By Timothy Ojo
For the umpteenth time, Nigeria has been thrown into mourning as the country lost another colossus, Prince Tony Momoh.
Time froze for Prince Tony Momoh, journalist, author, social mobiliser, politician, and former Minister of Information and Culture under the regime of former Nigerian Military President, General Ibrahim Babangida, as he went the way of all flesh at about 5p.m. (local time) on Monday, February 1, 2021.
He died in Abuja at the age of 81.
The Auchi, Edo State-born Prince was a phenomenon. A man of many colours, he wore many shoes and they all fitted smugly. Whatever role or capacity he found himself, whether as journalist, author, lawyer, politician, stateman, he gave it his best shot. A man of history, he was an embodiment of excellence and diligence.
As the world, indeed Nigeria, celebrate this extraordinary man, we may do well to pause and see some of those things that made him so big and thick.
Below, we highlight some of them:
- Tony Momoh was born into royalty on April 27, 1939 in Auchi, Edo State. His father was King Momoh I of Auchi.
- The departed prolific writer was the 165th child of his father, King Momoh I.
- For his secondary education, he attended Government School, Auchi (1949–1954), and Anglican School ,Okpe.
- He trained as a teacher at the Provincial Teachers Training College, Abudu, Edo State, in 1960.
- He was pupil teacher at the Anglican School, Auchi, and later headmaster at the Anglican School, Ubuneke, Ivbiaro, Owan Local Government.
- The departed journalism icon went to the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, UNN, where he earned a degree in Mass Communication, and then the University of Lagos, where he studied Law.
- He was called to the Nigerian Bar in June 1975.
- Momoh kickstarted his journalism career, first as a sub-editor at the Daily Times in October, 1962, and rose to become the newspaper’s Editor, and then the company’s Deputy General Manager in 1976.
- In 1981, during the administration of former President Shehu Shagari, the then Senate President, Dr. Joseph Wayas, summoned Momoh to the Red Chamber of the National Assembly, then in Tafawa Balewa Square, Lagos, for contempt of congress after speaking up against the government in 1981.
- General Ibrahim Babangida, who had noticed Momoh’s outspokenness and fearlessness, appointed him as the Minister of Information and Culture in 1986. As Minister, Momoh carved a niche for himself as a social mobiliser of a different hue as he was constantly communicating government’s policies to Nigerians through his famous “Letter To Nigerians”.
- Sadly, Momoh was in service during the infamous letter bomb that killed Dele Giwa, Editor-in-Chief of Newswatch weekly magazine at his breakfast table on October 19, 1986.
- He served as Chairman, Board of Directors of then National Carrier, Nigerian Airways, (now defunct) between 1991 and 1993. He was appointed a member of the Edo State Economic Advisory Committee in 1991, and a member of the Nigerian Press Council in December 1992.
- Prince Momoh served in several political capacities but the most notable was his appointment as the Chairman of the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) in 2011, a party that had then General Muhammadu Buhari as its presidential candidate.
- Prince Tony Momoh was a staunch believer and long-time ally of President Muhammadu Buhari. He stood by Buhari during his failed campaigns to be President of Nigeria, and was with him when he (Buhari) finally triumphed in 2015.
- He teamed up with other political giants in 2014 to form the All Progressives Congress, APC , which wrested power from then ruling party, the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP.
- Momoh was a prolific writer. He churned out several books, notably amongst them is, News of the forgotten army; (1985)
