By
Prof Chukwunọnso Okafọ
Faculty of Law
University of Nigeria
Nsukka
Some words of wisdom:
- “Ugwu bụ nkwị nkwị.” (Respect is based on reciprocity).
- “Ebe bara nne ewu ga aba nwa ya.” (Take a cue from those that went before you and be guided appropriately).
- “A human being that attains 70 years of age has had a long life; every extra time is a special blessing.”
- “We all live by God’s grace; at death we account to him.”
- “Man’s shortcomings and weaknesses limit what each of us is able to do. God’s unlimited power and mercy guide and protect us all.”
- Facts are sacred.”
The foregoing are some of the proverbs that Professor Humphrey Nwobu Nwosu popularized in my interactions with him. I believe that many other people experienced the same in engaging with him over the decades. By no means did he formulate the above parables, but he brought them home to so many people.
The preceding adages endure. Like them, Prof Nwosu’s life, private and public works live on prominently in Ajalli town and the rest of Nigeria. I consider this sufficient justification to continue to think and refer to Prof Nwosu in the present tense. I do so in this salutation.
In the interest of full disclosure (“Facts are sacred”), I have assessed Prof Nwosu’s life as shown here, as an Ajallian, as a Nigerian, and as his son-in-law. Nonetheless, my statements in this tribute are dispassionately predicated on objectivity. I certify herein that I hold the contents of this citation to be true and verifiable. No extraneous factor has swayed my analysis nor conclusion about Prof Nwosu.
The life of every human being is loosely divisible into private and public spheres. Of course, the activities in one category often flow into and merge with some of the other division. Nonetheless, the do’s and don’t’s in each subgroup are discernible based on the source of the authority to do or abstain from doing something as well as the person(s) affected by the relevant act or omission. It makes sense, therefore, to evaluate Prof Nwosu’s life from the perspectives of the private and the public.
On Prof Nwosu’s private life. “Ana ebido n’ụnọ mara mma pụọ n’ezi.” (Charity begins at home). “Ebe bara nne ewu ga aba nwa ya.” (Take a cue from those that went before you and be guided appropriately). Prof Nwosu truly showcases these doctrines.
A survey of Prof Nwosu’s private life (ie, his nongovernmental, unofficial, private relationships and endeavors towards his family, neighbors, friends, acquaintances, and community members outside the structures of public law) evinces his loyalty, commitment, and remarkable charity to numerous persons and groups. And, this benevolent character is not a laterday development in his life. For his family and neighbors in particular, he began to demonstrate distinctive concern and compassion towards others long before he became a public figure in Nigeria.
Prof Nwosu’s acts of charity center on education and career training. He has seen some relatives, neighbors, and acquaintances through schools (elementary, secondary, and especially tertiary). In his extended family in particular, there are multiple persons that he put into and saw through schools. In the entire Ajalli town, he is responsible for employments for many townspeople. His top notch commitment to his family – nuclear as well as extended – is praiseworthy. Indeed, for him, charity truly began at home.
On Prof Nwosu’s public service (ie, governmental, official, public relationships and activities within the structures of public law). He has performed remarkably. He is a shining star on the hill, even in the debilitating “crime scene” Nigeria. By every credible measure (“Facts are sacred”), he has acquitted himself as Professor, Anambra State’s Commissioner, and Nigeria’s National Electoral Commission (NEC) Chairman.
At the pinnacle of his public service as NEC Chairman, he worked diligently and honestly with his team to innovate and successfully install the universally acclaimed Option A4 voting model for Nigeria. Unfortunately, General Ibrahim Babangida annulled the remarkably prosperous general election of 1993 midwifed by Prof Nwosu’s NEC.
It is undeniable that Prof Nwosu’s NEC is light years ahead of the other electoral bodies in Nigeria’s history because that NEC successfully conducted the best and most credible election in Nigeria. Prof Nwosu did a stellar job to enthrone a credible system and process for choosing political leaders for Nigeria. The evil forces in the country prevented this from bearing the desired fruit. Until Nigeria puts in place and enforces a credible system and process for choosing its leaders, the country and its constituent parts will continue to wobble and degrade.
It is not surprising that the nullification of Nigeria’s 1993 general election and the consequent triumph of the present highly compromised leadership selection process in the country greatly troubled Prof Nwosu. Present and future Nigerians remain burdened and suppressed by the current discredited system and process. All well meaning Nigerians must work to dismantle the mindless hegemony and the leadership crisis it produces because this situation is sucking life out of 99% of Nigerians. Without a credible system and process for choosing our leaders, the country and its people are doomed.
At the Ajalli town level, the current leadership crisis in the community is disgraceful, to put it mildly. The nauseating situation threatens to destroy the concrete gains made by Prof Nwosu and so many other worthy Ajallians before him. Those who currently occupy leadership positions in Ajalli, particularly the town’s Eze stool and the town union headship, respectively (however they got into those positions), need to urgently reevaluate the prevailing situation in the town and reposition themselves to truly serve all the members of the community. Unless these leaders prefer to spend their respective tenures for themselves and their narrow circle of selfish acolytes only, the leaders must selflessly and transparently unite all Ajallians under a credible and just leader-follower system. Currently, this quality is solely lacking in the town.
Some important Ajalli community leaders and their loudmouthed champions notoriously claim that they have been legally recognized and authorized by Anambra State law to occupy their respective positions. And that, thus, every community member must fall in line behind the “legally recognized and authorized” leaders. As strong an argument as this reasoning is, it fails to adequately serve the best interests of the town, namely: harmonious and peaceful coexistence, increased strength of a united purpose, and maximum productivity resulting from coalition of efforts and other resources (Anyụkọọ amịrị ọnụ ọgbaa ụfụfụ; Two or more good heads are better than one).
Moreover, legal authority alone (by Anambra State for instance) is of limited efficacy to address the needs of any society. As strategic and high profile as law is in a modern society, it cannot by itself sufficiently manage the contentious issues in such a society. Assume, without conceding, that the law recognizing and authorizing the current occupiers of the leadership positions in Ajalli town is settled. Why then has the leadership crisis in the town persisted beyond the issuance of Anambra State’s legal recognition and authority? The answer is that, beyond the law, the more important challenge is how best to build and maintain peace for cooperation and prosperity in the community; many other strategies than law are required to achieve this.
Law by itself does not create a peaceful society. Peaceful coexistence is the province of wide consultation; free, informed, and broad-based participation by the people; fair and credible processes for selecting leaders and for conflict resolution; justice for all; accountability to the citizens; and responsiveness to the people’s needs and aspirations. Again, notoriously, these qualities are infamously lacking in contemporary Ajalli.
Prof Nwosu is not perfect (“Man’s shortcomings and weaknesses limit what each of us is able to do. God’s unlimited power and mercy guide and protect us all”). What matters is that when it comes to accounting for private and public living, Prof Nwosu scores highly – definitely an “A”. How many of us Ajallians and Nigerians can claim to measure up to his life? Not many, even after adjusting for the differences in the opportunities available to us to serve other humans. The vast majority of us are hopelessly bogged down by mundane, egocentric, sociocentric, and conscienceless transactions that have debased Ajalli community and Nigeria.
Finally, all things considered, Prof Humphrey Nwobu Nwosu has led an exemplary life. This appraisal of the man and his life bears this out. Every conscientious person is likely to come to this same conclusion.
Ọkaa Omee, Prof, jee nke ọma; Chukwu nọnyere gị.
