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Anthony Enahoro, A Journalist Who Moved Motion For Nigeria’s Independence In 1953

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Chief Anthony Enahoro, Nigerian politician, activist and journalist.

Chief Anthony Eromosele Enahoro was a Nigerian nationalist, journalist, pro-democracy activist and politician. He is considered one of the heroes of Nigeria’s independence movement. He came into the limelight in 1944 when he was made editor of the Southern Nigerian Defender at the age of twenty one, becoming the youngest newspaper editor in the history of Nigeria.

Early Life

Anthony Enahoro was born in Uromi in present-day Edo State on July 22, 1923 to Anastasius Okotako Enahoro and Fidelia Inibokun (née Ogbidi Okojie). He was educated at Government School, Uromi; Government School, Owo, (in Ondo State); and King’s College, Lagos. While a student at King’s College in the 1940s, he became a student leader and led several anti-colonial protests. He married Helen Imayuse Ediae – daughter of Chief J. Ediae Idahosa, the Aiwerioba of Benin – on January 10, 1954. They had five children.

Career in Journalism

In 1944 at the age of twenty-one, Anthony Enahoro met Nnamdi Azikiwe who sent him from Lagos to Ibadan to edit his newspaper, the Southern Nigerian Defender, making him Nigeria’s youngest ever newspaper editor. He was also editor of the Daily Comet from 1945 to 1949; assistant editor of the West African Pilot (based in Lagos and previously edited by Azikiwe) from 1950 to 1952; and editor-in-chief of the Morning Star (based in Sapele, Delta State) from 1950 to 1953.
As an editor, Enahoro often came into conflict with the British colonial government. In 1946, he published an exposé of British colonial misconduct in the Daily Comet which earned him nine months of imprisonment on sedition charges. He served a twelve-month sentence in 1947 for a stirring speech denouncing police violence and discrimination against Nigerian troops serving in the British army. His final incarceration by the colonial administration was in 1949 when he defied the administrations order’s and chaired a lecture for Azikiwe’s Zikist Movement.

Political Career

Anthony Enahoro joined the Action Group (AG), a newly established political party led by Obafemi Awolowo, in 1951 and was elected a member of the Federal House of Assembly in the same year. It was while a member of the House on March 31, 1953 that Enahoro moved the historic motion in favour of granting independence to Nigeria. Although it was rejected by an overwhelming majority of the northern leaders in the House, it inspired other nationalists to intensify their struggle which eventually culminated in the achievement of independence on October 1, 1960.

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President Buhari and Chief Enahoro

President Buhari and Chief Enahoro

Enahoro was also elected a member of the Western House of Assembly in 1952 and in 1954 Obafemi Awolowo, then the Western Premier, appointed him Minister of Home Affairs. In 1955, he was conferred with the title of Adolor Uromi in recognition of his contributions to the independence movement (adolor is an Edo word which refers to a person who brings progress and development). He became the Deputy National President of the Action Group in 1958 and led a delegation of the party to the inaugural All African People’s Congress in Accra, Ghana.

A crisis erupted in the Action Group in 1962 when the leadership of the party was accused of plotting a coup against the federal government and threatened with detention. In September, Enahoro fled Nigeria for London, travelling via Accra. The Nigerian government mounted pressure on the Labour Party-controlled British Parliament to extradite Enahoro by invoking the 1881 Fugitive Offenders Act. The London authorities detained him in Brixton Prison. His case was intensely debated in parliament until Harold Macmillan, the British Prime Minister, bowed to the majority’s argument. Enahoro’s asylum request was rejected and he was extradited in March 1963. The Nigerian government sentenced him to fifteen years’ imprisonment on charges of felony and treason in September 1963. The sentence was later reduced to ten years on appeal.

He was released in 1966 by the military government of General Yakubu Gowon and in 1967, Gowon appointed him Commissioner of Information and Labour, a position he was to serve in from the period of the Nigerian Civil War until 1974. He served as Federal Commissioner for Special Duties under General Murtala Muhammed in 1975 until the latter’s assassination.
Enahoro was a member of the National Party of Nigeria (NPN) from 1978 to 1983 and was the chairman of the party’s Bendel State (present day Delta and Edo states) branch from 1978 to 1980.

Later Activism

After the military coup that ousted the government of Alhaji Shehu Shagari, Enahoro was among the first to criticise the activities of the military. He convened the Movement for National Reformation (MNR) in 1992 when it became evident the military were not willing to relinquish power to a civilian government. He was a co-chairman and the Steering Committee Chairman of the National Democratic Coalition of Nigeria (NADECO) from 1993 to 1998. He went into exile in 1996 to escape the military’s assassination attempts, eventually returning from the US in 2000.

In 2005, Enahoro co-founded another pro-democracy movement, the Pro-National Conference Organisation (PRONACO). He was chairman of the movement from 2005 to 2007.

Awards
In 1973, Enahoro was awarded an honorary doctorate in political science from the University of Benin. The federal government conferred on him the honour of Commander, Order of the Federal Republic (CFR) in 1982.

Death
Enahoro died on December 15, 2010 after a protracted battle with diabetes at his residence in Benin.

With attached photos of Anthony Enahoro and President Muhammadu Buhari at the PRONACO Peoples’ Confab on 12/6/2006.

Credit: Zaccheus Onumba Dibiaezue Memorial Libraries.

History

Today in History: Former Senate President Chuba Okadigbo Was Gassed To Death

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Late Dr Chuba Okadigbo
Late Dr Chuba Okadigbo

By Abbas Yushau Yusuf

On September 23, 2003, the vice-presidential candidate of the All Nigeria Peoples Party, Chief William Wilberforce Chuba Okadigbo, was allegedly gassed at Kano Pillars Stadium by security agents during a rally of the defunct All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP), led by the opposition candidate in the 2003 general elections, General Muhammadu Buhari (retired).

The ANPP and its candidate, Muhammadu Buhari, staged the opposition rally at Sani Abacha Stadium as a prelude to their court case at the Presidential Election Tribunal in Abuja, led by Justice Umaru Abdullahi.

The rally, which had thousands of Buhari’s supporters in attendance, was graced by the new Governor of Kano State, Malam Ibrahim Shekarau, his late Deputy, Engineer Magaji Abdullahi, Hajiya Najaatu Muhammad, and John Nwodo Junior.

The ANPP National Chairman, Chief Donald Etiebet, also attended the rally. However, apart from Malam Ibrahim Shekarau, the rest of the ANPP Governors were not in attendance, including Ahmad Sani Yerima of Zamfara, Adamu Aliero of Kebbi, the late Bukar Abba Ibrahim of Yobe, Senator Ali Modu Sheriff of Borno, and Attahiru Dalhatu Bafarawa of Sokoto.

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Aware of Dr. Chuba Okadigbo’s health condition, the then Federal Government under Chief Olusegun Obasanjo did not want the rally to proceed. Security personnel mounted the entrance to Kano Pillars Stadium to prevent entry into the field until the Kano Governor, Malam Ibrahim Shekarau, ordered the youth to break the gate, allowing the opposition figures to enter.

Upon entering the stadium, Malam Ibrahim Shekarau chastised his predecessor and the then Minister of Defence, Engineer Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, for not visiting Kano since handing over power on May 29, 2003. He referred to Kwankwaso as “Ministan tsoro,” meaning “Minister of Fear.”

On returning to Abuja, the late William Wilberforce Chuba Okadigbo died on Friday, September 25, 2003, following the alleged gassing by security agents at Kano Pillars Stadium.

Dr. Chuba Okadigbo was the political adviser to former President Shehu Shagari during the Second Republic. He hailed from Oyi Local Government in Anambra State.

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History

Meet Nigeria’s First Professor Of History

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The first professor in Nigeria was Professor Kenneth Dike (1917-1983). He was a renowned historian and academic who made significant contributions to the field of African history and culture.

Professor Dike was born in Awka, Anambra State, Nigeria, and received his early education in Nigeria and the United Kingdom. He earned his Ph.D. in history from the University of Aberdeen in 1950 and returned to Nigeria to teach at the University College, Ibadan (now the University of Ibadan).

In 1956, Professor Dike became the first Nigerian to be appointed as a professor, serving as the Professor of History at the University of Ibadan. He was a pioneer in the field of African history and wrote several influential books, including “Trade and Politics in the Niger Delta” and “A Hundred Years of British Rule in Nigeria”.

History of the Ajanakus Family in Ilesa, Osun State, Nigeria

Professor Dike’s achievements and contributions to education and academia have been recognized and celebrated in Nigeria and beyond. He remains a celebrated figure in Nigerian history and an inspiration to generations of scholars and academics.

 

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History

Late Haruna Kundila: The Pre Colonial Wealthiest person in Kano

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By Jamilu Uba Adamu

Late Mallam Sa’adu Zungur (1915 – 1958) in his song Arewa Mulukiya ko Jamhuriya said;

“Ya Sarki Alhaji Bayero,
Ga Yan birni da Kanawiya.

Tun Bagauda na saran Kano, Suka fara fataucin dukiya.”

Throughout its history Kano State have been a trading and important commercial center. History have shown that Kano has produced quite a number of wealthy individuals that their names will always be there in the annals of history.

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The ability of Kano and Kanawa to create wealthy individuals did not start in this modern era. The like of Madugu Indo Adakawa, Muhammadu Dan Agigi, and Madugu Dangomba, Umaru Sharubutu, Mai Kano Agogo, Alhasasan Dantata, Adamu Jakada, Muhammad Nagoda and many others were among the wealthy individuals that Kano produce.

Late Alh. Haruna Kundila (1810 – 1901 ) was known for his great wealth and fortune in the pre-colonial Kano during the reign of Emir Abdullahi Maje Karofi and his successor Emir Bello Ibrahim Dabo.

There was this popular Hausa saying attributed to him ; Bana siyarwa bane ya gagari Kundila, literally meaning that there is nothing Kundila can’t afford to buy unless if it is not for sale, because of his massive wealth and purchasing power.

Haruna Kundila was born in 1810 at Makwarari Quarters in Kano city.

The story about his source of wealth says that ” one day when he came out from house, he met Mallam Sidi ( according to the story Mallam Sidi, is a Pious God fearing Islamic teacher, that many people believe that he is a “Waliyyi’ ) and Mallam Sidi asked Kundila how he can help him get those that can evacuate his sewer pit ? Kundila answered him in positive. When he checked and couldn’t find anyone to do the job, he decided to do it by himself. When the Mallam came back and asked him weather he find out the people? He told him that the people have already came and do the work, Mallam Sidi asked him again “How much they were supposed to be paid for the work? But suddenly someone that witness how Kundila did the work alone, intercede and told Mallam that Kundila do the work by himself. When the Mallam heard that, he shake his head and said; To , Insha Allahu,duk inda warin masan nan ya buga gabas da Yamma, Kudu da Arewa sai kayi suna ka shahara an sanka ”

History tell us that Haruna Kundila who was a slave trader in those days, had a trade relations with traders coming to kano from foreign countries such as Mali,Sudan,Libya, Senegal,Damagaram,Agadas,Garwa,Duwala,Bamyo and Fallomi.

In his heyday’s, there is no one in Kano with Kundila’s wealth. Kundila was very rich and had estates by each of the city gates (Kofofi). It was said that he owned more than one thousand slaves. In fact he was the wealthiest trader in Nineteen century Kano.

The reason behind the name Kundila; history tell us that, Haruna has a younger sister named Binta who follows him in birth. After she grew up, one day Haruna went home and found his sister in thier mother’s room, he said to her ” Please Binta, “Miko min Kundina” the sister started to be repeating the words “Ina Kundina? Ina Kundina? Since that time the name Kundila followed him for the rest of his life. Up till today some Government housing estate in Kano bear the name, example Kundilar Zaria road.

It was said that when he died in 1901 (two years before the British Conquest of Kano) Kano was shaken for the loss of one the greatest wealthiest individual in it’s history.

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