code: public static <T> T checkNotNull(
          @Nullable final T reference,
          final String eid
      ) {
          if (reference == null) {
              throw new EidNullPointerException(ensureEid(eid));
          }
          return reference;
      }
docs: Ensures that an object reference passed as a parameter to the calling
  method is not null.
  <p>
  Please, note that for performance reasons, Eid is not evaluated until
  it's needed. If you are using {@code Validator},
  please use {@link #checkNotNull(Object, Eid)} instead.
  
  @param <T>       type of object reference being checked
  @param reference an object reference
  @param eid       the exception message to use if the check fails; will be
  converted to a string using
  {@link String#valueOf(Object)}
  @return the non-null reference that was validated
  @throws EidNullPointerException if {@code reference} is null