Anthony Enahoro, nationalist and elder statesman, one of Nigeria's foremost anti-colonial and pro-democracy activists will be 86 on Wednesday. He was born on July 22, 1923, in Uromi, Esan North Local Government Area of Edo State.

The elder statesman has had a long and distinguished career in the press, politics, the civil service and the pro-democracy movement.

He was educated at the Government School, Uromi, Government School Owo and Kings College, Lagos.

Enahoro became Nigeria's youngest editor when at 21 he became the editor of The Southern Nigerian Defender, Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe's newspaper then in Ibadan from 1944 to 1945. He later became the editor of Zik's Daily Comet in Kano, 1945 to 1949, also associate editor West African Pilot, Lagos and editor-in-chief of Morning Star, 1950 to 1953.

He later went into self-employment by establishing World Publications Ltd, publishers of Sunday World, The Weekender and Vista magazines all based in Benin City.

Having practised journalism at the top, he felt it was high time he joined the political terrain. He started by becoming the foundation member of Obafemi Awolowo's Action Group party while at the same time he was also the chairman and secretary of the Ishan Division Council.

He was a member of the Western House of Assembly; and later member, Federal House of Representatives in 1951. He later became minister of home affairs in the old Western Region; opposition spokesman on foreign affairs and legislative affairs in the Federal House of Representatives between 1959 and 1963.

He moved the motion for the independence of Nigeria. He was a delegate to most of the constitutional conferences leading to the independence of Nigeria in 1960.

He was detained in 1962 as a result of the crisis in the old Western Region alongside some other Action Group members on treasonable ground during the Awolowo alleged coup trial. In 1963 he escaped to the United Kingdom. On arriving there, he was extradited back to Nigeria and imprisoned for plotting to overthrow the government. In 1966, he was released by the military government of Aguiyi Ironsi.

He was the leader of the then Mid-West delegation to the Ad Hoc Constitutional Conference in Lagos. He later took up some ministerial appointments. He was the federal minister for information, culture, youth, sports, cooperatives and labour during the General Yakubu Gowon military government from 1967 to 1974; federal minister for special duties, 1975.

During the Second Republic, he not only was a member of the National Party of Nigeria (NPN), 1978 to 1983, he was the chairman of the then Bendel State chapter of the party, comprising present Delta and Edo states. He was also the president, World Festival of Negro Arts and Culture from 1972 to 1975.

Enahoro was the leader of the National Democratic Coalition (NADECO); a pro-democracy group that fought the military administration of the late Sani Abacha to a stand still. In 1995 he was detained for more than 80 days without any charge by Sani Abacha.

He is currently the chairman of the Movement for National Reformation (MNR); as well as the Pro-National Conference Organisation (PRONACO).

Enahoro was conferred with the national honour of the Commander of the Federal Republic (CFR), in 1982. He was awarded a Doctor of Science honorary degree by the University of Benin in 1972 and conferred with the traditional title of Adolo of Uromi.

He is the author of Fugitive Offender (1972).

His hobbies are golf, reading and travelling.