Peter Enahoro (21 January 1935 – 24 April 2023) was a Nigerian journalist, author, businessman and publisher. Also known by the pen name of "Peter Pan" because of his popular column in ''

New African ''New African'' is an English-language monthly news magazine based in London. Published since 1966, it is read by many people across the African continent and the African diaspora. It claims to be the oldest pan-African monthly in English, as well ...

'' magazine under that name. He has been described as "perhaps Africa's best known international journalist".

Early life and education

Peter Osajele Aizegbeobor Enahoro was born on 21 January 1935 to a political family in

Uromi Uromi is a town in northeastern Esan, an ethnic group in Central Edo state, Nigeria. At various points in Uromi's history, the town and people have been known for their resilience and strength. The people of Uromi, led by Agba N'Ojie resisted ...

Edo State Edo State, Edo, officially known as Edo State, is a States of Nigeria, state in the South South, South-South Geopolitical zones of Nigeria, geopolitical zone of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. As of 2024, the state was ranked as the List of Ni ...

, Nigeria. His Esan parents were educator Asuelimen Okotako Enahoro and Princess Inibokun (née Okojie). His maternal grandfather was the Onogie of Uromi, Ogbidi Okojie. His eldest brother was a statesman and politician, Chief

Anthony Enahoro Chief Anthony Eromosele Enahoro (22 July 1923 – 15 December 2010) was one of Nigeria's foremost anti-colonial and pro-democracy activists. He was born the eldest of ten children in Uromi, present-day Edo State of Nigeria. His Esan parents ...

. Peter was one of ten siblings. He had a stint at St. Stephens Elementary School,

Akure Akure is a city in south-western Nigeria. It is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Ondo State. The city had a population of 403,000 as of the 2006 population census. Its current population is estimated at 774,000.Ado-Ekiti Ado Ekiti is the capital city of Ekiti State, Nigeria. It is the Headquarters, headquarter of the Ekiti central senatorial district, Points of the compass, southwest, Nigeria. History Ado Ekiti is an ancient city, founded by Ewi Awamaro the ...

(Ondo State); Government School,

Ekpoma Ekpoma is a town in Edo State, Nigeria. It is the administrative headquarters of the Esan West Local Government Area. Ekpoma lies on the geographical coordinate of latitude . The town has an official Post Office, and it is home to the Ambrose ...

(Edo State), St. David's School, Akure (Ondo State), Government School,

Warri The city of Warri is an oil hub within South-South Nigeria and houses an annex of the Delta State Government House. Warri City is one of the major hubs of the petroleum industry in Nigeria. Warri, Udu, Okpe and Uvwie are the commercial ...

(Delta State), before graduating from Government College,

Ughelli Ughelli is a town in Delta State, Nigeria, and one of the 24 kingdoms that make up the Urhobo people, Urhobo Nation. It also serves as the headquarters of Ughelli North local government area of Delta State. The city is indigenous to the Urhobo ...

(

Delta State Delta is a States of Nigeria, state in the South South (Nigeria), South-South geopolitical zone of Nigeria. Named after the Niger Delta—a large part of which is in the state—the state was formed from the former Bendel State, on 27 August 1 ...

) in 1948.

Career

Enahoro started his career in media as an Assistant Publicity Officer, Department now Federal Ministry of Information, 1954. He joined ''Daily Times'' as a sub-editor in 1955, at the age of 20, before moving on to serve as Assistant District Manager at Rediffusion Services, Ibadan, in 1957. He became the Editor of the Nigerian ''Sunday Times'' in 1958 at the age of 23, and Features Editor of the ''

Daily Times ''Daily Times'' may refer to the following national newspapers: * ''Daily Times'' (Nigeria), newspaper published in Nigeria * ''Daily Times'' (Pakistan), newspaper published in Pakistan ''The Daily Times'' may refer to the following newspapers: * ...

'' in 1958, then the paper's Editor in 1962, going on to become the Daily Times Group Editorial Adviser in 1965, and in 1966 Editor-in-Chief of the ''Daily Times''. In the 1960s, Enahoro went into a self-imposed exile that would last for 13 years. He was Contributing Editor of Radio Deutsche Welle in

Cologne Cologne ( ; ; ) is the largest city of the States of Germany, German state of North Rhine-Westphalia and the List of cities in Germany by population, fourth-most populous city of Germany with nearly 1.1 million inhabitants in the city pr ...

, Germany, from 1966 to 1976, and was Africa Editor of ''

National Zeitung The ''National-Zeitung'' (NZ, ''National Newspaper'') was a weekly, far-right newspaper, published by Gerhard Frey, who also founded the far-right Deutsche Volksunion (German People's Union) as an association in 1971, turning it into a politica ...

'', in

Basel Basel ( ; ), also known as Basle ( ), ; ; ; . is a city in northwestern Switzerland on the river Rhine (at the transition from the High Rhine, High to the Upper Rhine). Basel is Switzerland's List of cities in Switzerland, third-most-populo ...

, Switzerland, becoming editorial director of ''

'' magazine in London in 1978. In 1981, he launched a pan-African news magazine called ''Africa Now''. He became Sole Administrator of Daily Times Nigeria Plc in 1996. His "Peter Pan" column that he began writing in 1959 steered feathers among the political big-wigs. Frank Barton in his book ''The Press of Africa'' (Macmillan Press Ltd) described Enahoro as "arguably Africa’s best journalist writing in the English language".

Self-exile

In an interview with Anote Ajeluorou of the ''

Vanguard The vanguard (sometimes abbreviated to van and also called the advance guard) is the leading part of an advancing military formation. It has a number of functions, including seeking out the enemy and securing ground in advance of the main force. ...

'' Saturday Magazine, Enahoro acknowledged fleeing Nigeria, aged 31 in the 1960s. This was unconnected to the 1966 Civil War. He first returned in 1979, before leaving again. In 1990, he returned but was "unable to settle down".

Death

Enahoro died in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

on 24 April 2023, at the age of 88.

Publications

* ''How to be a Nigerian'' (1966) * ''You Gotta Cry to Laugh'' (1972) * ''The Complete Nigerian'' (1992) * ''Then Spoke the Thunder'' (2009)

References

External links

* Anote Ajeluorou
"Peter Enahoro: Reflections Of A Patriot"
''The Guardian'' (Nigeria), 6 February 2015. {{DEFAULTSORT:Enahoro, Peter 1935 births 2023 deaths Esan people Nigerian Africanists Nigerian exiles Nigerian journalists People from Edo State