Anthony Obi (13 January 1952 – 1 January 2022) was a Nigerian Lieutenant Colonel who served as Military Administrator of

Osun State Osun (; ), is a state in southwestern Nigeria; bounded to the east by Ekiti and Ondo states for 84 km and for 78 km respectively, to the north by Kwara State for 73 km, to the south by Ogun State for 84 km and to the wes ...

from August 1996 to August 1998, during the military regime of General

Sani Abacha Sani Abacha (; (20 September 1943 – 8 June 1998) was a Nigerian military dictator and statesman who ruled Nigeria with an iron fist as military head of state from 1993 following a palace coup d'état until his death in 1998. Abacha's seiz ...

. He then became Military Administrator of

Abia State Abia is a state in the Southeastern region of Nigeria. The state's capital is Umuahia and its most populous city is Aba. Abia is bordered the west by Imo, east by Cross River, south by Rivers, northwest by Anambra and northeast by Enug ...

in August 1998, handing over power to the civilian governor

Orji Uzor Kalu Orji Uzor Kalu (born 21 April 1960) is a Nigerian politician and businessman who is the senator representing Abia North Senatorial District. He served as governor of Abia State from 29 May 1999 to 29 May 2007. Kalu is the chairman of SLOK Hold ...

in May 1999.

Life and career

Obi was born on 13 January 1952. He inherited problems in Osun State with conflict between the Ife and

Modakeke Modakeke is a town near Ile-Ife in Osun State, South West Nigeria, with a population of about 120,000 people. The Modakekes are also known as the "Akoraye" and have a history of valor at war and are prosperous farmers. A sub-hub or community under ...

people, which periodically erupted into violence. A crisis was triggered when his administration decided to move the local council headquarters from one town to the other. Anthony Obi set up a Royal Committee to make recommendations on resolving the crisis, and declared a seven-day

fasting Fasting is the act of refraining from eating, and sometimes drinking. However, from a purely physiological context, "fasting" may refer to the metabolic status of a person who has not eaten overnight (before "breakfast"), or to the metabolic sta ...

and prayer program in March 1998 concentrating on peace in Ile-Ife. During his administration of Osun State, he commissioned a water corporation office in Ifetedo, but did not provide adequate water supplies. When two factions of the union of Local Government Employees began publishing two rival newsletters, Anthony Obi banned them both. In September 1998, Lieutenant Colonel Anthony Obi told reporters that the 31 members of the Provisional Ruling Council and all 36 state military administrators would declare their assets, in line with General

Abdulsalami Abubakar Abdulsalami Abubakar (; born 13 June 1942) is a retired Nigerian army general who served as the military head of state of Nigeria from 1998 to 1999. He was also Chief of Defence Staff from 1997 to 1998. He succeeded General Sani Abacha upon ...

's intention to hand over a clean administration to civilian rulers in May 1999. As administrator of Abia State, he built Camp Neya, a government retreat and golf course in undulating country in

Igbere Igbere is a suburban town in Bende local government area of Abia State of the South-Eastern geopolitical region Nigeria. Also popularly known and referred to as the Igbere Ebiri, the town is the core "part of Old-Bende Division of the former Eas ...

, commissioned on his last day in power on 28 May 1999. Obi died on 1 January 2022, at the age of 69.Ex-Osun Military Administrator dies, Oyetola, Speaker mourn
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References

1952 births 2022 deaths Igbo politicians Nigerian Roman Catholics Governors of Abia State Governors of Osun State Nigerian Army officers {{AbiaNG-politician-stub