The call for a posthumous honour for Prof. Humphrey Nwosu, the uncelebrated hero of the historic June 12, 1993 presidential election, generally adjudged to be the best in the country, is in order. The election, which was annulled by the military government of Gen. Ibrahim Babangida, was believed to have been won by the late business mogul and politician, Chief MKO Abiola. Honouring Nwosu for his patriotic role in conducting that election at the risk of his life is the greatest thing the Tinubu-led administration can do to his memory. By conducting the June 12 elections against all odds, Nwosu demonstrated courage and the highest form of patriotism.
At an event held in honour of Nwosu at the headquarters of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Abuja, the Chairman of INEC, Prof. Mahmod Yakubu, urged the Federal Government to honour the late former Chairman of the defunct National Electoral Commission (NEC), Prof. Humphrey Nwosu, who conducted the annulled June 12, 1993 elections. According to Yakubu, “Like all his six predecessors and seven successors to date, he had the arduous task of managing elections in an extremely challenging context. He also introduced a number of reforms to election management. His tenure is synonymous with the Open Ballot System, popularly referred to as Option A4 in which voters queued up behind the symbol of the party of their choice to vote and to be physically counted.”
Yakubu also acknowledged that “Nwosu did his best, which was not always appreciated by many, including those who appointed him under an infinite transition from military rule to democracy, which ended in the annulment of the presidential election held in 1993, resulting in the dissolution of the electoral commission and the emergence of an interim government.”
In the same vein, the South-East senators moved a motion at the Senate to rename INEC headquarters after the late Nwosu. Unfortunately, the Senate rejected it based on nebulous reasons. Consequently, the South-East senators have appealed to President Bola Tinubu to honour the great patriot. We hope that Tinubu should listen to them and honour Nwosu.
In July last year, the House of Representatives urged the President to immortalize Nwosu for his role in conducting the June 12, 1993 presidential election celebrated as the country’s most credible poll. The Lower Legislative Chamber had recommended conferring a national honour on him, naming the INEC headquarters after him and including him in Democracy Day celebrations. Also, the coalition for the immortalization of Humphrey Nwosu had appealed to the President to name a national monument after him.
While there is no gainsaying that Nwosu deserved a posthumous national honour, it is also a pity that some lawmakers who benefited from the present democratic dispensation inaugurated by the June 12 election were among those who vehemently opposed the immortalization of Nwosu by the Federal Government. It is also contradictory that June 12 election is celebrated every year without honouring the main architect of the election. Nigeria has not been fair to Nwosu. The winner of the poll has also been recognized by the government. Yet successive Nigerian governments have not deemed it fit to honour Humphery Nwosu. Therefore, we call on President Tinubu to change the ugly narrative and honour him forthwith. His fearless and courageous role in June 12, 1993 election cannot be erased.
Prof. Nwosu, who was buried last weekend, was born in Ajalli in Orumba North Local Government Area of Anambra State in 1941. He got B.Sc Honours degree in Political Science at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka. Later he got his master’s and doctorate degree in the same field from the University of California, Berkeley, United States. He taught Political Science at the UNN and later became a professor.
In 1986, he served as the Commissioner of Local Government and Chieftaincy Matters and Commissioner of Agriculture before being appointed the Chairman of the defunct NEC in 1989. Nwosu conducted the 1993 presidential election which was considered the freest and fairest election ever held in Nigeria. After retiring from UNN in 1999, he took to writing. His book, “Laying the Foundation for Nigeria’s Democracy: My Account of June 12, 1993, Presidential Election and its Annulment,” represents his personal perspective of the historic election and its aftermath.