The family of Nigeria’s first Head of State, Major General Thomas Aguiyi-Ironsi, has said that their late father was a patriotic soldier who devoted his life to the unity and stability of Nigeria. The family stated this at the Aguiyi-Ironsi Cenotaph in Umuahia on Wednesday while delivering an address during a wreath-laying ceremony to mark the 60th memorial of Maj.-Gen. Ironsi’s death. The family, which spoke through Louisa Aguiyi-Ironsi, said the memorial ceremony was a call for reconciliation, peaceful coexistence, and nation-building, not for reopening old pains and debates. Rather, we gather to honour a life committed to the preservation of Nigeria’s unity and the strengthening of state institutions,” Louisa Aguiyi-Ironsi said. President Bola Tinubu was represented at the wreath-laying ceremony by the Minister of Defence, General Christopher Musa (Rtd), while Governor Alex Otti and former Nigerian First Lady Patience Jonathan also performed the wreath-laying.