CHRICED honours Prof Momoh at 5th memorial lecture

Resource Centre For Human Rights and Civic Education (CHRICED), yesterday, held the Fifth Memorial of the Chairman of its Board of Directors, Prof. Abubakar Momoh.

In a speech, CHRICED’s Executive Director, Dr. Ibrahim M. Zikirullahi, said the “loss of Prof. Momoh was not just a personal one; it was also the loss of a major pillar of this Centre.”

He noted: “With an infectious passion, he summoned meetings, debated ideas and concepts, fine-tuned documents, which provided the rationale and moral basis of the human rights and pro-democracy work, which we have always devoted ourselves to as an organisation. He galvanised and inspired us to reach limits, which we never knew we were capable of.”

According to him, Momoh’s “ideas tended to penetrate and melt away problems and knotty situations, which before his interventions looked too difficult to solve.

“Momoh was an astute judge of situations and from the wellspring of his experience and wisdom, this organisation found solace in its infancy and began building the strength to take on the great issues at the heart of the evolution of the democratic process in Nigeria and beyond.

“Thus, five years on, I pay tribute to Prof. Abubakar Momoh, a man, whose foresight, confidence, and commitment provided the compass we needed at a time of turbulence and uncertainty.”

The even, held in Gwarimpa, Abuja, featured commissioning of the organisation’s new office, which Zikirullahi hoped would become a “workstation that will serve as a base for dedicated advocates, change soldiers, researchers, and for raising new generation of change makers from across the country”.

The commissioning was performed by Director, Africa Office, MacArthur Foundation, Dr. Kole Ahmed Shettima, who Zikirullahi described as exemplifying “passion for humanity, public good, social justice and selflessness; the same ideals that Prof. Momoh stood for throughout his lifetime”.

He added: “It’s not surprising therefore that both remained close friends until Prof.’s sad passing in 2017. Dr. Shettima, on the other hand, has remained a devoted friend of Momoh’s family and CHRCED.”

In attendance were: Ms. Tawa Momoh, wife of late Prof. Abubakar Momoh; Director General, The Electoral Institute, Dr. Sa’ad Idris; Guest Lecturer, Dr. Seteolu Dele and others.