The immediate past lawmaker who represented Nnewi North constituency at the Anambra state 7th assembly Hon. Nonso Smart Okafor has described the treatment of GUO motors driver as dehumanising and condemable.
Hon. Okafor while reacting on video which is currently trending on social media wrote on his page;
“Anyone that knows me right from my school days knows that I hate intimidation! I HATE how the GUO driver was dehumanised. I condemned it in its entirety.
“I started fighting for justice as a child. Those that know me well know that I’m not known with abuse of power at any time. As a boy of less than 25 years I became SUG President, I never abused power. Almost 20 years after I handed over, my name still rings a bell in Oko as one President that fought for students right fearlessly.
“Two days ago, the present SUG President of Oko was in my office. He told me so many things about my regime, what I stood for. He didn’t even know when I was the President. When I told him it was 2006/2007, he shouted that he was in primary school then.
“As a House of Assembly member for 4 years, i never abused power. I still had my haircut where I used to. I still walked to church anytime I was in the village. I still drove myself around town without fighting anyone.
“Why am I saying all these? Some people misconstrued my earlier post to mean that I support injustice or abuse of power. That’s NOT me.
“I asked for forgiveness of Ossy because I saw a video where he visited the hospital to apologize to the driver who is the primary victim. To me, the driver is the first, GUO second and the public third. If he apologises the first and second and they agree, we the third which is the public have a lesser role to play.
“If they don’t accept the apology and decide to seek legal redress, it’s still within their right to do so. The same way it’s within my right to beg them to forgive.
“Secondly, some had issues with my singling out the guy flogging the driver with the machete. They say he is acting on Ossy’s instructions. My question is, does Ossy have powers to give such others? There were other guys there who beat up the driver but I faced the cutlass guy for a reason. I was taught, growing up, never to fight with weapons.
“I called for his arrest to serve as a deterrent to other attachés. It’s not all orders you carry out even though I’m convinced no one ordered him to use cutlass.
“Some asked why I didn’t ask for Ossy’s arrest? I didn’t because I know that someone at Ossy’s level will even prefer to be arrested than the kind of media bashing he has got. So I feel he has got his full dose. Again, visiting the driver at the hospital melted me.
“In summary, I’m an unrepentant comrade who always stands for justice especially in defence of those who can’t defend themselves. I hate oppression. I hate intimidation. I stand for the driver. There is no justification for the kind of treatment he got. I’m only asking for Ossy’s forgiveness because of his visit to the hospital to plead with the driver. And because Ossy I know, in his right mind, won’t order such brutality.
