Ohakim to publish alleged Chris Anyanwu’s ‘apology letter’ to Abacha in new book
By Jeffrey Agbo
Former governor of Imo State, Ikedi Ohakim, has said he would publish in his forthcoming book an alleged letter of apology which he claims Senator Chris Anyanwu wrote to the military government of the late Gen. Sani Abacha.
Anyanwu was imprisoned from 1995 to 1998 for treason after reporting on a purported failed coup d’état against Abacha’s government. Following the death of Abacha in June 1998, she was released by his successor General Abdulsalam Abubakar on health grounds.
Ohakim, 67, recently alleged while speaking with journalists that Anyanwu apologised to Abacha “and owned up that she told lies in order to sell her magazine.” He also threatened to “publish a copy of that apology for Nigerians to see the type of person she really is.”
In her reaction published by TheNiche on January 19, Anyanwu addressed Ohakim’s claims and other comments he made about her autobiography “Bold Leap,” daring him to bring forward the “lengthy letter of apology”.
Ohakim said in a statement dated January 24 and signed by his media aide, Amanze Ajoku, that he would publish the letter in his book for the world to see.
“Her response to Dr Ohakim’s initial critique of a section of her book regarding the false narrative and concealment of a critical fact that she wrote a letter of apology to the late head of state, General Sani Abacha, was, quite frankly, underwhelming,” the statement said.
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“She conveniently cherry-picked one of the four issues Dr Ohakim raised – the apology letter to Abacha – while ignoring the other three: her lies and misrepresentation of facts regarding the 2011 Imo governorship election, securing the approval of President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan GCFR in procuring the military to disrupt the 2011 election, and deploying her radio station to spread the falsehood that Dr Ohakim had slapped a Rev. Father.
“Madam Anyanwu’s attempt to discredit Dr Ohakim’s youth was equally laughable and unimpressive. Had she done her due diligence, she would have discovered His Excellency’s illustrious career trajectory, which includes rising from a management trainee to becoming a marketing director at a top Nigerian quoted company in his early 30s; serving as a director in Kaduna Refining and Petrochemical Co. Ltd; listed in 1988 in Vanguard’s 30 Notable Young Corporate Leaders; listed in Thisday’s 50 Leaders Nigeria Needs in 1998 and earning a fellowship at the Nigerian Institute of Marketing at the age 30. The list goes on.
“It is astonishing that Madam Christiana Anyanwu would write a 612-page book while conveniently concealing and cleverly omitting her apology letter to Abacha. No one needs to stumble on the document, it is there in government archives. Nigerians are not naïve; they can spot a hypocrite from a mile away.
“Now, several decades after leveraging on the military to achieve her goals, she now seeks to disparage them in her book. It is telling that when she was challenged to deny writing the apology letter, her response fell flat when the only thing she could muster was to ask Dr Ohakim to publish it to verify its authenticity. To reasonable and discerning minds, this alone is a tacit admission of guilt.”
Ohakim claimed Anyanwu has a track record of strained relationships with family, colleagues, workers and even political associates.
His statement further said, “Since she used her book to malign Dr Ohakim’s character, she should be rest assured that it is now an open season for Dr Ohakim to use his forth coming book to defend his hard earned reputation and character.
“Dr Ohakim has now resolved to publish, in his forthcoming book, Madam Christiana Anyanwu’s letter of apology to Abacha to prove that she cannot be a role model to our young daughters. The reading public will then be able to discern who is truthful and who has a history of duplicity.”
