AN OPEN LETTER TO THE CHAIRMAN OF INEC: THE WEIGHT OF HISTORY AND THE REWARD OF DOING RIGHT

Professor Joash Ojo Amupitan,

The title of this letter should ideally be: The Choice Before You: Professor Mahmood or Professor Nnenna Oti. The reason is not far-fetched. As you approach your own defining moment, the choice before you is, in many respects, the choice between these two legacies. Both occupied positions of public trust and faced defining moments in Nigeria’s democratic journey, yet history has treated them differently. One is celebrated for fidelity to conscience and integrity; the other is remembered for a damaged public trust.

The ongoing public debate surrounding your leadership has largely centred on allegations of partisanship. Evidently, what PBAT plans to do with you is beyond “glitches”, as already seen from your “Status Ante Bello” interpretation, which has remained the shocked and fascinated gossip of Nigeria. Some Nigerians have even circulated your social media publications as evidence of political alignment. I am not persuaded by such claims. In our political environment, even if such arguments were used to justify your removal, there is no guarantee that your replacement would be better—in fact, it could be worse. My concern, therefore, is not political manoeuvring, but conscience, principle, and the burden of history.

The Path of Honour: Professor Nnenna Oti

I am certain you are aware of Professor Nnenna Oti. At a critical moment in Nigeria’s electoral process, she chose to remain faithful to her conscience despite the pressures that often accompany such positions. In doing so, she demonstrated that integrity still has a place in public service. Her ability to refuse all the promised billions added to her renown.

Beyond any material considerations, she has etched her name permanently into the consciousness of Nigerians. She has become a subject of public admiration, academic reflection, and historical reference - receiving far more enduring value than any immediate or transactional reward could have offered. Yet, those who cherished her also donated so many things to her, far beyond what those who sought to compromise her could have possibly given.

Indeed, Nigeria has witnessed how integrity can transform an ordinary public servant into a figure of national admiration. Professor Oti is widely respected because she chose fairness over pressure and truth over compromise during the Abia governorship election. Nigerians continue to express admiration and goodwill towards her, underscoring the lasting value of principled conduct. What she enjoys today is not merely public praise; it is the enduring dignity that comes from doing the right thing when it mattered most.

Since then, Governor Alex Otti of Abia State has continued to honour her exemplary conduct, including the recent naming of an institution after her. I honestly look forward to further national honour and recognition for her in the fullness of time. This reflects how a single act of integrity can elevate a public official into a national symbol. Have you noticed that each time she attends functions, Nigerians welcome her into venues as if welcoming an old Roman general returning after a triumphant campaign?

The Path of Ignominy: Professor Mahmood Yakubu

Then we have Prof. Mahmood Yakubu. Apart from his beneficiary, PBAT, trying to rehabilitate him with an ambassadorial appointment, an appointment also used to reward members of his guild, such as: Reno Omokiri and Fani Kani Fayode, what is his worth among Nigerians? The people of the country now use his name for humorous reference when discussing the worst among public figures.  Some rember him only when they wish to discuss the contributions of professors towards the ruining of Nigeria. He is more popularly known as a “Professor of Glitches.” The harm he did to this country will remain with him and his generation.

Have you seen him attend public functions? He dodges them. Since after the 2023 election, he has sunk into morbid melancholy. Did you notice that he has lost his pre-2023 charm, as his face is thereafter always lined with bitterness? He is not happy with himself any longer. The eloquent Yakubu, at public functions, especially when questions are asked about glitches, now speaks haltingly like a criminal speaking when confronted with his crimes. His emotional agitation is always indicated by the tightening of his cheek muscles and the twitching of other muscles. Good enough, Nigerians have declared a perpetual war on him, such that even among content creators and pranksters, he is one of the most satirised Nigerians, as they like subjecting him to merited, hilarious caricature.

When we think of Mahmood today, we think of compromised public trust and how public confidence can be damaged. The discomfort of public disapproval, the quiet ostracism from the community of respected men, and the burden of damaged moral esteem cannot be erased by titles, appointments, or diplomatic postings. No ambassadorial appointment can restore lost public trust once history has delivered its verdict. 

Nigeria is our common father, yet Mahmood’s conduct, in intent and effect, amounted to a betrayal of that common bond - a patricide against the very democratic trust that binds the nation together.

The Critical Choice Ahead

History is often shaped not by grand speeches, but by moments of decision. There comes a time in the life of every public servant when he must choose between temporary gains and permanent honour; between pleasing powerful interests and earning the lasting gratitude of a people. Now is that time in your life.

Sir, if you choose Prof. Nnenna Oti, that is the path of justice and fairness. Whatever benefits those urging otherwise may promise you will pale into insignificance compared to what Nigerians themselves can offer: enduring respect, goodwill, honour, peace of mind, a place in history, and even material benefits. 

The beneficiaries of justice never forget those who stood for truth in difficult times. Nations too preserve such names with gratitude.

Nigeria today desperately needs institutions that can still inspire confidence. Citizens yearn to see men who can rise above pressure and stand firmly on the side of fairness. You have before you a rare opportunity to strengthen democracy, restore faith in institutions, and earn a place among those Nigerians remember with gratitude rather than regret.

Please do not trade a good name for fleeting rewards. Do not allow PBAT to ruin your reputation or erode the ancient principles of honour and virtue. You have the opportunity to spare Nigeria a great scandal by 

choosing  the path that will allow future generations to speak your name with admiration. Choose the path that will bring you peace rather than endless explanation. Choose the path that will make Nigerians remember you as a man who rose above pressure and served his country with honour.

At the evening of life, one question matters more than wealth, titles, or official privileges: “Did I do right when it truly mattered?” May history answer kindly on your behalf.

Unlike Buridan’s ass, your dilemma is not between two identical alternatives that paralyse the will. Before you stand two clearly distinct moral and historical paths: the honour associated with Nnenna Oti and the ignominy that many associate with Mahmood. One path leads to enduring respect, institutional trust, and a place in history; the other leads to public scepticism that no post, appointment, or rehabilitation can fully erase. The choice is not difficult to discern. What remains is simply the courage to decide rightly.

Yours sincerely,

A Concerned Citizen,

Valentine Obienyem

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