All is now set for the public presentation of Senator Chris Anyanwu’s autobiography, “Bold Leap”. The event billed to be held at the National Universities Commission main auditorium in Abuja on Monday, December 2, 2024, will be chaired by former President Olusegun Obasanjo.
A number of other high-profile Nigerians including former President Goodluck Jonathan, Senator George Akume, Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF); Senators Anyim Pius Anyim and David Mark, former Presidents of the Senate, and Hon. Benjamin Kalu, Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, have confirmed their attendance.
The event will be hosted by Imo State governor, Senator Hope Uzodimma, while his Abia counterpart, Dr Alex Otti, will be co-host. The book will be reviewed by former presidential media adviser and chairman of the Editorial Board of THISDAY newspaper, Mr Segun Adeniyi, with Sir Emeka Offor as the chief presenter.
The highlight of the event will be a panel discussion on the theme: How do we fix Nigeria: System, Structure, Institutions or Leadership?
The discussion which will be moderated by Prof Udenta O. Udenta, Distinguished Fellow at the Abuja School of Social and Political Thought, will have Senator Bala Mohammed, Bauchi State governor; Dr Kayode Fayemi, former Governor of Ekiti State; Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe, former Senate Minority Leader and Comrade Annkio Briggs, an environmentalist and human rights activist, as panellists.
Chairman of the planning committee, Chief Charles Anyiam-Osigwe, said in a statement on Wednesday that the event will go beyond mere book presentation, assuring that it will afford Nigerians another opportunity to address the lingering ‘National Question.’
The statement reads in part: “The list of those who have confirmed their attendance is quite impressive. We have former presidents, present and former governors, National Assembly members, including presiding officers, key traditional rulers from across the country, captains of industry, members of the Diplomatic Corps, media and the civil society.
“As former President Obasanjo noted in his Foreword, Bold Leap, Senator Chris Anyanwu’s fascinating life’s experiences, ‘is a documentation of exploits and victories over life’s challenges and troubles, including those invented and unleashed by desperate human wickedness.’
“But it goes beyond the usual mission of an autobiography to give ‘fascinating insights into political voodooism in Nigeria and lifts the veil on the intricacies of election chicanery and subterfuge.’
“That is why the last 94 pages of the book which contains the seminal lecture given by Dim Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu at the TSM Second Diamond Lecture in February 1994 titled, “Nigeria: The truths which are self-evident,” and no-holds-barred commentaries by 58 notable Nigerians from all walks of life on the vexing issue of what should be the terms for the continued co-existence of the country’s component groups, is perhaps the most important section of the 612-page book.
“Thirty years thence, this question remains germane. Senator Anyanwu is using the occasion of this book presentation to redirect attention to that all-important question.”
