By Collins Adaka
Nigeria, the seventh-largest country in the world, is a complex multi-ethnic, multi-cultural and multi-religious society. This huge population probably is why it has failed to manage her diversities very well. As a result, there are always one conflict or the other in some part of the country.
Also read: Alleged Air peace fraud: Enemies of Igbo at work — Ogbako Igbo
This regular flare-up of conflict is apparently what shaped the philosophy of the Chairman of Air Peace and Founder of the Foundation for Ethnic Harmony of Nigeria, Mr Allen Onyema is a patriotic Nigerian whose penchant for peace and stability of Nigeria knows no bounds.
Onyema’s peace advocacy started while he was a student at the University of Ibadan (UI). Thence, he and other nine students travelled to the ancient city of Zaria to mediate in a raging religious and ethnic riot that claimed several lives.
As a result of the publicity he and his colleagues received on return to their campus, their enthusiasm grew and this inevitably led to the formation of a group known then as Eminent Friend’s Group, which was a group formed with the sole objective of promoting ethnic harmony amongst Nigeria’s diverse ethnic nationalities.
For the absolute peace and stability of this country, he believed, we must at all times emphasise on those attributes, which bind us together as one indivisible entity rather than those things which inevitably tear us apart, because we have no other country we can call our own other than Nigeria.
There is an unprecedented level of unemployment across the land due to the harsh economic realities of the day and as such most of our youths channel their vibrant energies into anti-social vices such as terrorism and violent extremism, armed banditry, kidnapping, militancy and separatist agitation, robbery and cross border crimes of smuggling and illegal drugs and firearms and trafficking.
These gargantuan societal challenges prompted the Air Peace boss to create thousands of jobs for the unemployed with zero tolerance to tribe, ethnicity or religion.
In 2004, Allen Onyema engineered the first Nigerian Forever project to encourage broad nationalism in Nigeria as opposed to ethnic nationalism, and this took him to the thirty-six states of the country, preaching peace with thousands of his adherents. Everywhere, he preached the message it is time for us to build a “New Nigeria” where the virtues of honesty and integrity, discipline, self-restraint and moderation, obedience to the laws of the land and to leadership, love of country and patriotism etc reign in our entire hearts, in our souls and in our spirits.
During the dark days of militancy in the Niger Delta when crude oil export was largely distorted by the bombing of pipelines by the militants, Onyema once again came to the rescue by initiating the “Amnesty Truce” to the admiration of the then President Umaru Yar’Adua. The result of Onyema’s mediation role culminated in today’s’ Amnesty Programme.
Last year, when the xenophobic attacks in South Africa were at its highest peak, again, Allen Onyema came to the rescue by evacuating stranded Nigerians to their fatherland at a cost of over N280 million. Such is the phenomenon called Allen Onyema. He is a true, unbiased Nigerian to the core.
There is no success without adversity. It is not surprising that due to the rising profile of this illustrious son, the United States’ government accused him of money laundering and fraud.
Onyema has been accused of moving more than $20 million from Nigeria through the United States Bank account in a scheme involving false documents based on the purchase of aircraft in his fleet. Already, a warrant of arrest signed by one Justin Anad, an American Magistrate of the US District Court of the Northern District of Georgia has been issued against Barrister Allen Onyema.
One wonders why this is coming now. Could it be because of the rising profile of Onyema in recent times? Or the US investigation took that long to conclude?
At a time like this, Onyema needs the support and encouragement of every one of us to face this raging storm. He is a legal luminary that knows the implication of falsifying documents. This cannot be the Allen Onyema we know. Something definitely is wrong somewhere.
No Nigerian should engage or join anyone in a ‘pull me down syndrome.’ It would take us nowhere. Onyema too, should not be deterred by the antics of a few unpatriotic Nigerians. When you attempt anything of value or significance, people are going to talk about you; either positively or negatively. The Air Peace boss should not relent in his tireless efforts and advocacy to continually preach the unity in our diversity where our strength as a people collectively is greatest.
Very soon, the sky will be too small a limit for the Air Peace Airline to attain.
Only recently, the International Air Transport Association, IATA presented the third IATA Operational Safety Audit, IOSA Certificate to the Air Peace Airline. The Certificate confers on the Airline a global recognition as a hundred per cent safety complaint airline. It’s a rare feat considering the fact that many airlines have started the safety audit but were unable to complete it.
Congratulations to all the management, pilots and supporting crew of the airline for this enviable and rare achievement.
*Adaka lives in Port Harcourt, Rivers State
The post For Allen Onyema: It’s a life of enduring legacy appeared first on Vanguard News.
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