staked his life to unite Nigeria”.

OYC suggested that the Federal Government should “name the nation’s seat of power, Aso Rock after the late Head of State in recognition of his invaluable sacrifices for the unity of Nigeria.”

According to the statement, while the masterminds of the heinous act “are still moving around and parading themselves as statesmen, the members of Aguiyi Ironsi’s family have continued to wallow in pains and poverty.”

OYC therefore enjoined the Federal and as well as the various State Governments to give attention to the welfare of the family to assuage their pains. Meanwhile, the Aguiyi Ironsi family is organizing a memorial service in Umuahia to mark the 50 years anniversary of the tragic death of their father.

According to the matriarch of the family and wife of the late General, Lady Victoria Aguiyi Ironsi, a church service will hold today at the Mater Dei Catholic Cathedral, Umuahia, which will be followed by a reception at the family house.

By Anayo Okoli – Vanguard