- Their coming together will save Nigeria – ADC
- OBJ can’t be trusted, says Fasanmi
The recent meeting between some Yoruba elders held at the Lagos residence of elder statesman, Chief Ayo Adebanjo, who is a leader of the pan-Yoruba socio-cultural movement, Afenifere, and former President Olusegun Obasanjo, may have polarised politicians in Yorubaland; many of who are divided between the ruling All Progressives Congress and the opposition parties, particularly the Peoples Democratic Party.
Already, Afenifere has declared their mission to take Buhari off the seat in 2019, and the mission is the same with what former President Olusegun Obasanjo also wanted. Nigeria cannot continue like this
While the former opted to view the meeting as an innocuous gathering to discuss sundry national issues and proffer solutions to them, the latter saw it as unification of Yoruba leaders against the re-election of President Muhammadu Buhari in 2019.
The Afenifere leaders, at the parley, expressed concern over the excesses of killer Fulani herdsmen and warned on the resolve of the Yoruba to forge a common front in anticipation of an impending struggle, to protect the interest of their stock.
Particularly, the group was worried about the Federal Government’s “weak” response to events within the polity, which, in its opinion, is largely at variance with the interest of the Yoruba nation and the country at large. To the Yoruba elders, foisting dictatorship agenda on the nation contradicts the tenets of democracy, just as failure to give deserving attention to security issues in the land signaled mortal danger.
The Afenifere also suggested that any unjust threat or attack on the person of Obasanjo or any key figure in the region may amount to a witch-hunt, hence it would be resisted.
RECALLING OBJ, AFENIFERE’S STRAINED RELATIONSHIP
However, last week’s parley might have smoothened the strained relationship between Obasanjo and the Afenifere group, as the group had distanced itself from the former President following its belief that Obasanjo as President, betrayed a gentleman agreement reached with the Afenifere leaders under Chief Abraham Adesanya, now deceased, in 2003.
Then, Afenifere had reportedly struck a deal with OBJ, as Obasanjo is fondly called, to adopt him as the presidential candidate of its Alliance for Democracy party, while OBJ would frustrate the chances of the ruling PDP governorship candidates in the South-West, letting them lose so as to return the AD governors.
But Obasanjo, after winning the presidential election, reportedly went round the South-West states, to boost the morale of the PDP governorship candidates, leading to their victory.
But 15 years after, the two sides appear to have come to a rapprochement, ostensibly for the common purpose of ousting Buhari in next year’s election.
COMING TOGETHER WILL SAVE NIGERIA-ADC
Rationalising the OBJ/Afenifere meeting, spokesman for the African Democratic Congress, a political party to which Obasanjo’s Coalition for Nigeria Movement belongs, Mr. Akin Osuntokun, said Obasanjo’s synergy with the ADC, Afenifere and others, was in the interest of saving Nigeria from ruin.
Speaking with The Point, Osuntokun said the coming together of Obasanjo and Afenire came into being, as both were of the same mission ahead of 2019.
“Already, Afenifere has declared their mission to take Buhari off the seat in 2019, and the mission is the same with what former President Olusegun Obasanjo also wanted. Nigeria cannot continue like this. People should appreciate the fact that people like Obasanjo and leaders of Afenifere rose to the occasion to ensure things are right in Nigeria. Nigeria should not be left to be ruined in the hands of some
people.”
He also said the move embarked upon by Obasanjo was not sponsored by anyone in the country. “Who is big enough in this country to sponsor Obasanjo? Except he wants to sponsor people on a mission. Obasanjo is just an advocate of good government and that is what brought about his moves and made him ally with Afenifere and others to ensure that Nigeria is regained from the party ruling it.
OBJ CAN’T BE TRUSTED, SAYS FASANMI
But nonagenarian Yoruba leader, Senator Ayo Fasanmi, is not impressed with the new kite being flown by former President Obasanjo.
The elder statesman stated pointedly at the end of the meeting of the group held in Lagos that “Obasanjo’s purpose was mainly to forge a front through which he could frustrate the second term agenda of President Muhammadu Buhari, warning the Afenifere to beware of what he described as the “antics of the
General”.
Fasanmi said, “Obasanjo is not sincere. We should not allow his politics to divide us. We should be careful about Obasanjo. I have my reservations about him. Yoruba must come together, but not behind Obasanjo. Obasanjo can’t lead us”.
Reacting to the rapprochement between Obasanjo and Afenifere, a former Commissioner in Oyo State and governorship aspirant on the platform of PDP, Dr. Nureni Adeniran, said for Obasanjo, running to the socio-cultural group for cover was wise and appropriate, “in order to prevent him from being submerged by myriad of
attacks”.
Adeniran, a lawyer and political scientist, noted that latest developments in the country required that the Yoruba should take decisive action in protecting its own and demanding good governance, otherwise, its values and ideals would soon
be eroded.
Underscoring the importance of Afenifere and Obasanjo’s move in ushering in a new order, he said, “This is a message that, come what may, Yoruba can always come together to forge a common front. We can come together to fight against external forces that may want to attack our common
ideals”.
He stressed further that if any attempt was made to unjustly rubbish any Yoruba leader, it behoves on the Afenifere to intervene.
Citing the Fulani herdsmen menace in some parts of the middle-belt as a national issue calling for prompt intervention, he said the Afenifere could not fold its arms and watch things go wrong. Adeniran said, “If we are not careful, the marauding herdsmen would overrun the entire country. But the Yoruba nation and Afenifere should do everything humanly possible to protect our land and
people.”
