Watching Senator Solomon Olamilekan representing Ogun West in the Senate espouse his view that Professor Humphrey Nwosu whose handling of the aborted bid by former military President Ibrahim Babangida to hand over to an elected government is undeserving of national honour, you would think he has found the solution to Nigeria’s problem. He was passionate in calling the now late election umpire a coward and practically blamed him for the death of his brother. Although he did not tell how his brother died, Olamilekan said Nwosu ought to have sacrificed his life for June 12 by announcing the results of the election.
To him, only Chief Moshood Abiola and “those that laid the life on the line for June 12” should be honoured. Invariably, those that sacrificed for June 12 and now heroes are those that ran away from Nigeria to other countries on exile. And they are the ones now running our fourth republic democracy as heroes of June 12.
Olamilekan said his view was across party and ethnic lines. But Nwosu was never a politician before and after June 12 neither was he a kinsman of the Ogun West senator. Defying an orchestrated and dubious court order to abort the election and eventually announcing its outcome was not good enough because, to Olamilekan, Nwosu did not die in the process. Only those that went on exile and returned to harvest the spoils of war are the heroes. And, of course, Babangida himself who confessed he had to step aside for fear of being killed by Sani Abacha.
The returnees after the battle had been won were on cue to celebrate IBB at his book presentation as, just like themselves, their genuine June 12 hero. It is a comedy of the absurd that earn obscene salaries and allowances as law makers while Nigerians scavenge.
