Chief Anthony Enahoro, who has died aged 87, was one of the last survivors of the independence generation of Nigerian politicians. He was renowned as the parliamentarian who moved the first motion envisaging independence in 1953.
Post-independence, he was imprisoned for “treasonable felony”. After his release, he had a spell as one of the ablest advocates of Nigerian unity during the civil war (1967-70).
OUR AFRICAN HERO IN THIS EDITION IS NIGERIA’S NATIONALIST CHIEF ANTHONY ENAHORO
Enahoro, who became regarded as an elder statesman, was once one of the best-known Nigerians in Britain. He was the “fugitive offender” who triggered days of debate in the House of Commons in 1963 as he battled against extradition.
He was born in Uromi, in the midwest of Nigeria. He was educated in Uromi and Owo, and then – during the second world war – at the elite King’s college in Lagos. It was a time of growing change and simmering nationalist politics. Although his father wanted him to be a lawyer or a civil servant, he chose journalism, in part because it went hand in hand with politics.
