African Viewpoint: Looted legacy?

Anthony Enahoro campaigned for independence from the British in the 1950s and was at the forefront of the campaign to end military rule in the 1990s

In our series of viewpoints from African journalists, Sola Odunfa fears for the legacy of one of Nigeria's great statesmen.

He had joined in the struggle for the democratic emancipation of colonial Nigeria as a nation. In the next 60 years he was harassed, jailed and detained without trial innumerable times. Last week at age 87 he died still with his boots on.

Enahoro was a newspaper editor before turning to politics and went to prison several times

I am talking about Chief Anthony Eromosele Enahoro, the most respected, most tortured and most ridiculed Nigerian politician ever.
The medical cause of his death was said to be diabetes but he could have died from the utter frustration of devoting nearly 70 years of his life exclusively to fighting the cause of Nigeria and Nigerians and yet seeing nothing but darkness in the horizon.
The same people who pooh-poohed his nationalistic propositions and scorned his yeoman efforts at getting them to spare a thought for the directionless ship of state are today scrambling to eulogise him in superlative phrases on newspaper front pages and television news headlines.
You can be sure, from the press coverage, that his funeral will be a state affair. Public treasuries will be flung open to accord him a "befitting burial".
I am past being bothered by the widely-held belief that half of the money disbursed will end in the pockets of the organising officials.
Powerful persuader?
At least Papa Enahoro died peacefully in his bed, he will not witness the predicted collapse of the nation that he loved passionately and his memory will be celebrated long after those of his erstwhile adversaries would have been flung into the trash can of history.

Courtesy: BBC.