….he says Nsofor Is Man excellence in Character and Learning
PRESS RELEASE
I received with sadness,but also with total submission to the will of God for a life well- spent, the news of the demise of H.E. Ambassador Justice Sylvanus Adewere Nsofor at the age of 85.
Ambassador Nsofor was Nigeria’ s Ambassador to the United States of America. The octogenarian former Justice of the Court of Appeal’s path and mine crossed a little over a year ago in his chancery office at the Embassy of the Federal Republic of Nigeria in the United States. Almost fresh from my appointment as Chairman,House Committee on Foreign Affairs,I had alongside my little delegation that comprised the Clerk of the Committee, Mohammed Ali Turkwa,and one other, undertaken a familiarisation/ quasi- oversight visit to some selected Nigeria Embassies/ High Commissions in some ten countries across Europe and the Americas.
Naturally,the United States,where,for obvious reasons, Nigeria maintains strong presence with an Embassy and some two Consulate Offices scattered across the coasts of that country,was listed as part of my itinerary. The late Ambassador was on hand to receive me and I could not help but be completely enthralled at the sharpness of his memory and clarity of his thought processes,which I considered unique for a man who had gone past eighty.
In spite of my pressing time,I had decided to engage Ambassador Nsofor. His personality was as charming and revealing as it was impressive. He had unusual panache and erudition for a Nigerian of his generation. You could tell that from a pole apart. He was a man of learning and history.He had been the lone voice that had sided with the then Candidate Buhari on the Appeal Court bench against the victory of President Obasanjo, following the 2003 Presidential Poll. His was the minority judgment,but he was neither shaken nor deterred by what a usually “ravaging” President Obasanjo would unleash on him. He had written and spoken his convictions against what was widely known as a manipulation of the electoral processes by the INEC and other collaborators in that 2003 election. For him,all that had mattered ,he would reveal to me,were his professional learning,his name and the judgment of history of his action. He had gone ahead to etch his name on the altar of nationalistic progressivism in the decisions and actions of the Judiciary of our country.
Thanks to President Buhari,who is quick to reward honesty and character, Ambassador Justice Nsofor again returned to national limelight shortly after Buhari won the 2015 Presidential Election,twelve long years after 2003. This time the gentleman- jurist did not return as a legal luminary or anything near the legal profession,but as a diplomat.His appointment in 2017 as Nigerian Ambassador to the United States was all that was needed to still emphasise, albeit subtly, that honesty remains the best policy in a world that daily seeks to make moral discipline and positive strength of character under external pressures seem awkwardly naive and outdated! This was largely inspiring at a time when the acceptably unwritten national code seemed to be:”Take the money and do the shit; that’s all that matters!”
I join the world to mourn Justice Nsofor,a Great Nationalist,Believer in One Equitable Nigeria,Promoter of Egalitarian Society,Diplomat Per Excellence and Legal Icon,whose nationalistic and patriotic proclivities can be seen not only in his actions,character,but even in the appearance of a Yoruba name in- between his two other names. There is no doubt that he lived well and happy,too. At 85, he had made it past the Biblical three-score-and-ten. He had attained the apogee of the legal profession and had represented his country for about three solid years at the uppermost echelons of diplomatic functions. Such is the reward of honesty,excellence of spirit and character and,in addition,hard work. Whenever occasion demands,we will,surely, continue to remember the mark Justice Nsofor has made in life across diverse fields of endeavours.
For myself, therefore,my personal family,and on behalf of members of the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of Representatives and the good people of my Constituency,Gombi/ Hong Federal Constituency of Adamawa State,I convey our deepest condolences to His Excellency,Mr President,who has lost a personal friend and ally in the crusade for a corruption- free Nigeria; as well as to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs,the Foreign Mission and,indeed,to the immediate family of the late jurist on the loss of Ambassador Justice Sylvanus Adewere Nsofor.
Our hearts and prayers are with, especially,the late jurist ‘s immediate family at this trying time. We also pray for the peaceful repose of the soul of the deceased.
May his gentle soul and those of the faithful departed find rest in the bosom of our Lord,Jesus Christ
Rt. Hon.Yusuf Buba Yakub* ,MHR
Chairman, Committee on Foreign Affairs,House of Representatives.
*December 12,2020
