As the echo of June 12 continue to vibrate across the country, the son of late Chief Tony Anenih, Mr Ose Anenih has punched the Presidency over an alleged account of his father as portrayed by Bayo Onanuga, Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy.
Ose Anenih said that it was so surprising and disappointing that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, through his aide chose to use uncouth language to described his late father, Chief Anenih and in an official communication from no less a place than “the Presidency”.
Ose Anenih said that it was unfortunate that he had to defend his father’s name against a lie, and doubly unfortunate that that lie was issued in the name of the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
He said he had hoped that this level of toxicity left with the former occupant of the office of President, saying however, that he will rise above the emotional baiting that the conversation has clearly sparked, thus will speak only to the truth.
Ose Anenih said that he would also assume that the Presidency’s mischaracterisation of historical events stems from ignorance, not malice.
In the words of Ose Anenih; “I’m just surprised, and slightly disappointed, that so much energy is going into the re-telling of a tale that is more than 30 years old. Of what relevance to the average Nigerian is any of this, today?
“I truly wish you had used your pen today to issue condolences to the victims of the suicide bombings in Kano and Borno, rather than rewriting history and smearing the dead,” he stated.
Ose said that it was an established fact that Chief Abiola initially fled the country after the annulment of the June 12 presidential elections by General Ibrahim Babangida, adding that when he returned, one of his first visits was to Chief Tony Anenih, who was then the National Chairman of the SDP, in Benin City.
According to Ose; “True to form, my father confronted Abiola. He accused him, to his face, of abandoning the party and its supporters in the immediate aftermath of the annulment while they risked life and limb defending his mandate.
He further said that Abiola’s public response was; “A bird does not tell his friends that the stone is coming”.
Ose said that his father also told him of another conversation, one in which he warned Abiola that his increasingly close dealings with General Sani Abacha would ultimately destroy his chances of reclaiming his mandate, adding that at that time, both the SDP and NRC had negotiated for an Interim National Government with the understanding that it would eventually hand over power to Abiola.
In the words of Ose Anenih; “MKO walked in step-lock with this arrangement, in fact strategically ring-fencing a few sensitive ministerial portfolios for himself. But Abiola perhaps grew impatient of waiting; and decided to pursue a different path.
“According to Anenih, when he warned Abiola of the folly in trusting the military, Abiola told him: “Whether you go by plane or by car, what matters is that you get to Kano.” The ING, to Abiola, was a road trip. Abacha’s military coup, which Abiola publicly encouraged, he regarded as a private jet.
“Indeed, Abiola was one of the first to visit and congratulate Abacha after he overthrew the ING and seized power”.
Ose Anenih explained that he was not aware of any animosity that ever existed between his father and President Tinubu, stressing that his late father acknowledged that Tinubu had initially spoken out against the delay in announcing the results of the June 12 election.
He said; “It was the only time he mentioned Tinubu in his 260 page book. I have no personal knowledge of what role your principal played after that.
Ose Anenih said that he find it curious that Onanuga and the presidency consider Abiola’s early visit to Abacha, immediately after a coup to remove the ING he (MKO) helped birth, a mark of honour.
“Like Lamido said, many of the key players in that chapter of our history like IBB, Abdulsalami, Oyegun, Ikimi, Mark, Ayu, Dele Momodu, and others – including Kola, MKO’s son – are still alive. We are also fortunate that my father wrote his own version of events before he passed,” Ose Anenih said.
He also said that he will be happy to send Onanuga a copy of his father’s memoir, ‘My Life and Nigerian Politics,’ to help him avoid ahistorical misadventure in future.
