Ose Anenih, son of the late Chief Tony Anenih, has rejected claims made by Bayo Onanuga, Special Adviser to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu on Information and Strategy, regarding his father’s role in the annulment of the June 12, 1993, presidential election.
The controversy began after former Jigawa State governor, Sule Lamido, accused President Tinubu of backing the annulment of the historic election.
In an interview with Arise TV, Lamido stated that Tinubu’s late mother, Hajiya Mogaji, led Lagos market women to Abuja to show support for then military ruler, General Ibrahim Babangida.
Lamido said, “I feel highly entertained by Tinubu’s rhetoric, the way he’s dramatising his role in Nigeria’s democracy.”
He added, “Tinubu became relevant and noticeable after Abacha took over the government; before then, he was in the senate while he was the secretary of the party.”
“He was part of those who supported IBB’s annulment of the June 12 election. His own mother Hajia Mogaji was organising Lagos market women to come to Abuja to pledge support for Babangida.”
Bayo Onanuga responded by accusing Lamido and the late Tony Anenih of complicity in denying MKO Abiola his presidential mandate.
In a statement, Onanuga said Lamido’s comments were “a distortion of history and a regrettable attempt at revisionism.”
He claimed that both Lamido and Anenih, who were top figures in the Social Democratic Party (SDP), failed to resist the military government after the annulment.
He stated, “It is important to remind Nigerians that Alhaji Lamido, as secretary of the Social Democratic Party (SDP), the party whose candidate, MKO Abiola, won the June 12 election, was among those who failed to oppose the military’s injustice.”
“The SDP leadership, including Lamido and chairman Tony Anenih, wrote their names in the book of infamy by surrendering the people’s mandate without resistance.”
“To their eternal shame, Lamido and Anenih teamed up with the defeated National Republican Convention to deny Abiola his mandate.”
In a detailed rebuttal posted on his official X handle, Ose Anenih called Onanuga’s account “untrue.” He criticized the tone and substance of the statement, especially given its association with the presidency.
He wrote, “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.”
“I will rise above the emotional baiting that this conversation has clearly sparked and will speak only to the truth. I will also assume that your mischaracterisation of historical events stems from ignorance, not malice,” he added.
Ose Anenih went on to narrate his father’s account of events following the annulment, stating that Chief Tony Anenih had warned Abiola that his close ties with General Sani Abacha could compromise his political ambitions.
“Chief Abiola initially fled the country after the annulment of the June 12 presidential elections by Gen. Babangida. You mentioned that MKO eventually returned.”
“When he did, one of his first visits was to my father, then National Chairman of the SDP, in Benin City. 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.”
He also acknowledged that his father credited Tinubu for initially speaking out against the delay in releasing the June 12 results.
“Now, 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.”
Ose further questioned Tinubu’s conduct following the military coup that installed Abacha, implying that Tinubu’s alignment with Abacha at that time was questionable.
“I have no personal knowledge of what role your principal played after that, though I find it curious that you consider his early visit to Abacha, immediately after a coup to remove the ING he (MKO) helped birth, a mark of honour.”
He concluded by stressing that many key figures from the period are still alive and capable of sharing their accounts.
He emphasized that his father had already documented his own in his memoir.
“Like Lamido said, many of the key players in that chapter of our history like IBB, Abdulsalami, Oyegun, Ikimi, Mark, Ayu, Dele Momodu, and others, including Kola, MKO’s son – are still alive. We are also fortunate that my father wrote his own version of events before he passed.”
“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. I had hoped that this level of toxicity left with the former occupant of your office.”
“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.”
