Ose Anenih, son of the late Chief Tony Anenih, has fired back at Presidential aide Bayo Onanuga, accusing him of distorting historical facts about the annulled June 12, 1993 election—and unfairly dragging his father’s legacy into political crossfire.
In a stinging public letter he shared on Sunday night on X, Ose condemned what he called the Presidency’s attempt to revise history, following Onanuga’s remarks that Chief Anenih and others "surrendered" the people's mandate after the annulment. The younger Anenih described the statement as “uncouth” and “ignorant, not malicious—but dangerous all the same.”
He shared personal accounts from his father’s interactions with MKO Abiola, including a dramatic moment where Abiola reportedly explained his sudden disappearance with the proverb: “A bird does not tell his friends that the stone is coming.”
Ose also challenged the notion that early visits to General Sani Abacha by politicians, such as Bola Tinubu, were heroic, noting that his father never expressed animosity towards Tinubu, and barely mentioned him in his memoir.
Instead of revisiting 30-year-old battles, Anenih suggested the Presidency should focus on offering condolences to families grieving today’s violence in Borno and Kano.