By Ekunkonye Junior Abuja
A constitutional lawyer of note, Barr Amobi Nzelu has enjoined the Tinubu – led Federal Government (FG) to Immortalize Professor Humphrey Nwosu for the role he played in the past to promote democracy in Nigeria.
Nzelu addressed journalists to that effect over the weekend in his chambers in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
“I lend my voice to call that he be immortalized for the role he played to promote democracy, by naming a street after him in Abuja,” he said.
Humphrey Nwosu, who died recently headed the electoral umpire believed to have delivered the freest, most credible and most transparent election result in 1993 and declared the presidential candidate of the Social Democracy Party (SDP), Chief MKO Abiola winner, against his opponent, Alhaji Bashir Today of National Republican Convention (NRC).
He said: “Prof Humphrey Nwosu, the apostle of free, fair and transparent election, has gone to be with the Lord. The advocate of Option A4, you face me and I face you; no wuru wuru, mago mago, has gone to be with the Lord.
“The election of 1993 was the fairest and freest election ever conducted in this country. If the election wasn’t cancelled, Nigeria would have gotten her bearing properly, from that election, because the annulment stopped certain things to happen. Good night, Professor Humphrey Nwosu, you came, you saw and you conquered, but the power that be had never allowed your views and vision for Nigeriana to actualize.”
Blaming the government in power for atteibuting immensely to what the country is passing through, electorally, he stated thus: “If not for annulment of the 1993 election, Nigerians wouldn’t have been where they are today. An attempt to amend what they did wrongly in 1999, the government in power created an atmosphere, whereby the head and the tail are from Yoruba. Chiefs Olusegun Obasanjo and Olu Falae contested presidency under the platforms of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP) respectively and it was a compensation for the bad deed they did in the system which had drawn the country back. Today, election results are being doctored. They write results and give to the umpire to go and announce and nobody is talking.”
On the lessons to learn by today’s umpire from Nwosu – led umpire, Nzelu stared thus: “If they can go down the memory lane and see how Nwosu stood for democracy, despite humiliation, because it was an issue of gun, against empty handedness. They sent him packing, annulled the election and Nigeria can’t get out of it.
“Buhari did the best he could do to recognize Abiola as the winner of the June 12, 1993 election, but it was too late; 1993 to 2015. If the electoral umpires should overlook certain things, certain benefits, certain considerations and do the right thing, Nigeria will be better off.”
Urging the chairman of the present umpire Prof Yakubu to give account of the last general election he conducted, Nzelu had this to say: “Yakubu should be made to give account of the money he was given to do the last election, which was horrible. He came with a mind frame to do what he is told to do. When there is a lot of compromise in a system, integrity is put in the shelf. You can’t dine with the devil and tell the devil to give you a space to breath, because it will breath down your throat, shoulder, nerves. When you dine and wine with them, what do you expect from them?”
Nzelu, the principal partner of Chinenye Chambers Abuja, noted with dismay that after Nwosu – headed umpire, Nigeria is yet to get an umpire that will deliver democracy and electoral system.
“Go down the memory lane and see those after Nwosu. Good luck Jonathan lost because he had a wrong umpire on seat. The proper language is, get the right umpire. Despite all electoral manuals and all the laws that are there, that there must be a synergy between what they uploaded and what they are going to announce and when they are aware that the whole system collapsed, they begin to announce what they have manually.”