Dave Nwaeze Umahi, the chairman of the Southeast Governor’s Forum, says governors of the region is considering declaring May 30 every year as Biafra Day to remember millions of Igbos who lost their lives during the civil war.
Umahi said that the decision is to commemorate the anniversary of the declaration of the Sovereign State of Biafra.
Governor Umahi, who stated this during a television interview on Tuesday evening, said there was the need to set aside a date to honour the Igbo who died during the three-year war.
According to him, if a proposal to do so comes before the South-East governors, they would give it consideration.
He explained that May 30 should be set aside in Anambra, Abia, Ebonyi, Enugu, and Imo States as a day to remember the dead.
Umahi said if the country could recognise June 12 as Democracy Day to honour MKO Abiola, winner of the 1993 presidential election, there was nothing wrong in setting aside a day to remember five million Igbo, including children, who were killed during the war.
“People are beginning to say that even beyond the issue of sitting at home, there is a need to set aside a date to honour our brothers and sisters who died during the civil war and there is nothing wrong with doing that. If it comes before the South-East governors, we would give it consideration and put conditions and one of them would be that if anyone decides to do otherwise, you must allow the person to exercise his or her rights.
“Children, who didn’t know the reasons for declaring the war were killed and we are saying we should have a public holiday for people like that. We are saying if our leaders bring such proposition to us and speaking for myself, we would grant that day as a public holiday but there must be a proper request for this in one of our meetings. I believe it would even be deliberated upon in our next South East governors’ meeting.
“We have June 12 dedicated to MKO Abiola, we also have a date set aside for our fallen heroes, so, there is absolutely nothing wrong with having a day set aside to mourn our dead but it depends on the motive because such a day is supposed to be a day of reflection.
“The South-East leaders would be willing to set aside May 30 every year to honour our dead. The significance of that day, if set aside, is for each and every one of us to reflect and ask if we should have done things differently. Yes, we were being killed and we were being maltreated but maybe there would have been an alternative. What is done is done and the man who led us said there shouldn’t be a second war and that is where we are,” Umahi said.
