I feel compelled to lend my voice to the ongoing debate in the Red Chamber—the Nigerian Senate—on whether Nwosu should be honored by immortalizing his name or not.
Having listened to the arguments of Senators who opposed the bill to immortalize him, I have a few words to say.
Judging by the circumstances that surrounded the annulment of the June 12, 1993, election, Nwosu had no power to continue announcing the remaining results. He was led out of office at gunpoint while the collation was ongoing.
He couldn’t have done any better. This was a university professor with no military experience. He probably never envisaged such a scenario. A complete civilian. A family man.
Haba! What could he have done under those circumstances? Let’s be fair to this man. If he had refused, you know what could have happened to him. Yes, you guessed right.
This reminds me of how God judged the issue of adultery between David and Uriah’s wife. God dealt with David but said nothing about the woman—because He saw that she couldn’t have rejected David, being the powerful king he was.
As I prepare to rest my case, I put this to those Senators who said no to honoring Nwosu: The man who masterminded and executed the annulment of the election was recently celebrated monumentally, and you had no objections. But now, the man who innocently and sincerely conducted the most widely accepted and credible election in Nigeria’s history should not be honored—simply because he couldn’t complete the announcement of the results, something beyond his power. Is that fair?
As I conclude, until we begin to celebrate true achievers and renounce false ones, Nigeria may never move forward.
That’s my take.
seunakande #seunakandelive #nigeriansenate #humphreynwosu.#ibb
