latest octogenarians, Chief Anthony Akhakon Anenih, who
turned 80, on Sunday, August 4, 2013.
I think it is only in order, and very appropriate, to felicitate
with a man who has had the uncommon privilege and ability
to be in practically every government since the First Republic,
when he served as a police orderly to Dr Nnamdi Azikiwe, the
first Governor-General of Nigeria, and has remained
constantly relevant against all odds and attacks from radical
elements and busy-bodies like me.
When a man turns 80 in Africa, he has transfigured from an
ordinary human being to a deity of sorts, and an object of
apotheosis.
Elsewhere, some researchers would have attempted a
comprehensive analysis of what makes the man so
awesomely powerful as well as a deconstruction of the real
man. Chief Anenih defies all known theories and logic of
Nigerian politics. He’s a case-study in socio-political history. It
is wondrous how he has waltzed his way through the labyrinth
of our political jungle since he helped uproot the popular Unity
Party of Nigeria in the then Bendel State and installed Dr
Samuel Ogbemudia as civilian Governor in 1983. He had
earlier helped in displacing late Chief Anthony Enahoro as
State Chairman of the National Party of Nigeria and
subsequently took his place. His stock was made from that
moment and his political deftness became the stuff of legend.
I must confess that I’m equally guilty of not trying hard
enough to unravel this human mystery that goes by the alias,
‘Mr Fix It’. I knew nothing about Chief Anenih before 1993
when our paths crossed at the Moshood Abiola Crescent,
Ikeja, home of Chief Moshood Abiola, the then presidential flag
bearer of the Social Democratic Party of which Chief Anenih
was chairman. What I remembered about him was his almost
traditional mien of staying calm under daunting pressures. He
spoke very few words but those little words carried loads of
weight. Though at the time I was relatively insignificant in the
scheme of things to go near those party chieftains at their
meetings, I tried a bit to observe him closely even from the
distance.
What I noticed was that everyone swarmed around and either
feared or respected him. Even Chief Moshood Abiola deferred
to him. I wasn’t sure what it was about him and if it was the
fact that he was a very successful police officer in his earlier
career. There was a supernatural aura about his carriage and
comportment. He became permanently etched in the minds of
much younger folks like me after the annulment of the June 12
Presidential election which was won by his own party. He and
others had initially put up a spirited fight to seek and ensure
the revalidation of an election that was visibly won by their
candidate.
Somewhere along the line, things suddenly changed and the
party leadership succumbed to pressure and dumped their
own president-in-waiting. It was strange and unthinkable. Till
this day, no one has offered us any feasible explanation as to
what actually happened. We still wait with bated breath for
someone honest enough to properly put this period of our
history in proper perspective.
I was one of those deeply injured by the chicanery of that
moment. I felt cheated not only as a Nigerian but also as an
unrepentant acolyte of the undisputed winner of the election,
Chief Moshood Abiola. For 20 years thereafter, I never set eyes
on Chief Anenih face to face but followed his skilful moves with
clinical interest. I knew there had to be something special
about this man even if I couldn’t place my finger on what
exactly it was. I continued to marvel at how he navigated and
meandered his way from one government to the other.
I remember the sagacious and eloquent late Chief Bola Ige
almost weeping when he claimed that his faction had left the
People’s Democratic Party to form the Alliance for Democracy
because they could not share the same platform with Chief
Anthony Anenih. How on earth did he manage to upstage our
one and only Baba Iyabo, Chief Olusegun Matthew Okikiolakan
Aremu Obasanjo to become the Board of Trustees Chairman of
the People’s Democratic Party, I can’t stop wondering.
I ran into the prodigiously powerful man by chance for the first
time in 20 years recently in Abuja. The fortuitous meeting was
made possible by the proprietor of the Pacesetters Schools,
Barrister Kenneth Imansuangbon, who had extended an
invitation to me to attend the graduation ceremonies of his
very beautiful and academically sound institutions of learning.
Kenneth was a Governorship aspirant on the platform of PDP
in our home state of Edo, and a close ally of Chief Anenih. I
had wondered how the PDP chieftain would react to someone
who had criticised his party so much but I was in for a
pleasant surprise.
I doubt if Chief Anenih remembered me from the June 12 crisis
or just knows me now as a journalist, but we bonded so well
as soon as I bowed to pay homage to a man 27 years older
than me. We were soon joined by the cerebral and bubbly
Governor Tanko Al-Makura of Nasarawa State, a protégé of
General Muhammadu Buhari who is considered the nemesis of
the People’s Democratic Party. What I instantly noticed was
the way Chief Anenih related to everyone nicely without the
usual tension associated with the gathering of political foes.
Every time he was called out to perform a function, Chief
would beckon to me to join him on stage. On one occasion, he
actually walked up to me and pulled me along. I began to see
and feel some of the magic that made him such a magnetic
force. He was obviously a self-assured and confident man
who considered no one a threat to his mission in politics. I saw
a spellbinder who knew how to captivate and hypnotise
everyone around him. At 80, he looked extremely fit and active.
He stood long hours at the event without betraying any sign of
fatigue.
On our way out of the ceremony, he whispered to me that his
80th birthday was approaching and he would want me to
personally attend. He promised to send me the invitation card
as soon as it was ready. I thought it was just the usual
niceties people display for public relations effect and that he
was going to forget all about me in a jiffy. He was very
particular that his personal assistants gave me his direct line
and made sure we exchanged telephone numbers.I was so
certain that he would never remember to invite me being such
an extremely busy man. But my cynicism was totally
unfounded.
I was on my way to London from Accra when a text message
suddenly flew in from him last week. He wrote that he had
made efforts to speak to me but my line seemed unavailable.
Within a twinkle, I also received another message from his
look-alike son, Anthony Anenih Jnr who said his dad had been
trying to reach me. I felt so humbled that such an influential
man would spend all that time and energy on trying to get me
to his celebration. I promptly called him and he told me the
date of his birthday celebration in Abuja. Meanwhile, I had
been booked to attend The African Fashion & Arts banquet in
London on the same August 4, 2013, where Ovation
International was the media sponsor. My wife and children
were also anxiously waiting for a great vacation together
since I have been away on assignments most of this summer
holiday.
Chief Anenih told me emphatically that his 80th birthday
supersedes whatever I had planned to do. Please, tell me, how
could I have turned down an invitation from an 80-year old
man, after giving me the honour of a personal invitation? My
confusion was palpable but I bowed to Chief Anenih’s wishes
and jettisoned mine as a true African child must do. I’m glad I
did.
I was happy to see a man who bore no animosity against us
despite our critical judgment of him. I wished members of his
party would borrow a leaf from him by forgiving their
supposed enemies seventy times seven times, as demanded
by our Lord in the Holy Bible. What is the point of preaching
reconciliation when it is not seriously from the heart? Chief
Anenih had managed to reach out to me and I was very
touched. Despite his assured knowledge that we remain in
opposite camps he was resolute in his quest to have me
present at his momentous event because he probably
recognised that I am an objective critic determined only to see
that this country fulfils its potential as a true giant of Africa. In
this regard I am sure that Chief Anenih is a kindred spirit
although the paths and directions we chose to achieve our
goals are different.
Political squabbles and social upheavals have almost
grounded our nation. And no country can afford to live
perpetually in strife. Even in places where war was fought, the
gladiators still ended up on the negotiation table. For twenty
years, we’ve groped in darkness, fighting and tearing at each
other’s throats. What have we gained? Perhaps we all missed
the boat when we failed to reconcile our differences as
demanded by common sense. A sincere Government of
National Unity would have, probably, thawed the political ice.
Instead, we have systematically moved from good-natured
and kind-hearted people and graduated into “beasts of no
nation.” If a solution is not found soon, and we all continue to
pay lip service to peace and unity, we may drift into total
anarchy.
This is why I welcomed Chief Anenih’s sermon during the
reception held at the International Conference Centre, Abuja,
for his 80th birthday. Chief Anenih’s speech was powerful,
straight-forward and conciliatory. He appealed to all the big
stakeholders in our dear country to join hands to rescue and
uplift Nigeria. He spoke frontally to Presidents Obasanjo,
Babangida, and former Head of State, General Abdulsalami
Abubakar who were all present at the event, that they have got
what it takes to arrest this nation’s dangerous slide into
extinction.
As sound as the sermon was, I believe the job is going to be
difficult. There are too many people in the PDP who are too set
in their perfidious ways. If they would hearken to that sermon,
the fire burning all over Nigeria would be instantly doused.
Our problems stem from the selfishness and greed of a few
privileged people who have grabbed power for themselves and
their cronies. Only one man can bring about peace and true
reconciliation and that is the man at the very top, Mr President.
He has to put his attack dogs on leash. He has to portray the
image of a national figure and plead with his foot-soldiers not
to set fire to Nigeria whether he wins the next election or not.
God has been too kind to our leaders. There is nothing more to
add to what they already have.
Whatever has a beginning must have an end. It matters not if
a man serves two terms as President. What matters is what
you achieve each day of your stewardship. Opposition too
must do nothing to inflame the already combustive state of the
nation. While we wish to wrest power from the ruling party, it
must be done in an atmosphere of decorum and civilisation.
Nigeria cannot afford to continue this cycle of stupidity and
backwardness.
It is time to return to the path of sanity.
By Dele Momodu
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