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About Chief Anthony Enahoro Chief
Anthony Enahoro,
Prof. Chinua Achebe
Chief Anthony Enahoro
Educated at the Government School
Uromi, Government School Owo and Kings College Lagos, Chief Enahoro became
the editor of Dr. 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, Chief Enahoro became a foundation member of Chief Awolowo’s Action Group party; secretary and chairman, Ishan Division Council; member Western House of assembly; and later member, Federal House of Representatives
in 1951. He later became Minister of Home Affairs in the old western region. He was the Opposition spokesman on
Foreign Affairs and Legislative Affairs in the Federal House of Representatives, 1959-63; and moved motion for
the independence of 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, Chief Enahoro escaped to the During the Nigerian crisis that
followed the 1966 coups, Chief Enahoro was the
leader of the then Mid-West delegation to the Ad Hoc Constitutional Conference in Chief Enahoro was the chairman of the National Democratic Coalition, NADECO; a pro-democracy
group that fought dictator Sani Abacha till Abacha’s death. Chief Enahoro was conferred with the national honour of Commander,
Order of the About Pini Jason
Chief Enahoro was interviewed by PINI JASON. THE INTERVIEW
Q. The first and obvious question to ask
you, chief is -- at 82, why are you still in the struggle that you started around the age of 21? A. I have often said, in answer to this
question, that we—the youth of my generation—set out to struggle for freedom, modernization and democracy. As you
know, we succeeded with freedom. We also succeeded, to a great extent, with modernization, but it is sad that Q. What
would you say, to use Chinua
Achebe’s memorable term, is the trouble with
A. The trouble with Advertise here
Q. You were
part of General Gowon’s
wartime cabinet. Given the trend of agitations today, which tend towards ethnic self-determination, would you say,
with hindsight, that the civil war was necessary, given that the Biafrans insisted on a confederation? A. I have always held that the
civil war was unnecessary and avoidable. The delegation of the Midwest Region, which I led at the 1966 conference,
held behind-the-scenes, discussions with leaders of each of the other delegations; we made proposals, which the
leader of the Eastern delegation, Prof Eni Njoku, agreed to go to Enugu to try and sell to the then Military Governor of the Eastern Region, Colonel
Ojukwu. The Conference therefore adjourned for a short period; but Prof Njoku and the Eastern delegation never returned to the Conference, and that was the end of our efforts. Q. You were
the leader of the National Democratic Coalition, NADECO,
which fought the military for democracy. The question people often ask is -- how come many of the pro-democracy
activists are not active participants in the post military politics? A. Many of us in NADECO, including myself, held the view that it is not the business of the military to impose a constitution
on the country. We believed that this constituted the danger of a subtle continuation of military rule, and that
if we participated in validating military rule by supporting Gen Abdulsalami (Abubakar), the military might find a way to impose one of its own
on the country as Head of Government. Q. When,
in the fifties, you moved the motion for independence, what type of a nation did you have in mind? A. There was no general agreement
on this question. What was important was that we should be free from
Chief Anthony Enahoro
Q. Some
say our glory is in the past. And they say this when they look back and see that A. Some might say that the turning
point was the 1959 elections when the Premiers of the Eastern and Western Regions decided to compete personally
for control of the central government while the Northern Premier, the Sarduana of Sokoto, chose to remain in power in Kaduna in the Northern Region, and send his subordinate, Abubakar Tafawa Balewa, to Lagos as Prime Minister. Briefly, the consequence was
that the National Prime Minister was superior to the leaders of the East and West, but subordinate to the Leader
of the North. The consequences were weighty. Q. Nigeria was an emerging economy, so
much that the Eastern part alone was described as the fastest growing economy in A. My theory is -- through Agriculture
and Exports. We must feed ourselves adequately, and we must produce abundantly for export. Q. If you were in any government, what
would be your recipe for reviving our agriculture? A. I would call it “developing”
rather than “reviving.” We are importing too much of our food, and exporting too little to other African countries.
We have no justification for being a “poor-rich” country, given our abundance of raw materials and our production
potential. Q. There has been a controversy over our
debt relief. Should we exit the debt trap the way the government has gone about it, or would you have recommended
a repudiation of the debt? A. It has been suggested variously
that repayment should have been spread over a far longer period, and that debts of dubious credibility should have
been repudiated. I have not heard persuasive arguments against these propositions. Q. Part of the nation’s problem relates
to corruption and unethical conduct in public office. It seems that the fine line between the ethical and the unethical
has disappeared. For example, in your time, would it have been ethical for, say, Awolowo
or Zik to have appointed their wives or sons to boards of corporations then? A. It would generally have been
considered unethical, and it would certainly have been resisted. I assure you it would have been not merely unacceptable,
but unthinkable! None of the parties in power would have accepted it in their areas. Q. Do you think that the Immunity Clause
-- as set out in the Constitution -- has contributed to the level of corruption in public office today? A. Certainly! There may
be a strong case for immunity to apply to the Head of State, but there can be no case for immunity to apply to
the Head of Government from the consequences of his misdeeds! Q. There are people who point out that
corruption started not with the military, but with a particular military
Advertise here
A. The promoter of corruption
is not so much the profession of those in power as the system by which they come to power! Q. There are people who say the just concluded
National Political Reforms Conference was a failure. Others say that it was a success, notwithstanding that it
was inconclusive on the issue of resource control. Has the conference offered you any incentive to go on with the
PRONACO conference? A. Very much so! If what you
say is correct, and some Nigerians allege that the Abuja Conference was a success, while others argue that it was
a failure, I can only say that such differences are natural. After all, there are very many people on earth who
justify the presence of evil by arguing that without evil, freedom of choice would not exist. Q. What value
Chief Anthony Enahoro and PRONACO members
A. It is a vital aspect of the
PRONACO approach that the options should be explained to the public,
and that the decisions of the conference should be submitted to a popular referendum, for a free choice by the
people. Q. What important political act do you
think needs to be taken to fix A. As I have said earlier, delegates
must represent the views of their constituencies, and the consensus decisions of the Conference should be subjected
to a popular referendum. Q. The National Population Commission
is planning to count Nigerians without annotating their ethnic origin or their religion. As a man who takes ethnic
identity seriously, how do you feel about this? A. Can you imagine a census of the Q. You are reputed to be A. In those days, a nationalist newspaper
was a monitor of wrongdoings by the colonial government of the day, and the newspaper was an advocate and promoter
of the termination of colonial rule. Our newspapers were advocates of democracy and social advancement. Q. King’s College today is a shadow of
itself, and that is true of many great schools; meaning that a lot has gone wrong with our educational system.
First, what was life like in King’s College in your days? Secondly, what must we do to bring back the old glories
in our educational system? A. King’s College was inevitably
different from what it is today, in many respects. For example, the
BNW Advocates' Island
Q. Your political life has seen you as
chief editor in Zik’s paper, then as a member of the Action Group, a cabinet member of Gowon’s military regime, a member of the National Party of Nigeria, a leader of NADECO,
a pro-democracy group against military regime, a leader of MNR which was once in alliance
with the ruling PDP, and now PRONACO chairman. What informed
your political choice at each stage? A. As I said earlier, the grand
goals, to my generation, were independence, modernization and democratization. To these I would add the integrity
of our country, a concept usually referred to as “One Nigeria.” In retrospect, these have never been far from the
forefront of my option, at any given time. Q. How far and how much longer are you
prepared to be in the trenches? A. Who knows? The answer to that
question depends partly on destiny, and partly on desire. I am a deep believer in destiny, so I would say that
the answer to your question depends on destiny, of which I do not believe that anyone has ultimate control! Q. Are you grooming successors to the
struggle? I ask this because people would say that the fact that you are still at the frontline of the struggle
is a sign of a failure of the leadership of the past to nurture successors? A. If the challenges of today
were the same as those of yesterday, and if our means of meeting the challenges were the same as yesterday’s, I
might agree with what, according to you, people might say. Besides, it is arguable whether there hasn’t been at
least as much failure of followership as failure of leadership. Thank you, Sir.
Disclaimer: The views expressed in the interview are not necessarily those of the Chinua Achebe Foundation.
The Chinua Achebe Foundation, an intellectual and cultural organization, believes in the right of every Nigerian
to express their opinion. Chinua Achebe Foundation Interview Series: Chief Anthony Enahoro in Conversation with Pini Jason
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