My dealings with Enahoro –Ayo Adebanjo

Chief Ayo Adebanjo was a contemporary of the late Chief Anthony Enahoro during the First and Second Republics. While Adebanjo was a party officer and a trusted follower of the late Chief Obafemi Awolowo, Enahoro was the Minister for Information in the region. He supervised the building of the first television station in Africa and the construction of the Liberty Stadium, both located in Ibadan in the present Oyo State.

According to Adebanjo, when people make reference to anything that was first done in the then Western Region in Africa, they refer to the achievements of the late Enahoro. He described Enahoro as a dependable politician and one of the best nationalists Nigeria produced before and after independence.
With nostalgia, Adebanjo recounted the difficult days when the late Awolowo and leaders of the Action Group directed him and three others including Enahoro to go on exile in Ghana in order to keep the outside world informed of what the Balewa government was doing at home.

According to Adebanjo, those sent out were able to do a good job until they were arrested after the coup in Ghana and deported to Nigeria.

On why Enahoro joined the NPN and not the UPN founded by Awolowo during the Second Republic, Adebanjo said Enahoro had thought that he would be able to change the people in the then NPN but was disappointed.
Enahoro, in an interview with Saturday Sun last year, said he did not join Awolowo’s party because there were some people around him that told him different things and he tended to believe them. Adebanjo said the two reconciled before Awolowo’s demise.

In his testimony, Enahoro was a good man who spearheaded the struggle against General Sani Abacha without fear for his personal safety. He committed his entire life to true democracy in Nigeria and died still trying to make Nigeria better.

What does the name Anthony Enahoro mean to you?
The name means a lot to me because he was one of the pioneers of the Nigeria nationalism. He was an ideal politician who used the better part of his life to fight for the emancipation of the country. He fought colonialism with all he had. When we won independence, he was the first voice for the establishment of real democracy and he insisted on that until the time of his death. This is because Nigeria is yet to be democratized.

He was committed to the emancipation of the minorities. He wanted a country where all ethnic nationalities will have access to the highest political position in the land. Socialism in all its ramifications, financial or otherwise, where everybody knows his rights and it cannot be denied. He fought for the establishment of the rule of law. He took few steps which some of us disagreed with. He fought for the rights of the minority.
How would you describe him as a friend and colleague?
He was a loyal friend and a colleague. He was a man you have pleasure to work with. His political philosophy was clear-cut.
Can you recount your days together?
Oh yes. You know we were together on exile in Ghana during a treasonable felony case against Chief Awolowo and others.
What was peculiar about him as a politician?
He was an ideal politician. He had the reputation of being the youngest editor of a newspaper in those days. He edited a newspaper at 21. That record is yet to be broken. He was the first man on foreign Affairs for the Action Group (AG) government. During his days as the Minister for Information in the old Western Region, we had the first things - new in Africa under his administration. When you talk of first in Africa during the administration of Awolowo, he was the minister in charge. He was a minister who can be depended upon for efficiency in his ministry. He was a good leader who we had confidence in at the time.

He was very uncompromising. He fought bravely and triumphantly to see the end of Abacha. There was no fear about fighting in him. When we demonstrated at Yaba against Abacha, he was in the forefront with us. There was the photograph of Enahoro, Ndubuisi Kanu, and I in the newspapers. That was at Yaba during the NADECO days. So, he was a courageous fighter and somebody who can be depended upon. He had his political philosophy, which he believed in.
What was Enahoro’s reaction when Awolowo asked you and others including him to go to Ghana so that you can keep the outside world informed of development in Nigeria in the 1960s?
Well, because of the loyalty and the respect Awolowo had for us, he said we should go so we should carry out the fight outside the country to expose the dictatorial activities of the leaders of the First Republic.
How did Enahoro react to that?
No. It was not just two of us. There were others. We were four. There was the late S. G. Ikoku and one James Aluko.
Did Enahoro put up any resistance to the directive or he felt it was right to go?
It was the position of the party that we should go to Ghana. The decision was taken when we were going through difficult times at home and we were harassed and molested. There must be people outside the country who will be exposing the undemocratic tendencies of the government at home. That was what we carried out in Ghana.
How effective was the assignment?
We succeeded in the assignment until we were arrested when the government was toppled. Enahoro was arrested in London and brought home for trial. Ikoku and I were in Ghana until the coup and they brought us back home. But we kept on the struggle until we were liberated under Yakubu Gowon.
As an editor at 21, what were his exploits?
It was in the days of colonialism. He was a radical. He exposed the evils of colonialism and awakened the nation on why independence was better than foreign rule.
Did the colonial masters at any time arrest him for what he published?
That was a second nature to him. Being arrested and in prison was natural to him. He regained freedom without any remorse. He was arrested several times and on several occasions. When he was editor, he was arrested for his writings. He was busy fighting colonialism. That is why I said he was one of the greatest nationalists and patriots that Nigeria can ever have. He never compromised that home rule is better than the best foreign rule.
How did you, Adesanya and Enahoro kept NADECO going in those days?
Enahoro was abroad and Baba Adesanya was keeping the fort at home. Until he went abroad, he was conducting the fight and when Abacha died he returned.
At what stage in the fight against Abacha did Enahoro flee to the UK?
He had to flee when we were informed that Abacha wanted to get him arrested. In fact, we had a meeting at Sheraton Hotel and he was at the meeting with us when intelligence reached us that government agents were around to get him. He escaped through the back door and got away. In fact, when we left Sheraton, for about a month thereafter he was still in Lagos. Few leaders of NADECO and I knew the location where he was. At a certain stage, the whole story was cleared. We had the support of foreign embassies at that time. And we agreed to get him out of the country. You know what we call the NADECO route? We got him away just as he escaped during the Babangida regime. That is what the newspapers called the NADECO route. For about a month or two when they were looking for him, he was still in the country.
I ran emissary between him and the leaders of NADECO. It was thereafter that Cornelius Adebayo joined him.
What disagreement did Enahoro have with Awolowo that made him join NPN later?
It was the nature of politics at that time. Unfortunately, he joined NPN and not many people liked it. Eventually, he settled with Chief Awolowo before he died. He went to NPN on ideological grounds. He had felt he could change NPN. He realized later that it was not possible. It was after that that he formed the MNR.