Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Bianca Odumegwu Ojukwu, has called on the people of the South-East to adopt peaceful dialogue as a means of addressing the recent imprisonment of Nnamdi Kanu.

Speaking at the 14th Dim Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu Memorial Day at the Ojukwu Memorial Library in Owerri on Wednesday, Ojukwu stressed that while Kanu has been sentenced by the courts, “all hope is not lost” and diplomatic, nonviolent approaches could help secure his release from the Sokoto Correctional Centre.

She urged South-East residents to meet with their National Assembly members, state governors, and even President Bola Tinubu, emphasizing that solutions must come through dialogue rather than conflict.

“This coming Christmas, all of us should plan how to use peaceful means to settle this matter,” she said. “We should emulate other zones and learn to resolve challenges through dialogue and nonviolent methods.”

Ojukwu also raised concerns about the declining use of the Igbo language among children, highlighting its importance in upbringing and urging parents to teach their mother tongue.

Expressing alarm over rising insecurity in the region, she noted that “even during the Nigerian civil war, Igbo people were not killing themselves or kidnapping people for ransom,” describing the current situation as “strange.” She encouraged youths to remain patient and embrace peace as the best path to progress.

Ugwunna Ajaelu, chairman of the occasion, reinforced her message, calling on the South-East to adopt diplomatic measures to ensure Kanu’s release “in no distant time.”

The memorial day, organized annually by Chief Ralph Uwazuruike, founder of the Movement for the Sovereign State of Biafra (MASSOB), attracts Igbo people from the five South-East states and beyond.