The socio-cultural igbo group, Ohanaeze Ndigbo Worldwide received the shocking news of the death of a great states man, Dr. Obadiah Mailafia with a rude shock and great pain.

Mailafia who was a development economist, international polymath, central banker, statesman and the 2019 Nigeria Presidential election Candidate of African Democratic Congress. He was a former official of the African Development Bank Group and one-time Deputy Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria died on the 19^th of September 2021 in a hospital after an undisclosed illness.

In a press statement by the group’s  National Publicity Secretary, Chiedozie Alex Ogbonnia, they described Mailafia as a generous spirit whose active conscience helped to sustain people’s hope of a better Nigeria and was one of the rare selfless Nigerians who could sacrifice a juicy political appointment in other to make a statement about the abhorrent treatment meted to his people on a daily basis.

“The most endearing message to humanity is his uncompromising stand that the Middle Belt should apologise to the Igbo for their atrocious roles shortly before and during the Nigeria-Biafra civil war between 1967 and 1970. On May 19, 2021, Dr. Obadiah Mailafia, leading a group of Middle Belt scholars, stated: Ndigbo, we are on our knees begging you to forgive us for the sins we committed against you, against God and against humanity……we swear by the graves of our venerable warrior ancestors, the graves of the millions of your and our people who perished in Biafra Land, and we swear by everything we hold most sacred, that we shall never stand against you in life or in death. Never again! 

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“ Also, in his treatise: The Spirit of Democracy and its Enemies, June 14, 2021, Dr. Mailafia, in calling for dialogue as an inevitable tool for an enduring democracy, cautioned that “ if Ndigbo must go, Oduduwa and Middle Belt must follow suit. This is the reality on the ground”. And several others. I therefore leave the reader to guess what the death of Dr. Obadiah Mailafia means to Nigeria in general and Ndigbo in particular”, Ogbonnia said.

He further expressed their sorrow the passing of a man whose willingness to apologize and repent is a sign of good conscience and godliness in an individual, stating that Mailafia stood as a strong force against the wickedness and atrocities of the heartless among humans.

“Mailafia is mourned today by Ndigbo and Nigerians, not because of a stupendous wealth but because of his courage, selflessness, generous dispositions, character comeliness, sacrifice, hospitality and patriotism. His life is easily a veritable source of knowledge and guidance on how we should conduct our lives on earth.

“The President General of Ohanaeze Ndigbo Worldwide, Ambassador Professor George Obiozor is pained that Mailafia has left us when his wise counsel, courage, and uncompromising stand for equity is most needed. This is a death too many. However, our solace derives from his enviable footprints in the sands of time’’, Ogbonnia said.

He ended his statement by ending condolences on behalf of Ohanaeze to the immediate family of Mailafia and Kaduna State and that may his soul rest in the bosom of the Almighty.