By Sufuyan Ojeifo<\/p>\n
Starting from 12.30 pm on Saturday, November 26, 2016 in the African Hall
\nof the International Conference Centre (ICC) in Abuja, the autobiography
\nof the acclaimed political godfather, Chief Anthony Akhakon Anenih, simply
\ntitled: \u201cMy Life and Nigerian Politics\u201d will be presented to the public on
\nan occasion that has been deliberately organised to reflect the mood of
\nthe times.\u00a0 However, regardless of this deliberateness, the caliber of
\nguests that have been carefully invited has, undoubtedly, elevated the
\nessence of the event: to celebrate the life and times of the political
\nicon; and, perhaps, his expected withdrawal from active partisan
\npolitics.<\/p>\n
Therefore, while the Planning Committee of the event may have succeeded in
\nsolemnising its atmospherics and nuances, the gravitas associated with the
\npersonas of some distinguished Nigerians who would be present at the event
\nmay have, to some extent, spun it out of control in terms of the intended
\nair of sobriety, which the celebrant desires.\u00a0 And, this should be
\nunderstandable when one considers the compact, yet impressive list of
\ninvitees.\u00a0 Nevertheless, the event would not come near his 80th birthday
\nheld three years ago, at the same venue, with pomp and ceremony, yes, with
\ngrandeur.<\/p>\n
But, I sincerely doubt if anybody can do much about discounting, on
\noccasions such as this one, the presence of the like of former head of
\nstate, General Abdulsalami Alhaji Abubakar who would chair the ceremony;
\nformer president, Dr Goodluck Jonathan who is a special guest; former
\ndefence minister and foremost philanthropist, Lt. General Theophilus
\nYakubu Danjuma who is the Chief Presenter of the book; the president of
\nDangote group and Africa\u2019s richest man, Alhaji Aliko Dangote; chairman of
\nGlobacom, Otunba Mike Adenuga; and former vice president, Architect
\nMohammed Namadi Sambo, among others, who are special guests.\u00a0 Only their
\npresence would serve to electrify any gathering.\u00a0 That is the truth.<\/p>\n
Nothing can also diminish the status of Anenih who is the central focus of
\nthe event, not even the planned low-key nature of it. \u00a0The fact that he
\nhas decided to put, in the public domain, pieces of information about his
\nparticipation in politics and government, which he has documented for
\nposterity, helps to accentuate his relevance and the seriousness of the
\nevent.\u00a0 He created for himself a reputation as a taciturn politician, a
\nman of few words but remarkable actions and practicability, such that he
\ncame to be widely regarded as \u201cMr. Fix It\u201d. \u00a0It is therefore expected that
\nwatchers of the political scene should enthusiastically relate with his
\nopening up on events and developments that have shaped his individuality
\nin the last thirty eight years in order, perhaps, to fill in some gaps,
\nconfirm what they have already known or get introduced to new facts.<\/p>\n
By opening up at this time, as a godfather of sorts, since political
\nfriends and foes are wont to refer to him as such, Anenih has purportedly
\nbroken his own silence code.\u00a0 That he has resorted to documenting the
\nstory of his participation in government and party administration is
\nevidence of this.\u00a0 He has been very reserved, neither granting press
\ninterviews nor taking to the public space to ventilate his positions.
\nBut, then, Anenih, political strategist and tactician, is just a good
\nfather (read godfather) of political interactions, whose passion is to
\nreward loyalty and spurn disloyalty; and this he has done creditably.<\/p>\n
Therefore, Anenih\u2019s autobiography, from the snippets ferreted, thus far,
\nfrom it, is unapologetically and truthfully presented in a lucid prose to
\nsustain attention of readers who are desirous to catch up with some new
\ninformation concerning the intrigues that underpinned, for instance, the
\nJune 12, 1993 presidential election debacle.\u00a0 He was the national chairman
\nof the defunct Social Democratic Party (SDP) on which platform, the late
\nbusiness mogul and presidential candidate of the party, the late Chief
\nM.K.O. Abiola won the June 12 presidential poll.\u00a0 He is, at all material
\ntimes, well placed to talk about what happened: how Abiola won the
\nelection; how the announcement of the results of the poll was halted
\nmidway and the unofficial final result which saw Abiola win the election
\nwas annulled by the regime of General Ibrahim Babangida; and how General
\nSani Abacha (now late), who was Defence Secretary in the Chief Ernest
\nShonekan led-Interim National Government, sacked Shonekan purportedly on
\nthe prompting of Abiola and appropriated power rather than relinquish it
\nto Abiola.<\/p>\n
How and why did Abacha get to sack Shonekan?\u00a0 What role did Abiola play in
\nthe overthrow?\u00a0 There are so many other questions, which, as learnt, are
\nanswered in the book. There are also many other issues that the narrative,
\nwhich traverses the entirety of Anenih\u2019s life and times, deals with.
\nMembers of the public, especially the politically-oriented, should
\nconsider reading the rich account of the life and politics of a man of few
\nwords through his singular book.<\/p>\n
Mr Ojeifo, Editor-in-Chief of The Congresswatch magazine, sent this piece
\nvia ojwonderngr@yahoo.com<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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