Chief Tony Amajuoritse Ayodele Olujimi Ede was born in Layeni Court, Agbo Ole Oshodi in Lagos Island on the 21st of March 1949 to Pa Benson and Ma Ajemito Ede. He was the 2nd of 9 children. Chief Tony Ede was born and raised in modest means by his parents. His father worked as an accountant at Shell Oil and his mother was a trader – the
Iyaloja of Lawanson market, Lagos.
He moved with his parents to Abonima in present-day, Rivers State during his early years. While in Abonima, he helped his mother trade her wares on the streets. Upon their return from Abonima, he attended Salvation Army Primary School in Lagos. From there, he went to Hussey College, Warri in 1965. He was an active athlete, participating in track and football at Hussey College. After his secondary school education, he worked with the Nigerian Prisons Service (now Nigerian Correctional Service) for a brief period. While there, he participated in staff member sports. In the process, he gained a scholarship to Illinois State University in Chicago, USA.
University Years:
While at Illinois State University, Chief Tony Ede was part of the athletics team. At that time, track was the only organised sport and it was a full-year sport. He and the rest of the team were required to stay in shape. Sports was his passion and he found a way to maintain a balance in participating in athletics and excelling at school. Chief Tony Ede did well in the 200m race, the 400m, and the 4x100m relay with Bruce Ijirigho, Michael Keen and Adeola Cole. There, they excelled at the larger invitational events like the Kansas and the Kentucky Relays. Chief Ede also enjoyed playing soccer, volleyball, and basketball. However, the track event was the sport that got most of his attention because it was a full year’s sport. Chief Tony Ede, acquired a Bachelor of Science (B.Sc) degree in Mass Communication, another B.Sc in Political Science and a Master of Arts (M.A) in Mass Communications from Illinois State University and the Sangamon State University in the United States of America.
Career Years:
While in the United States, Chief Tony Ede worked with Plains Television Corporation, Springfield Illinois from 1977 to 1979. Following his graduation from the University in 1978, Chief Tony Ede returned to Nigeria in 1979 and began working at the Nigerian Television Authority (NTA). Chief Tony Ede, being a man of many firsts; was a top news reporter, news producer and premier television documentary producer of the TV Programme, Newsweek on NTA, from 1979 to 1988. It was a documentary that exposed corruption in Nigeria’s systems. Chief Tony Ede, being a man of unwavering values and integrity was a man who was not easily pressured. It was common for multinational companies and some State leaders to attempt using his superiors at work, or bribes to kill some of his expository news stories. Chief Tony Ede, in his regular doggedness, would insist on publishing those stories without fear or favour. Everyone who worked with him knew how stubborn he was when it came to standing for what he believed in.
In 1988, he moved to the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) where he was the pioneer Head of Communications. He began this role by establishing the Corporate Affairs Department and was the bank’s spokesman until his retirement in November 2005. Chief Tony Ede was the face of the CBN for seventeen years, a role he executed with utmost professionalism, objectivity, and equity. Other than being the public relations representative for the Central Bank of Nigeria, he worked with financial journalists to institutionalise yearly workshops. These workshops were designed to educate financial journalists on the intricacies of the finance industry and the operations of the Central Bank of Nigeria. He operated an open-door policy there and encouraged the CBN to engage with journalists. Chief Tony Ede gave the public access to information about the CBN’s policies as they evolved. He encouraged transparency when it came to educating the public on monetary policies. Chief Ede ensured that the public appreciated the work the CBN did through his regular updates to the media. He hardly said no to a TV, radio, or newspaper interview. He quickly defended the CBN against untrue or misconstrued publications by sharing the bank’s perspectives. Chief Ede was also quick to protect and defend the Central Bank governors he worked with. The journalists he worked with stated that “he would rather take the flack than allow his bosses to be messed up by the news-hungry journalists”. Chief Ede, as the face of the CBN, executed his role with passion, professionalism, and proficiency. He retired from the Central Bank of Nigeria as the Deputy Director of Corporate Affairs.
Following his retirement, he established a Public Relations consultancy firm called RedBird Communications. As the Chairman and Chief Executive at RedBird, he provided publicity services to different Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs). One such agency was the Pensions Commission- PenCom.
Personal Life:
Chief Tony Ede lived in Lagos and Abuja for most of his life. However, after 2021, he enjoyed the serenity that his hometown provided and began to spend more time in his country home in Koko, Warri, Delta State. Another motivation for him to spend more time in his home town was the belief that people at home need people like him who can speak truth to power and ensure fair distributions for development. This, he did at massive costs to himself.
Chief Tony Ede, upon discovering that a huge gap existed in the development of Itsekiri communities in Delta State, found a way to mobilise the Itsekiri community in Abuja to discuss ways of addressing infrastructural gaps and advancing progress for indigenous Itsekiri communities and their members. This compassion for his people birthed the Itsekiri Forum Abuja (IFA) in the early 2000s. In the mid-2000s, he became the President of the Itsekiri Forum Abuja, a role he executed with compassion, integrity, and sound knowledge for years. As President of IFA, during the conflict in Warri that led to some Itsekiri communities experiencing a humanitarian crisis, he led a campaign to mobilise relief materials for Itsekiri communities that were badly affected. Under his leadership, IFA developed and implemented the Itsekiri Forum Abuja scholarship scheme for indigent Itsekiri children who were orphaned because of the crisis. The scholarship scheme aimed to ensure that these orphaned children gained education from the primary to the tertiary levels, As a result, several beneficiaries of the scholarship programme have gone on to graduate from different universities. This was the kind of passion that drove Chief Ede. He also led the IFA to actively engage in national discourse and, where necessary, protect and defend Itsekiri causes. He was passionate about ensuring that oil-producing communities in the Niger Delta had a right to development and ensured that he made a case for them whenever he was given an opportunity from public hearings at the National Assembly to providing intellectual, financial and material support for the National Conference for Ethnic Nationalities in Nigeria (2014). Chief Tony Ede built bridges, worked hard to nurture relationships, and ensured that all voices were heard.
Chief Tony Ede had a large personality and a great sense of humour, he was great at finding humour in the bleakest of situations and would always positively change the atmosphere of the places he stepped into.
On the 27th of September 2017, Chief Ede was conferred as a chief in the Warri Kingdom and installed with the prestigious title of
Uwa Olu Etan, meaning the Wealth of the Olu is inexhaustible.
Chief Tony Ede was a member of the Warri Study Group, there, he served as the secretary of the body, working to advance the course of his people. In addition, as a member of the Itsekiri Leaders of Thought (ILOT), an organisation formed in 1974 to act as the eye, ear and nose of the Itsekiri people worldwide, he actively participated in national level conversations in the promotion of development for the Itsekiris. He was a member of its executive committee, the highest decision-making organ of the body. He was, until his death, their Public Relations Officer.
Chief Tony Ede is survived by his wife, children, grandchildren, a brother, sisters, aunties, uncles, nephews, nieces, cousins and other relatives.
