By Adadainfo
The Ohaneze Ndigbo Worldwide has felicitated Chief Edwin Clark as he marks his 96th birthday today.
Ohanaeze stated this in a release by its national publicity secretary, Dr Alex Ogbonnia, which was made available to our correspondent in Enugu on Thursday.
Ohanaeze described the Niger-Delta nanogenarian as a ‘moral edifice, fearless justice crusader, astute politician, philanthropist, pathfinder and one of the most upright icons of our time’.
Our correspondent reports that Chief Clark is the national leader of the Southern and Middle Belt Leaders Forum (SMBLF).
According to the statement, “Chief Clark has pleased the Almighty to reward him for the invaluable services he has rendered to the good people of Nigeria at the various stages of his eventful life.
“Sir, in your track-record of accomplishments, you have displayed empathy, selflessness, benevolence and milk of human kindness. You have cared for the poor, the widows, the dispossessed, oppressed and the downtrodden.
“The EK Clark Foundation has birthed the EK Clark University. You have demonstrated consistency, charismatic inter-ethnic relations, sacrifice, heroism and candour. Your character comeliness, intellectual prowess, visionary and prophetic uncompromising stand on national issues are exceptional; and of course, the above virtues have cast your name in gold for generations yet unborn.”
The president general of Ohanaeze Ndigbo Worldwide, Chief Emmanuel Iwuanyanwu, in the release, described Chief Clark ‘as one of the most detribalized Nigerian patriots with surpassing credentials’.
Ogbonnia quotes Iwuanyanwu as saying that ‘Chief Clark is one of the first persons that envisioned that for Nigeria to have peace and sustainable national development, the presidency of the Federal Republic of Nigeria should be zoned to the South East’.
Chief Iwuanyanwu commended ‘the courage, unwavering supports and steadfastness demonstrated by Chief Clark in particular and the SMBLF in general for the achievements recorded by the Obi-Datti movement in the 2023 presidential election.”
He extolled ‘the intellectual wizardry, mental alertness, zeal and indomitable spirit in Chief Clark to have completed a voluminous Autobiography, the Brutal Truth, at 96’.
Iwuanyanwu remarked further that Chief Clark (96) and Chief Ayo Adebanjo (95), the leader of Afenifere, inspired him to accept the challenge to lead the Ohanaeze Ndigbo,explaining that ‘if Clark and Adebanjo at above ninety can render selfless services in pursuit of equity and justice for the Igbo nation, it will be inexcusable for him, Iwuanyanwu, to abandon his people when they needed him most at 81’.
Dr Ogbonnia recalled that, “Chief Clark has in more than several ways demonstrated an intense passion for the Igbo. It was Chief Clark who facilitated the renovation and equipment of the Queens School, Enugu, with the state-of-the-arts facilities shortly after the Nigerian civil war.”
Ohanaeze, in the release, prayed that Chief Clark ‘remain as fit as a fiddle for many more years to come to harvest the fruit of his lofty dreams for a united, stable and prosperous Nigeria’.
