The crisis in Afenifere, the Yoruba socio-political organisation took another dimension last week when it cost two of its principal officials their positions as they were suspended from their offices during a meeting of the organisation.
The officers, the National Publicity Secretary, Jare Ajayi, and National Organising Secretary, Abagun Kole Omololu, according to a communiqué signed by the National Leader, Chief Ayo Adebanjo, and the Secretary-General, Sola Ebiseni, were in connection with unauthorised statements.
Specifically, the statements were a congratulatory statement to the president-elect, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, over his victory in the February 25 presidential election and another one which tackled eminent businessman, Chief Emmanuel Iwuanyanwu, over his comment against Yoruba.
Although the cracks in the fold of the organisation particularly over the endorsement of presidential candidates in the build-up to the poll widened over time and polarised the organisation, it did not get to the level of members’ suspension until last week.
The Afenifere National Leader, Pa Reuben Fasoranti, had 2021 stepped down on account of age and named the deputy national leader, Adebanjo, acting national leader, saying Afenifere “needs more than ever before to have an improved organisation with a more effective approach to combat the monstrous invasion of our culture and pride as a people”.
However, a development which many members said was not in sync with their thoughts and belief and well the principles of Afenifere came to the fore in 2022 in the build-up to the 2023 presidential election as Adebanjo adopted the Labour Party presidential candidate, Peter Obi.
Adebanjo, who hinged support for Obi, an Igbo man, on national interest, had said that it was the turn of the South-East to be President based on the equity in line with the rotational principle as Yoruba man had been president before.
But the camp of Fasoranti disowned the adoption of Obi by the Adebanjo group, saying it did not represent the thought of Afenifere and what Yoruba people wanted.
Fasoranti, who alongside Afenifere leaders across the South-West, played host to All Progressives Congress candidate, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, in Akure, Ondo State capital, endorsed him for the presidency, offered prayers for him and declared, “Tinubu will win the election.”
In a statement at the end of the meeting, the organisation’s National Organising Secretary, Omololu, said the Afenifere leaders endorsed Tinubu after having been “assured of his commitment to the promotion of true federalism that will give states more control over their affairs. Afenifere wishes him success in the pursuit of his vision.
“Tinubu shared with us his vision of a greater and more prosperous Nigeria where democratic rights, rule of law, justice and fairness will reign supreme. He also gave the assurance on steps to be taken to ensure the safety and security of Nigerians and their properties.”
Omololu stated that the Yoruba leaders were persuaded that with his performance as Lagos State Governor and his demonstrated ability in building physical and human capital, “Tinubu as president offers the best opportunity to produce a government that will usher in a new era of hope, peace, security, harmony, gainful employment for the multitude, economic development, social and political stability”.
Reacting to the development, Adebanjo, who said he was the leader of the Afenifere leader hence his pronouncement on the endorsement of Obi remained sacrosanct, said that Fasoranti lacked such locus standi to endorse Tinubu on behalf of the socio-political organisation.
He reiterated that his support for Obi was already known, saying, “We have made our position clear. Afenifere has taken a stand to support Obi. Any other splinter or rebel group… I’m not going into any controversy about that. I regard that as a diversion. What we are going to do now is see that we succeed at the election.”
Since then, it has been a battle of words, pronouncements and counter-pronouncements from the Fasoranti group and Adebanjo group of Afenifere.
Despite efforts in some quarters to have Afenifere go into the presidential and other elections on the same page, the Yoruba socio-cultural group went into it as a divided house with the Adebanjo group canvassing for Obi, while the Fasoranti group was unshaken in its support for Tinubu.
At any given opportunity during the campaign period, Adebanjo did not hesitate to tell the world that Obi was leading the crusade to get Nigeria out of bondage as he even, during the LP presidential rally in Abeokuta, Ogun State capital, called on Tinubu, to step down for Obi in order to avoid the shame of losing at the polls.
However, the February 25 presidential and National Assembly election day came like any other and Nigerians went to vote, following which the Independent National Electoral Commission, having counted the votes, declared Tinubu of the APC winner and returned elected having scored the highest number of votes and met the requirements of the law.
Tinubu, who according to INEC, polled 8,794,726, defeated 17 other candidates who participated with Atiku Abubakar of PDP who came second having 6,984,520 votes and Peter Obi of LP garnering 6,101, 533 votes to emerge third.
But just as the PDP and the LP kicked, citing alleged electoral malpractices, the Adebanjo group joined the LP to reject the results and insisted that the election was won by Obi, and not Tinubu.
The rejection was contained in a communiqué at the end of the Afenifere Special General Meeting at Isanya-Ogbo, Ogun State, signed by Adebanjo and Ebiseni.
The group stated, “The results of the lawful votes at the election available to the Afenifere through credible sources confirm that Peter Obi, the LP presidential candidate, won the said election and we, thus, support his decision challenging the contrary declaration by the INEC.”
Adebanjo also in an interview said that what Tinubu had at present was a temporary victory, saying, “As far as I am concerned, he has not won until we have fought the battle to the end at the Supreme Court. We are saying what he won there is faulty, it is fraudulent.”
But the Fasoranti group countered the position, saying it was wrong for the Adebanjo group to have asserted that Obi won the presidential election when INEC had declared Tinubu victorious and president-elect.
Fasoranti, in a statement, said, “This type of position is alien to us in Afenifere, which does not conduct itself as an agent of the state, let alone as an electoral umpire. We accept the results of the elections at all levels as declared by INEC except otherwise decided by competent courts in the land.
“At present, the whole world knows that Nigeria has a president-elect in the person of Asiwaju Ahmed Bola Tinubu, a true Yoruba son and nationalist. We, in Afenifere, not only acknowledge this, but we also take delight in his in-coming Presidency,” he said.
Arising from the Adebanjo group’s rejection of the presidential election’s result, it last week removed Afenifere’s National Organising Secretary, Omololu and National Publicity Secretary, Ajayi from their offices and slammed an indefinite suspension on them over unauthorised statements in its name.
Adebanjo and Ebiseni had dissociated the organisation from any statement against Iwuanyanwu over comment on Yoruba, stating that upon review, “we are convinced that Chief Iwuanyanwu rightly asserted that the Yoruba and Igbo were not at war and truly condemned the shenanigans of some political rascals”.
They stated that Afenifere “observed the uncouth activities and unauthorised statements in its name and to the constant denigration of the organisation” by the duo hence the decision to remove them from their offices and suspend them pending further decisions after their appearance before and recommendations by the disciplinary committee.
Irked by this, the Fasoranti group, which declared the removal from office and suspension of the two officials as null and void, wondered why they were pronounced guilty and sanctioned even before their appearance before a disciplinary committee.
Fasoranti wondered why the Adebanjo group could describe a congratulatory message by Afenifere National Publicity Secretary to the President-elect after he had been issued a Certificate of Return and statement cautioning Iwuanyanwu against insulting Yoruba as “uncouth activities.”Faulting the suspension, Omololu and Ajayi said they were not given a fair hearing. Iwuanyanwu has also denied calling the Yoruba political rascals.
“I want to make it abundantly clear that at no time did I make the statement credited to me by blackmail circulating on social media that Yoruba are political rascals as this was fraudulently manipulated,” he stated.
A professor of Political Science at Ekiti State University, Prof. Femi Omotoso, traced the crisis in Afenifere to Igbo/Yoruba issue which he said had always been there.
He said, “There was the struggle between the late Obafemi Awolowo and Nnamdi Azikiwe and that has been the major problem. There is mutual suspicion between the two ethnic groups.
Omotoso said, “The Adebanjo faction is thinking that they want to be nationalistic, that this time around, the president should come from the South-East, the Fasoranti faction believes this (Tinubu) is our son, let us support him. The argument is neither here nor there.
The don, who said that a winner had emerged in the presidential election, said, “I think it may be too late in the day for anybody to now say the president-elect should jettison the mandate. The parties are already in court, let us wait and see what the court will decide. The conflict is needless. We cannot allow that to degenerate into a crisis within the Yoruba ethnic group.”
