*Ready to lay his life for democracy, he stresses
The Labour Party leader and its Presidential Candidate in 2023 polls, Mr. Peter Obi, has described the late National Electoral Commission Chairman, Prof. Humphrey Nwosu, as an exceptional electoral umpire who was ready to risk his life for democracy.
In a short tribute in honour of Nwosu, who passed on during the week, Obi noted that the firmer NEC boss was a principled academic who brought to bear on his assignment the principle he taught in the classroom as a political scientist.
In the message titled: “In Prof Nwosu, A True Democrat Exits,” Obi wrote in X handle, that “I have just received the sad news of the death of the former Chairman of the National Electoral Commission (NEC), Prof. Humphrey Nwosu.
“Prof Nwosu was a true Democrat, an outstanding academician whose love for democracy and its values was copiously demonstrated in the way and manner he carried conducted responsibilities as an electoral umpire between 1989 to 1993.
“His courageous defense of democratic principles, even under a non-democratic government, put him out as a man who was ready even to sacrifice his life for the sake of democracy and good governance.
“For his pivotal role in holding and upholding the 1993 presidential elections, Prof. Nwosu’s name will remain indelible in the history of Nigerian democracy.
“He stood for the truth in Nigeria for standing for the truth and the best tenets of democracy when it was delicate and even dangerous to do so.
“It’s, however, disheartening to note that what Prof. Nwosu did when the nation’s electoral commission was not even legally independent and when billions of taxpayers’ money were not deployed as it is today, with, accompanying updated technology, could not be repeated in contemporary times in a supposed full democratic system.
“As an academic, Prof. Nwosu brought to bear all the principles he taught in the classroom as an erudite professor of Political Science, unlike these days when professors are procured to aid electoral malpractices, including announcing results of elections they did not verify.
“For the new Nigeria we desire, the country needs more of Professor Nwosu’s followers, who will stand ready to risk their lives for democracy.
“I pray God to forgive his shortcomings while on earth, grant his soul eternal repose, and his family and all lovers of democracy who mourn him, the gratitude to bear the huge loss.
“May God Almighty grant Nigeria the likes of Professor Humphrey Nwosu in her future elections. A new Nigeria is indeed POssible”.
