June 12: Anenih’s son slams Presidency, defends father’s legacy

OseAnenih, son of the late elder statesman and former chairman of the Social Democratic Party, Tony Anenih, has rejected recent claims by the Special Adviser to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu on Information and Strategy, BayoOnanuga, over his father’s role in the June 12 saga.

In a statement on X (Formerly Twitter) yesterday titled “REBUTTAL: IN DEFENCE OF HISTORY AND MY FATHER,” Anenih described Onanuga’s portrayal of Anenih as “untrue” and accused him of distorting historical facts in an official presidential communication.

“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.

Onanuga had, in response to former Jigawa State Governor SuleLamido’s criticism of President Bola Tinubu’s role in the June 12 struggle, accused both Lamido and Anenih of aligning with the military and the then-opposition NRC to sabotage the mandate of the presumed winner of the 1993 presidential election, MoshoodAbiola.

But Ose said Onanuga’s take ignored the facts, noting that his father was among those who stood up to Abiola after the election annulment.

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 said, “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.’”

Anenih son added that his father warned Abiola against trusting the military, especially General SaniAbacha, noting that Abiola’s alliance with the junta would prove costly.

“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.

Quoting Abiola’s response, Ose stated, ”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.”

OseAnenih said it was ironic that Abiola was among the first to congratulate Abacha after the coup that toppled the Interim National Government, an arrangement both SDP and NRC had negotiated with the understanding that power would be transferred 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.”

While clarifying his stance, Anenih offered to give Onanuga a copy of the late Anenih’s memoir to assist his understanding of that era.

“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.”

Expressing disappointment that the statement was issued in the President’s name, Ose added, “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.”

He concluded by questioning the relevance of revisiting a decades-old narrative amid current national challenges.

“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?”