Chairman of the National Election Commission during the historical June 12 1993 election, Humphrey Nwosu, has died.
He diligently conducted the election won by the late MKO Abiola, but which was annulled by the Ibrahim Babangida junta, plunging the country into expansive chaos.
Nwosu was said to have done all he could to get the announcement of the results concluded but his mettle got drowned by military threats.
While the undeclared winner, MKO Abiola, who died in the struggle has been eternally celebrated, not many people saw Nwosu as a hero.
The deceased hailed from the Ajali community in Orumba North Local Government Area of Anambra State.
Reacting to the news of his passage in an interview, the apex Igbo socio-cultural group, Ohanaeze Ndigbo, lamented that the deceased died without being celebrated by the country, despite his significant contributions to Nigeria’s electoral system.
The acting National President of Ohanaeze Ndigbo, Chief Damian Ogene, who reacted on behalf of the body, pointed out that while the acclaimed winner of the June 12, 1993, presidential election, the late MKO Abiola, was remembered and immortalised, the late Humphrey Nwosu was never honoured.
He said, “Until his death, no one, including the Federal Government, recognised this man, despite the fact that he put his life on the line to save the country’s democracy.
“Late Humphrey Nwosu was my brother; we belong to the same Orumba North Local Government Area of Anambra State and as a matter of fact, he is my kinsman. It is sad that successive administrations in the country never acknowledged him, not even by naming a federal institution after him.
“There are others in his position who might have compromised, but he stood his ground and ensured that the electoral wishes and aspirations of the Nigerian masses were realized.
He suggested that a National Institute for Political Studies should be established and named after him in recognition of his great contributions to shaping the democracy and politics of the country.
“Late Humphrey Nwosu should have a National Institute for Political Studies named after him and a yearly lecture series should be organised in his name,” he added.
Born on October 2, 1941, in Anambra State, Nwosu introduced significant innovations to Nigeria’s electoral process during his tenure, including the Option A4 voting system and the Open Ballot system, which received global recognition.
Earlier in June, the House of Representatives called on the President Bola Tinubu-led Federal Government to immortalise Nwosu for his role in conducting the June 12 election, considered the most credible in Nigeria’s post-independence history.
