With the passing of Chief Anthony Akhakon Anenih, the Iyasele of Uromi, to the great beyond on Sunday, the 28th of October, 2018, it could rightly be said, without any iota of equivocation, that a truly enigmatic giant has just closed his mortal chapter in exchange for that of immortality. Without questions, the nation of Nigeria and, in particular, members of the political community have, by his passing, lost a major player in the arena and our politics has become a lot poorer for it.
Born about 85 years ago, Chief Tony Anenih, as he was fondly called, through precipitous dint of hard work, personal doggedness and tenacity, successfully pulled himself up by the bootstraps and exploited the full potentials of his life’s opportunities, so well, that now at his inevitable departure, his family, friends and even foes, can only take it as the inevitable end of a life well lived. Faced with the personal challenge of insufficient education, he took it upon himself to read for and passed the “GCE O” levels at home in between work. With that academic elevation, he gained admission into the Police College and was subsequently commissioned as an officer and thus found himself within the elite corps of the Police.
Good fortune allying with noticeable personal competence led to his selection as an orderly to the first indigenous Governor-General of Nigeria, Rt. Honourable Nnamdi Azikiwe. This high-profile posting, no doubt, opened a new vista to the then young Anenih. From the vantage point of the State House, he encountered powerful people and quickly learnt a great deal about the dynamics of partisan politics, knowledge that would prove very profitable later. At some point in his blossoming police career, he met the late Yar’ Adua then also a young officer in the Nigerian Army, the same Yar’ Adua who later would become Obasanjo’s Number Two in the Supreme Military Council following the assassination of General Murtala in the Dimka abortive coup of 1975.
So close the duo became that they formed a business partnership, the “Yarkon Enterprises”, which was an acronym for “Yar’ Adua and Akhakon”, Anenih’s middle name”. When Yar’ Adua decided to go into politics and formed the powerful People’s Democratic Movement, the PDM, it was only naturally that Chief Anenih, his buddy, would be on board and as a major player. It was at that point that the intimidating title of “Leader” was first foisted on him as it was the habit of Gen Yar’ Adua to always refer to him as “leader” and, in no time, every PDM member accepted that title in both its substantive and honorific sense. After the PDM was truncated by IBB in the course of his infamous “banning and unbanning” of parties, the SPD was put in place and Chief Anenih, riding on the PDM momentum, was named as its Chairman, a truly visible national leadership platform.
Some wondered how come the man suddenly became a colossus in the politics of Nigeria. On the contrary, I found him to be a genius in his own right and I was therefore not surprised at all. I already discovered in my first encounter with him in the summer of 2003 that he could practically recall the phone numbers of so many people off head even at his age. I met him for about 40 minutes and I discussed certain policy issues with him and he was evidently impressed and he wondered aloud what the hell I was doing in the US when they needed people of my type in their government. Unfortunately, I wasn’t interested in serving in government at that time. The next time we met in his Asokoro home in Abuja, I was trying to refresh his memory about the theme of our previous discussion but to my surprise, the old man accurately recollected all that we discussed while I have since deleted some of the details from my head. We met several more times thereafter either at Uromi or in Abuja and he always vividly recalled what we last discussed. I concluded there and then that with that computer-type of memory power, he would always have the upper hand in any policy tussle with his less-than-capable political associates.
Another hidden power of the late Chief is that he was a man of very few words. In the manner of all great leaders, he had an extraordinary capacity to listen, process and respond speedily and comprehensively. When you combine such taciturn disposition to the martial discipline of his police training, it becomes clear why he was amply placed to tilt any political situation to his own advantage and we saw a lot of that while he held sway as national Chairman SDP, state Chairman, Edo PDP, national PDP Campaign Strategist, Minister of Works, Chairman PDP Board of Trustees, etc.
As an Esan man, well-imbued with the “Atalefo philosophy”, the Chief’s words were his bonds. He never issued empty threats but whenever you heard him said something like “he will burn his fingers”, take note that the subject of that condemnatory statement was heading for the gallows unless he repented swiftly and, strangely enough, the Chief had an unlimited capacity to forgive his offenders, no matter how heinous. Perhaps the most enduring feature of Chief Anenih’s brand of politics is that he followed through on his promises, no matter the costs. That was why anyone he supported politically almost always win, hence the sobriquet: “Mr. Fix it”. He took issues of loyalty very seriously, more like a Mafia Godfather. If he thought that you are loyal, he would fight your cause to the very end. Otherwise, you are on your own.
Just as he was great at the national level, he was also a very loyal “homeboy” who would never bypass capable persons from his immediate surroundings or environment for others whenever he had the opportunity. That accounted for why many individuals from Uromi, his hometown (“the city of the Tonies”: the late Chief Anthony Enahoro, Anthony Anegbode, Air Vice-Marshal Anthony Okpere, etc. were all his kinsmen) were well “empowered” in terms of appointments and official largesse. Certainly, charity begins at home and Chief Anenih didn’t shy away from that reality. For, example, the church named after his patron saint, St. Anthony’s Catholic Church Uromi, is currently being transformed into a Basilica, thanks largely to his quiet singular philanthropy.
Like all mortals, Chief Anenih also suffered some very severe personal tragedies such as the loss of both his wife and son in quick succession recently. He had also seen it all in the opulent and sunny sides of life; being once a powerful federal minister, a successful party leader, a businessman, a great family and community leader – all illustrious. What else? That is the man who Nigeria has just lost to the cold hands of death, the ultimate leveler. I agree with the reviewer of his Biography who noted that “the country had never seen and may never see again any politician of such sagacity”. Absolutely!
END
Be the first to comment