Anthony
Enahoro
Anthony
Eromosele Enahoro
(22 July 1923 – 15 December 2010) was one of Nigeria's foremost anti-colonial and pro-democracy activists. He was born the eldest of twelve
children in Uromi in the present Edo State of Nigeria. His Esan parents were Anastasius Okotako Enahoro (1900-1968) and
Fidelia Victoria Inibokun née Ogbidi Okojie (1906-1969). Enahoro has had a long and
distinguished career in the press, politics, the civil service and the
pro-democracy movement. Educated at the Government School Uromi, Government
School Owo and King's College, Lagos, Enahoro became the editor
of Nnamdi Azikiwe's newspaper, the Southern
Nigerian Defender, Ibadan, in 1944 at the age of 21,
thus becoming Nigeria's youngest editor ever. He later became the editor of Zik's
Comet, Kano, 1945–49, associate editor of West African Pilot, Lagos, and
editor-in-chief of Morning Star from 1950 to 1953.
In
1953, Enahoro became the first to move the motion for Nigeria's independence
which was eventually granted in 1960 after several political setbacks and
defeats in parliament. Enahoro has been regarded by academics and many
Nigerians as the "Father of Nigeria State". However, his motion for
Nigeria's Independence suffered setbacks in parliament on several occasions
with the northern members of parliament staging a walkout as a consequence of
the motion. Notwithstanding the defeat in parliament, a popular movement was
started on account of this motion and the pressure was now built up against
colonialism and there was agitations for independence for Nigeria, or at least
self governance. S.L. Akintola attempted to revisit the
motion for Nigeria's independence in 1957 and though his motion was passed by
parliament it was not acquiesced to by the British colonial authorities and it
therefore failed. In August 1958, Remi Fani-Kayode revisited Enahoro's motion and the motion
was again passed by parliament but its date was not approved by the British.
Fani-Kayode's motion had called for independence to be granted to Nigeria on
April 2, 1960. Nigeria was granted independence on October 1, 1960. In
furtherance of the ever recurring Enahoro's Motion, a further motion was
proposed to Parliament by Sir Tafawa Balewa in 1959 and it was passed. As a consequence
of the sustained pressure, the colonial governor announced the decision of the
Queen of England to grant her independence in 1960.
Early life
He
was born the eldest of ten children in Onewa village, Uromi, in the present Edo State of Nigeria. His Esan parents were Anastasius Asuelinmen "Okotako"
Enahoro (d. 1968) and Fidelia Inibokun née Ogbidi Okojie (d. 1969). Enahoro has had a long and distinguished
career in the press, politics, the civil service and the pro-democracy
movement. Educated at the Government School Uromi, Government School Owo and King's College, Lagos, Enahoro became the editor
of Nnamdi Azikiwe's newspaper, the Southern
Nigerian Defender, Ibadan, in 1944 at the age of 21.
AS a student then at the Kings College, Enahoro took part in the turbulent
Nigerian liberation struggle against colonial rule in the early 1940s, leading
to student revolts at the college in Lagos where he was a student leader. He
was prominent in politics at a time of rapid change. He was twice jailed for
sedition by the colonial government, for an article mocking a former governor,
and then for a speech allegedly inciting Nigerian troops serving in the British
army. The British marked him as a firebrand, but even as he was jailed for a
third time, he was beginning to reassess his position.
Politics
In
1950 he and Arthur Prest founded the Mid-West
Party. Enahoro had already started the Mid-West Press and he published the Nigerian newspaper from 1950 to 1953. The Mid-West
Party became part of the Action Group in 1951.[1]
During
the Nigerian crisis that followed the 1966 coups, Enahoro was the leader of the
then Mid-West delegation to the Ad Hoc Constitutional
Conference in
Lagos. He later became Federal Commissioner (Minister) for Information and
Labour under the General Yakubu Gowon Military Government, 1967–74; Federal
Commissioner for Special Duties, 1975. He later became a member of the National
Party of Nigeria, NPN, 1978–83. He was the president, World Festival of Negro
Arts and Culture, 1972–75.
Enahoro
was the chairman of the National
Democratic Coalition
(NADECO), a pro-democracy group that fought dictator Sani Abacha till Abacha's death. Enahoro was conferred
with the national honour of Commander, Order of the Federal Republic, CFR, in
1982, and is the chairman of the Movement for National Reformation, MNR; as
well as the Pro-National Conference Organisation, PRONACO. He was awarded honorary
DSC by the University of
Benin in
1972. His publications include the treatise Fugitive Offender. Enahoro
played golf and followed cricket ardently.[2][3][4] Enahoro was a delegate to most of the
constitutional conferences leading to the independence of Nigeria in 1960.
Crisis in Western Nigeria
During
the 1962 crisis in the old Western region, he was detained along with other Action Group members. Accused of
treason during the Awolowo alleged coup trial, Enahoro escaped via Ghana to the
United Kingdom in 1963, Nigeria requested
Enahoro's extradition under the 1881 Fugitive Offenders Act, preventing his
application for political asylum. Early in 1963, the new leader of the Labour
party, Harold Wilson, detected the embarrassment caused by Enahoro's arrest and
imprisonment. Labour went on the attack in the Commons, with support from some
Tories, backed by a media furore. He was once one of the best-known Nigerians
in Britain. He was the "fugitive offender" who triggered days of
debate in the House of Commons in 1963 as he battled against extradition.
"The
Enahoro affair" became an issue of human rights versus the government's
pusillanimous wish not to offend Nigeria, and put the Tory prime minister,
Harold Macmillan, and his home secretary, Henry Brooke, in a difficult
position.
He
was extradited from the UK and imprisoned for treason. In 1966, he was
released by the Military Government.
Sport
Enahoro
came from a sporting background. He excelled in sports at King's College and is
credited with being the first Nigerian National to gain membership of a golf
club in Nigeria. He managed to bring his handicap down into single figures
during his long golfing career. He was also the driving force behind bringing
FESTAC to Nigeria in the 1970s, during which time both Muhammad Ali and Pele
visited the country to widespread acclaim. All his children excelled at sport
during their schooling and University years, playing Football, Rugby, Golf and
Tennis. Kenneth (1953-2017) and Eugene are avid golfers and founding members of
the Saturday Society at Benin Golf Club. Annabella practices Pilates and
Gabriel is an avid cyclist.
Legacy
In
1953, Anthony Enahoro initiated the self-government motion in the Western House
of Assembly, which eventually led to Nigerian Independence on the 1st day of
October, 1960.
Family
Enahoro
was survived by his wife Helen [née Ediae] (1933-2012), their five children,
several grandchildren and great-grandchildren.
Books
- Fugitive offender: the story of a political prisoner
References
· Professor Henry Louis Gates, Jr.;
Professor Emmanuel Akyeampong; Mr. Steven J. Niven (2 February 2012). Dictionary of African Biography. OUP USA. p. 302. ISBN 978-0-19-538207-5.
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