Being the full text of the lecture delivered by Chief Chukwuemeka Odumegwu-Ojukwu, Ikemba Nnewi, on the occasion of TSM's 2nd Diamond Lecture to mark the fourth anniversary of the magazine on February 22, 1994
Before I
say anything, I would wish first of all to congratulate The Sunday Magazine on
this occasion of its fourth Anniversary. In particular, I must thank Mrs. Chris
Anyanwu and her courageous hand of Pen-Warriors. Madam, permit me, on behalf of
those whom I am proud to represent, to say how proud we have been of the
various assaults you have launched and waged successfully and the numerous
assaults on your establishment which you have withstood with equal success.
Madam, we thank you for your availability to those voices who are relentlessly
drowned by the clamour of prejudice and the distortions of mischief. Madam we
thank you for the truth which your team publishes, for the high journalistic
standard which, for four years, your magazine has exemplified. Madam, on behalf
of Nigeria, I thank you for ensuring that despite the cacophony of deceit and
personal ambition, despite the menace of intolerance and despite the very real
antagonism and the meanness of a rabid mob, like Horatio in Macaulay's Lays
of Ancient Rome, stood firm and held the Bridge. In holding the Bridge,
Nigeria remained conscious of the fact that there are always two sides of the
coin. Ladies and Gentlemen, I salute The Sunday Magazine and I recommend
the Magazine to all those who wish to keep a balanced viewpoint on Nigerian
affairs.
