By Chioma Gabriel
Deputy EditorIn the hey days of  the military dictatorship of General Sani Abacha , pro-democracy chieftains under the aegis of National Democratic Coalition , NADECO, occasionally met in the house of Chief Olu Falae at Ahmed Onibudo, Victoria Island Lagos or in the Apapa residence of Chief Abraham Adesanya.

The roll call would normally read something like this: Chief Abraham Adesanya, Ayo Adebanjo, Ayo Opadokun, Olu Falae, Chukwuemeka Ezeife, Segun Osoba  and later, returnees from exile including Chief Anthony Enahoro, Ralph Obioha , John Odigie Oyegun amongst others. Their mission  was to stampede the military dictators out of relevance and enshrine democracy. Chief Anthony Enahoro often travelled from Benin to Lagos to attend such meetings.

For Enahoro, life  was a struggle that began for him as a young man in his 20s. He was active in the politics of the First Republic where he served in both the regional and federal governments and distinguished himself in the struggle for independence and later, in the struggle for ousting of military dictatorship and most recently , the PRONACO days. Enahoro never stopped fighting for a new Nigeria until he died recently without getting to the promised land he wanted to take Nigeria .

Looking at the life at times of this great man, his contemporaries in both  the First Republic  and the NADECO  days paid him tribute, eulogising the man who lived selflessly till the end.

For Chief Ebenezer Babatope, a Chieftain of the ruling Peoples Democratic Party, PDP,  Pa Enahoro  was one of the builders of the Nigerian state.

“He was a nationalist and never tolerated all the antics of the British colonialists.

Apart from being the first person in Nigeria to move the motion for our country’s independence, it was under him as Minister for Information and Home Affairs in the Progressive administration of Papa Awolowo that the first TV station in Africa WNTV was established. Chief Enahoro would be remembered for long by all Nigerians.”

Chief Olu Falae, one-time Secretary to the Federal Government and Minister of Finance  who worked with him in NADECO days says Enahoro was  a quintessential fighter of his generation.

“I can say that for his generation, he has been the quintessential fighter for freedom from the time he was in his 20s. He was jailed three  times by the colonial masters for writing fictitious articles against them.  He was also jailed in the post independence era for treason alongside others. He went to exile for  a just cause and came back to fight to oust military dictatorship and enshrine democracy. His struggle was not in vain. He fought through life till death.  He organsied PRONACO, and  never worried  about himself, his health and personal issues. His was a life of struggle and we should celebrate him in death”.

To Dr. Chukwuemeka Ezeife, former Governor of Anambra State and one time Political Adviser to the President in Obasanjo years, Pa Enahoro  was a rare gem.

“Like the gem he was, all Nigerians irrespective of political leaning must mourn him because he gave all his life to political engineering of Nigeria, starting from 1957 when he proposed independence motion, he never looked back. He lived long and that was for the purpose of giving us guidance and direction.  I recalled a meeting he called this year but could not  attend.

He died in active selfless service, guiding us. He lived a purposeful life and committed it all to service of mankind.”

Alhaji Tanko Yakassai described the death of Chief Anthony Enahoro as a great loss to all Nigerians, his state and his family.

“The nation has lost one of the committed patriots who served Nigeria selflessly. It is on record that although Chief Enahoro was among the first set of Nigerians who occupied ministerial positions at different occasions from 1951 and held such positions both at regional and federal levels, he was never known to be an officer who used his office to build a financial empire for himself or any of his family members.

Chief Enahoro’s name will forever remain in the annal of  Nigeria’s history being the first Nigerian to sponsor the motion for Nigeria’s independence in 1957 which gave Nigerian nationalists  inspiration in the struggle for freedom and independence. He died a role model of selflessness and sincere commitment to national building. I feel proud to have been associated with the late national icon on many occasions in the struggle to build a just and united Nigeria where everyone will live in peace and harmony with one another.”

Chief John Odigie -Oyegun, former Edo State governor and Nigeria’s indigene from the same state as Enahoro said he  would forever cherish every moment he spent with him.

“He was a man who showed so much love, first to his family, to his state and the progressive movement throughout Nigeria. From youth, he never quit the struggle and his dream of a new Nigeria is  in tact until he died. It’s only painful he didn’t live long enough to see the promised land he worked for. “

We, who benefited from him have to continue where he stopped, carry on with the legacy he left behind; a legacy of a new Nigeria that will stand tall in the comity of nations; a Nigeria where democratic tenets would triumph; a country where the people would ideally choose their leaders; a country that has enough job opportunity for her youths, whose economy is sustainable and the people beneficiaries of the products of the country. He would live long in our hearts and  we would never forget him and what he stood for.”