A former Commissioner for Information in Anambra State, Dr Paul Nwosu, has commended the conferment of posthumous national honour of Commander of the Order of the Niger (CON) on Prof. Humphrey Nwosu the late former chairman of the defunct National Electoral Commission (NEC), by President Bola Tinubu.
Dr Nwosu described the honour as a well-deserved recognition of the heroic role played by Professor Nwosu in conducting what remains the freeest, fairest, and most credible presidential election in the country, regrettably annulled by the then military President, General Ibrahim Badamosi Babangida.
The message reads, Central to the President’s message was the acknowledgement and recognition of the sacrifices made by heroes and heroines of democracy, both living and dead.
“Among the most significant moments of his speech was the posthumous conferment of a national honour on Professor Humphrey Nwosu, the man who chaired the National Electoral Commission (NEC) and conducted the historic 1993 presidential election.
“Until now, Professor Nwosu had remained largely uncelebrated by the state, despite his instrumental role in organizing and supervising an electoral process that defied the entrenched culture of electoral fraud and impunity that characterized Nigeria’s past.
Act of justice, restoration of truth
The former Information Commissioner opined that President Tinubu’s recognition of Professor Nwosu represents not just an act of justice but a symbolic restoration of truth in the nation’s political memory.
“By honouring the late Professor, the President corrected a historical oversight that had relegated a courageous public servant to the margins of national acclaim.
“Nwosu’s leadership in deploying the Open Ballot System and presiding over what was widely seen as a peaceful, credible, and transparent election was a watershed moment in Nigeria’s democratic evolution.” he maintained.
He regretted that Nwosu was not accorded the due recognition for decades largely because the outcome of the election did not stand.
“In honouring Nwosu, President Tinubu gave voice to a long-suppressed national conscience and affirmed that the truth, no matter how long buried, would eventually emerge.
“It was a profound gesture of reconciliation with the past and a forward-looking affirmation that Nigeria would never again allow those who protect democracy to be forgotten or punished for doing the right thing”.
Nwosu described Tinubu’s words as an affirmation of democratic ideals and a recommitment to the principle that the Nigerian people must remain the ultimate custodians of power.
“In this light, the 2025 Democracy Day was more than a ceremonial occasion. It was a redemptive moment,” he noted.
“For Professor Humphrey Nwosu and all those who stood for truth when it was most dangerous to do so, Nigeria’s democracy now bears the imprint of their courage, publicly affirmed at last,” the former Commissioner for Information wrote.
