The Aare Ona kakanfo of Yoruba land, Iba Gani Adams, has said the former Chairman of the defunct National Electoral Commission, NEC, late Prof Humphrey Nwosu should be immortalized like MKO Abiola.
Adams said giving Nwosu's role in delivering June 12, 1993 Presidential election, which was adjusted globally as the freest and fairest in Nigeria, he should be immortalized.
For the second time, the Senate rejected a motion seeking to immortalise Nwosu.
It only agreed to honour his death by observing a minute silence.
The stance of the Senate had led to a heated argument on the floor of the Upper Legislative chambers and Southeast senators staged a walkout.
In a statement he signed, Adams said the former NEC “through having a sincere chairman like Humphrey Nwosu” conducted free and fair election that gave the Late Chief MKO Abiola “the mandate that the Nigerian government then did not install him as president.”
He urged the Nigerian government to name a monument after Nwosu as “a good precedence for other INEC chairmen to be honest when they were being given the position on the basis of organizing elections in Nigeria.”
According to Adams: “It is very important that Nwosu should be recognized, the genesis of having a free and fair or the foundation of having a free and fair June 12, 1993 elections was through having a sincere NEC chairman like Nwosu.
“Nwosu conducted free and fair election that gave Aare MKO Abiola the mandate that the Nigerian government then did not install him as president.
“And the respect and the glory that Aare MKO Abiola is having today is as a result of the honesty displayed by the then NEC chairman and the products that worked with him that made it happen.
“So if Abiola can be honoured by former President Muhammadu Buhari in 2018, so definitely Humphrey Nwosu has to be immortalised. At least, there should be a monument that they should name after him so that it can be a good precedence for other INEC chairmen to be honest when they were being given the position on the basis of organizing elections in Nigeria.”
Stressing that nothing must be done to deny Nwosu the honour he deserved, Adams said “his spirit will not be happy with Nigeria.”
Adams faulted Yorubas against immortalizing Nwosu, stressing that it would “amount to self centeredness.”
