Moses Ofodeme
Today is our moment of tribute in honour of Professor Humphrey Nwosu, the seventh Chairman of the national election management body in Nigeria who passed on five months ago in the month of October 2024. By coincidence, he was born in the month of October 1941.
On behalf of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), I would like to welcome you all, but most especially The Star, Lady Humphrey Nwosu and all members of the Nwosu family to this occasion.
We are honoured to share with you this moment of grief as well as the celebration of Professor Nwosu’s life of patriotic service to the country as a distinguished Professor of Political Science, a member of the old Anambra State Executive Council, Chairman of the Federal Technical Committee on the application of Civil Service Reform to Local Government administration in Nigeria and later the Chairman of the National Electoral Commission (NEC) and Chief Electoral Commissioner of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
Professor Nwosu’s four years as Chairman of NEC (1989 to 1993) now define his public service career and even persona. Like all his six predecessors and seven successors to date, he had the arduous task of managing elections in an extremely challenging context. He introduced many innovations in election management. In physical terms, he laid the foundation for the independence of the Commission by initiating the current three-layer structure for the commission with offices at national, state and local government levels. 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.
Professor 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. However, with the passage of time, the outcome of his effort is now widely appreciated. The election is now celebrated as one of the best in Nigeria. Even those who annulled it have expressed regret.
A quarter of a century (25 years) later in June 2018, the presumed winner of the 1993 Presidential election, Chief M. K. O. Abiola, received the highest national honour, the Grand Commander of the Federal Republic (GCFR), posthumously. His running mate, Ambassador Baba Gana Kingibe, was conferred with the second highest national honour, the Grand Commander of the Order of the Niger (GCON). The date of the election (June 12th, 1993) has been gazetted as a national holiday and appropriately named as Democracy Day.
Sadly, the electoral commission that conducted the election which was personified by Professor Nwosu received only a muffled commendation as if no one conducted the election. Surely, the election did not conduct itself. It was organised by a Commission made up of Commissioners and a Chairman. If it was an oversight that Professor Nwosu was not honoured in his lifetime, it is never late for the appropriate authority to do so posthumously.
For us in INEC, we will continue to appreciate Professor Nwosu and the dedicated service he rendered to the nation. For the family, Professor Nwosu’s four years at the electoral commission must have been extremely challenging. With faith in God and knowing the caliber of person he was, you stood by him. We commend you and may God continue to give you the strength to bear the colossal loss.
The Commission is grateful to the family for the honour to be part of this occasion. May God’s blessings continue to be with you as you conclude the remaining activities for a farewell well-deserved for Professor Nwosu.