Prof. Jehu Onyekwere Nnaji PhD
I was taken aback to watch in utter disbelief for the second time as the upper legislative chamber of the Nigerian National Assembly nixed the motion to immortalize a perfect gentleman, an electoral umpire of Solomonic adroitness whose towering stature can only be comprehended by the intelligentsia. Distinguished Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe who doggedly represented the motion after it was turned down for the first time being a motion to immortalize Professor Humphrey Nwosu by a posthumous honour of naming the headquarters of the Independent National Electoral Commission's (INEC) office in his name at a time which coincides with his interment. Much to my chagrin, Senator Shuaib Afolabi Salisu representing Ogun Central Senatorial district stood and ignominiously shut down the motion stating that honouring a man as astute as Professor Humphrey Nwosu will detract from the legacy of Chief Moshood Kashimawo Olawale Abiola who was the winner of the June 12,1993 Presidential elections which Professor Nwosu midwifed. As if that was not enough, to add insult to injury, Senator Adams Aliyu Oshiomhole who represents Edo North senatorial district seconded the motion in a most unsavoury manner stating that Professor Nwosu did not have the courage to pronounce Abiola as the winner of that election. My query here is simple: If one feels that Senator Salisu is uninformed, would one feel same way that Senator Oshiomhole is uninformed? Senator Oshiomhole ought and should know better. I constrained to feel that this is an obvious conspiracy to undermine the herculean task Professor Nwosu surmounted during that ill-fated election and by extension undermine a particular geographical area of Nigeria. Let me inform Senator Oshiomhole that he is an utter disgrace to the democracy of Nigeria. By the same token, his man Friday Senator Salisu will also be seen as the most ignorant Senator of the Federal Republic of Nigeria who could not articulate the historical facts of Nigeria.
For the naysayers, let it be known that erudite Professor Nwosu fought against head winds, moved against the tide and was between the devil and the deep blue sea by disobeying court order which prohibited the election from taking place in the first instance and also confronted the Generalissimo in the person of General Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida who held the sword of Damocles synonymous to a hangman's noose. These 2 Senators never condemned IBB when he launched his autobiography- A Journey in Service but can pick holes in the bravery and pluckiness of Prof Nwosu. While I condemn the actions of these 2 Senators, I also see their effort in trying to distort history and facts as coterminous with people exhibiting a mental void.
Prof. Jehu Onyekwere Nnaji PhD
-Distinguished Professor of International Law and Global Politics
-Visiting Scholar-Law School of the University of Kansas USA
