Ose Anenih, son of the late political figure and former SDP chairman, Chief Tony Anenih, has strongly refuted recent comments made by Bayo Onanuga, the Special Adviser on Information and Strategy to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, regarding his father’s involvement in the events surrounding June 12.
In a post shared Monday on X (formerly Twitter) titled “REBUTTAL: IN DEFENCE OF HISTORY AND MY FATHER,” Ose labelled Onanuga’s statements as “untrue” and accused him of misrepresenting historical facts under an official presidential statement.
“Dear Bayo, your account of my father’s involvement in June 12 is, to put it politely, untrue.
“It is disappointing that you chose to use uncouth language to describe Chief Tony Anenih, and in an official communication from ‘the Presidency,’ no less,” Ose said.
Responding to former Jigawa Governor Sule Lamido’s criticism of Tinubu’s legacy in the June 12 struggle, Onanuga had alleged that Lamido and Anenih had supported the military and the NRC, effectively undermining the mandate of Moshood Abiola, the presumed winner of the 1993 election.
Ose, however, insisted that Onanuga’s claims ignored essential truths. He recounted that his father was among those who confronted Abiola shortly after the annulment of the election.
He said, “Chief Abiola initially fled the country after the annulment of the June 12 presidential elections by Gen. Babangida.
“When he did return, one of his first visits was to my father, then National Chairman of the SDP, in Benin City.”
He continued, “True to form, my father confronted Abiola. He accused him, to his face, of abandoning the party and its supporters in the immediate aftermath of the annulment while they risked life and limb defending his mandate.
“Abiola’s public response? ‘A bird does not tell his friends that the stone is coming.’”
Ose added that his father had cautioned Abiola about trusting the military, especially General Sani Abacha, predicting that such alliances could end disastrously.
“My father also told me of another conversation, one in which he warned Abiola that his increasingly close dealings with General Abacha would ultimately destroy his chances of reclaiming his mandate,” he said.
Referencing Abiola’s response to the warning, Ose noted, “Whether you go by plane or by car, what matters is that you get to Kano.”
He added, “The ING, to Abiola, was a road trip. Abacha’s military coup, which Abiola publicly encouraged, he regarded as a private jet.”
Ose highlighted the irony in Abiola being one of the first to congratulate Abacha following the overthrow of the Interim National Government — a system negotiated by both the SDP and NRC, intended to eventually return power to Abiola.
He added, “I am not aware of any animosity that ever existed between my father and President Tinubu.
“In fact, my father acknowledged that Tinubu had initially spoken out against the delay in announcing the results of the June 12 election. It was the only time he mentioned Tinubu in his 260-page book.”
To clarify his position further, Ose offered to send Onanuga a copy of Chief Anenih’s autobiography for accurate historical reference.
“I am happy to send you a copy of my father’s memoir, ‘My Life and Nigerian Politics’, to help you avoid this sort of ahistorical misadventure in future.”
He also expressed his concern about the presidential endorsement of Onanuga’s statement.
“It is however unfortunate that I have had to defend my father’s name against a lie, and doubly unfortunate that that lie was issued in the name of the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.”
Concluding his remarks, Ose questioned the purpose of reviving events from decades ago amid present-day national concerns.
“I’m just surprised, and slightly disappointed, that so much energy is going into the re-telling of a tale that is more than 30 years old.
“Of what relevance to the average Nigerian is any of this, today?”
Advertisement
