Democracy advocate Chidi Nwosu (left) was killed on December 28 at his home in the city of Aba, southeastern Nigeria. His murder has been linked to his efforts to expose corruption and promote transparency.
As a leading advocate of good governance, Chidi made many enemies and he recently warned that his life had been threatened.
Chidi was head of the Human Rights, Justice and Peace Foundation, a long-time grantee of the National Endowment for Democracy.
Endemic corruption, poor governance and weak institutions continue to plague Africa’s most populous state, Nigerian foreign minister Henry Odein Ajumogobia recently told a meeting at the endowment.
Dave Peterson, the NED’s senior director for Africa, pays a personal tribute to a conscientious activist.
Chidi Nwosu’s fight for democracy in Abia State and Nigeria’s southeast might seem to have been futile. What could one young man do in the face of the power, wealth, violence and corruption of his adversaries?
And yet, with modest resources and non-violent means, by organizing local associations of workers and small business, by using the courts and lobbying, churning out press releases and emails, holding workshops and networking locally, nationally, and internationally, Chidi made a difference. He hounded and sometimes chased from power many of the criminals that control the local governments and states across the region.
He built a grassroots movement that empowered thousands of citizens in his home region, and inspired hope that democracy might one day persevere. He was always getting death threats, but he was fearless, and seemed invulnerable. Tragically, the assassins’ bullets finally caught up with him. He was only 39. He left behind a wife, Amaka, and a six-year old daughter.
Abia is among Nigeria’s most violent states, crawling with criminal gangs, often with political connections. The U.S. embassy advises against travel there, and the incidence of politically-motivated kidnappings and murder makes it dreaded even by Nigerians. Last year was filled with outrageous incidents, including the killing of many police officers a series of kidnappings – of a bus of 15 school children, four journalist union officials, numerous expatriate oil workers, a pastor in front of 5,000 members of his congregation, and a respected gynecologist whose wife retrieved his dead body after paying his ransom..
Chidi had long campaigned against the Bakassi Boys, one of the most infamous vigilante gangs. His report on the death by suffocation of 32 people they had detained in 2005 helped lead to their disbandment.
He was the nemesis of Orji Uzor Kalu, the governor of the state from 1999 to 2007. He shamed the Washington-based Wilson Center when Kalu was due to speak there and at the Sullivan Foundation when it proposed to give the governor an award. One of Chidi’s last campaigns was the successful arraignment on corruption charges of Prince Vincent Ogbulafor, the chairman of the ruling People’s Democratic Party. There is speculation that his successful efforts to thwart the sale of a government-owned rubber plantation to Kalu led to his death.
Chidi founded the National Congress of Nigerian Commoners, later known as the Human Rights Justice and Peace Foundation, in 2001. He was also the southeast chairman of the Campaign for Democracy and a young colleague of two of Nigeria’s most celebrated democracy advocates – the late Beko Ransome-Kuti and the late Gani Fawahinmi.
When I first met Chidi in 2002 in Port Harcourt, he struck me as unusually earnest and energetic. But far from the relatively open political environment of Lagos, Chidi’s bravery in promoting democracy and human rights in the political wilderness of the southeast was even more compelling. His democratic credentials were strong, and in the ensuing years that the NED was privileged to support his efforts, his frequent communications always conveyed great passion and idealism. He was a true believer. But like many of the best activists, he was also a skilled organizer and a sharp analyst of Nigeria’s often byzantine politics.
Another unforgettable memory I have of Chidi is driving with him from Port Harcourt to Aba a few days before the 2007 presidential elections. Just after one of the many police roadblocks, two naked, dead bodies lay in the middle of the road, obviously warnings from the security forces that no challenge to the local authorities would be tolerated. It was shocking. The elections would be a sham in the southeast. But despite such terror, “The dictatorship,” Chidi said, “is living on borrowed time.”
Chidi never gave up on the possibility of democratic reform, and in recent months expressed hope that President Goodluck Jonathan could help turn things around. He had no illusions about how difficult it would be.
The activities he envisioned for HRJPF in the coming year included training on non-violent campaigning with leading civil society organizations such as the Market Traders Association, the National Union of Transport Workers, the Tankers Drivers Association, the Academic Staff Union of Universities, and the Nigeria Bar Association, leading to the formation of a Movement for Local Government Electoral Reform. This movement would conduct negotiations with the state governments in the southeast for electoral reform; hold public forums, write letters to the editor, and organize e-meetings to raise public awareness on the need for reform; conduct picketing, leafleting and peaceful marches; and, assuming reform would be blocked, organize strikes, boycotts, and non-cooperation activities.
Chidi always liked to say that “the salvation of the oppressed lies, not in the hands of the oppressors, but in the hands of the oppressed.” In his memory, it would be fitting for us to continue to support his vision for building enduring democracy in Nigeria.
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We are very sad to hear of this vicious murder of a powerful activist. We mourn with the family and working colleagues of Chidi and ask that they be strong and believe that his dream and toil will not be in vain. The fight will continue.
Chidi! Chidi! Chidi! How can one be comforted? How can it be said that Chidi is no more? How can one believe that such evil can take place? How can one comprehend the reprehensive murder of a Patriot. However, it is not how long but how well. Chidi lived for his generation. He touched lives. He had wonderful plans for Amaeke Abam Community, Abia and Nigeria. No! His vision can not die. He lives. Vengence belongs to God.