ENUGU, Nigeria — More than five decades after the end of the Biafran War, and 13 years after the passing of her husband, Dim Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu, current Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Bianca Odumegwu Ojukwu, has announced the near completion of a monumental project honouring one of the most selfless foreign allies of the Biafran cause — Bruce Mayrock.
Mayrock, a 20-year-old American student at Columbia University, set himself ablaze outside the United Nations headquarters in New York on May 29, 1969.
His dramatic act was a protest against the global silence on what he viewed as the genocide of the Biafran people during Nigeria’s brutal civil war.
He died the following morning, May 30 — a date that coincides with Biafra’s declaration of independence and has since become symbolic for remembrance.
In an emotional written message dated Thursday, May 29, 2025, Bianca Odumegwu Ojukwu recounted how her late husband, in the final days before his death in November 2011, had pressed upon her the importance of immortalising Mayrock’s sacrifice.
“‘Do what you can,’ he told me. ‘Our people must never forget,’” she wrote, quoting a deeply personal exchange that she said marked the beginning of what would become Project Mayrock.
Slated for commissioning by the end of this year, the Mayrock Memorial is a three-storey complex described as a centre for reflection, education, and remembrance. It features:
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A conference hall equipped with projection facilities
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An exhibition gallery showcasing photos, artefacts, and artworks from the Biafran war
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Sculptures of Bruce Mayrock and other symbolic figures
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A landscaped memorial garden and reflection space
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Educational tour access for pupils and students to learn about the Biafran struggle
“The memories of our Martyr Bruce and of all those who gave their lives that we may live are enshrined in our hearts and minds,” Bianca stated.
“Generations yet unborn will be reminded of their sacrifice.”
She expressed hope that Mayrock’s surviving family members would attend the official commissioning.
Ambassador Ojukwu thanked her collaborators on the project — including architects, sculptors, artists, curators, her children who aided with research, and Chief C. Martins Ndujekwu, whom she called a co-pioneer of the initiative.
Quoting former U.S. President Calvin Coolidge — “A nation which forgets its defenders will itself be forgotten” — she framed the memorial not only as a tribute to Mayrock but as a cultural imperative for collective memory.
The Mayrock Memorial stands as one of the most poignant tributes to international solidarity in Nigeria’s civil war history — and as a physical embodiment of a promise made in love, grief, and national memory.
“To our departed Leader,” Bianca concluded in her message to her husband, “on yet another anniversary of the self-immolation and death of Bruce Mayrock, it is my honour to affirm to you… that the promise is fulfilled.”
