‎A NATION'S STRENGTH LIES IN ITS HONOUR FOR JUSTICE AND SACRED AFRICAN TRADITION OF RESPECTING ELDERS (part 2) ‎ ‎By Ichie Ifeanyi Ndulue

‎Respect for elders is not a formality in African culture, it is sacred. It is the foundation of our value system and social order. Our elders embody memory, wisdom, and moral authority. When they speak, a nation must listen, not out of obligation, but out of reverence for the paths they have walked and the sacrifices they have made.
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‎In that spirit, Nigeria once stood before a rare and powerful moment, a moment when two of its most revered elder statesmen, Chief Mbazulike Amaechi and Professor Ben Nwabueze, rose in the twilight of their lives to make a final plea to the conscience of the state. Their appeal was not for power or privilege; it was for peace, mercy, and national healing through the release of Mazi Nnamdi Kanu.
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‎THE FINAL PLEA OF NIGERIA'S ELDER STATEMEN
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‎Chief Mbazulike Amaechi, who was 93 years old at the time, was a titan of Nigeria’s First Republic and the country’s first Minister of Aviation. A man who had walked with Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe (Owelle Onitsha), who helped shape the dream of a united Nigeria, led a delegation of Igbo leaders to then President Muhammadu Buhari. He did not come in defiance, nor to demand; he came in dignity, as a father of the land.
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‎Alongside him was Professor Ben Nwabueze, who was 92 years old, and widely regarded as Nigeria’s foremost constitutional lawyer. A scholar, statesman, and one-time Minister of Education, Professor Nwabueze was the intellectual backbone of Nigeria’s constitutional framework. He dedicated his life to legal justice, to national unity, and to African renaissance through law, equity, and moral clarity.
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‎Together, they urged the President to consider clemency for Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, not to excuse him, but to heal the nation. They believed that justice without compassion can become vengeance, and that legal processes must be tempered by the wisdom of age and the necessity of unity.
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‎In the words of Chief Amaechi, he pleaded:
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‎"I don't want to leave this planet without peace returning to my country..... Mr. President, I want you to be remembered as the man who saw Nigeria burning, and quenched the fire"
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‎Professor Nwabueze, frail but unwavering, added his voice. He knew the law, but he also knew the limitations of law without moral leadership. He knew that when the courts have spoken and the elders have pleaded, what remains is the will of the state to do what is right.
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‎A  DEAFENING SILENCE AND A LOST OPPORTUNITY
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‎But their voices, two of the oldest and most revered elders Nigeria had, were ignored.
‎Neither man lived to see their appeal honoured.
‎Professor Ben Nwabueze died on January 12, 2022.
‎Chief Mbazulike Amaechi died on November 1, 2022.
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‎They died with broken hearts, convinced that they had given Nigeria their all, yet in the end, even their final wish for reconciliation and peace was disregarded.
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‎What does this say about us as a nation?
‎How did we, as a people, let such sacred pleas fall into silence?
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‎THE UNANSWERED JUDGEMENTS
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‎Since their visit, multiple court rulings, including the Court of Appeal judgment of October 2022, ordered the release of Mazi Nnamdi Kanu. Yet the federal government not only refused to comply but actively sought to reverse those decisions. The Supreme Court later ruled in December 2023 that Kanu must stand trial again, despite the illegality of his extraordinary rendition from Kenya and multiple violations of his rights.
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‎Meanwhile, other agitators such as Sunday Igboho, were released and allowed to move freely after diplomatic talks. The contrast is striking, and painful. It has left many asking: Is justice in Nigeria a matter of ethnicity?
‎Why is clemency offered in one case and denied in another?
‎Where is the equity that binds a nation together?
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‎A PASSIONATE PLEA TO PRESIDENT BOLA AHMAD TINUBU
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‎To President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, I say this from the depth of a patriotic heart:
‎Sir, you are not just a leader of government, you are now the elder in the room. History has placed this responsibility on your shoulders. The call for justice, unity, and cultural preservation rests with you.
‎You have the chance to rebrand Nigeria, not just with policies, but with a single merciful act that will restore the faith of millions in the East and beyond. Grant clemency to Mazi Nnamdi Kanu. Not as a show of weakness, but as a bold step toward reconciliation. As a leader who listens to the elders, honours their sacrifices, and puts Nigeria’s future above political scorecards.
‎This is not about politics anymore.
‎This is about the soul of Nigeria.
‎This is about honouring our dead and respecting our living cultural values.
‎It is about ensuring that never again will the pleas of our elders be dismissed in their final days.
‎Let this be the moment Nigeria chooses wisdom over pride, peace over punishment, and justice guided by compassion, not vengeance masked as law.
‎Let the world say: "Nigeria listened to its elders. Nigeria respected its courts. Nigeria healed itself."
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‎ *Ichie Ifeanyi Ndulue*
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‎Advocate for African Cultural Preservation and Renaissance anyimega65@gmail.com