It appears that leaders of the Nigeria’s Southwest geo-political zoneare on one another’s jugular over who to support from the array of the several presidential candidates in the next year’s presidential election.
Currently, the Pan-Yoruba socio-political organisation, Afenifere, has been split into two camps by the leaders, with one expressing its support for Muhammadu Buhari’s re-election bid, while the other is opposing it.
Afenifere is led by Ondo State-born elder statesman, Reuben Fasoranti, who assumed the position in 2008 after acting in similar capacity for four years, after the demise of its former leader, Abraham Adesanya and its Deputy Leader, Bola Ige.
The group under Fasoranti has consistently canvassed for an urgent restructuring of the country, saying that the current structure was responsible for Nigeria’s inability to realise its potentials.
The group equally, consistently expressed dismay with the leadership style of the Buhari administration, saying that itwould only give itsbacking to any of the presidential candidates thatis in support of its demand for restructuring of the country.
But a splinter group, recently emerged, which appears to be working for the re-election bid of President Buhari, and it seems to be polarising Afenifere, dividing leaders of the region in order to achieve its aim of getting the region’s support for the incumbent President’s return bid.
The group headed by former Senator, Ayo Fasanmi, after a recent meeting of delegates and elders from the six Southwest states in Ibadan, said it was opposed to the demands of the Fasoranti-led camp, and that it was in support of the re-election bid of President Buhari and Vice- President, Yemi Osibanjo.
The group further threatened that any other group that fails to support and work in line with its declaration would be treated as usurpers and renegades.
Some of the notable Yoruba figures at the meeting included former Oyo State governor, Omololu Olunloyo; Lagos All Progressives Congress (APC) chieftains, Tajudeeen Olusi and Abayomi Finnih, Adeleke Adewoyin, Biodun Ogunleye; former Oyo State Deputy Governor, Iyiola Oladokun and Ayo Afolabi.
“We are now telling the Yoruba people and the whole world that Afenifere, as enunciated and enacted by the late sage, Chief Obafemi Awolowo, is still intact and we are going to support President Buhari and Vice President Yemi Osinbajo in the 2019 presidential election,” the group said.
“We have decided to host the whole Yorubaland in Ibadan on January 29, 2019. It is to proclaim the support of the Yorubaland for President Muhammadu Buhari in 2019.
“It is also to tell the whole world that Afenifere created by Awolowo before his death is still intact as a progressive movement and any Afenifere person who is not in the progressive is not part of us,” Spokesman of the group, Akin-Fasae, stated.
However, Fasoranti and several leaders of his group in an interview with BDSUNDAY dismissed the Fasanmi-led group, describing them as impostors and accused a chieftain of the APC and former governor of Lagos State, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, of being behind the group.
“That report is not true, I am the leader of Afenifere; there has not been anytime that we met to adopt Buhari for 2019 election. Fasanmi and his group are impostors; where has he or his group been all thiswhile? The way they are going about it shows that he is sponsored by some individuals for their personal gains,” Fasoranti said.
Spokesman of the group, Yinka Odumakin, wondered where the group had been when the region was under attack by Fulani herdsmen, describing them has self-seeking politicians who were sponsored by Tinubu.
“They are Tinubu’s seasonal Afenifere leaders; men he put forward during election period, to say they are Afenifere. Where have they been when the Southwest region was under attack by the Fulani herdsmen? The Yoruba are not fools? Let Fasanmi come out and stand when we are talking. We can’t join issues with them because they are jokers,” Odumakin said.
According to him, “The masquerade behind this entire show is Bola Tinubu, who has plenty of money. Why is he hiding under Afenifere? Haven’t he and his people been disparaging Afenifere? Why has Afenifere suddenly become attractive to them?
Media officer of the Fasanmi-led group, Awa Bamiji, in an interview with our correspondent, disclosed that the Fasanmi group was the recognized Afenifere in the region by the different state governors in the region who were equally members of the APC, stressing that most members of the Fasoranti group had not won election in the region.
“We are the real Afenifere, the other group are not recognised; how many governors in the Southwest know them? How many of them have won elections before in Yoruba land? When the time comes, we will know,”Bamiji said.
However, a pundit and founder of Voters Awareness Initiatives (VAI), Wale Ogunade, dismissed the two groups, describing them as old politicians who lacked political relevance and were incapable of winning election in the region.
“They are not politicians, they are group of old people who have come together, thinking they will take the space and capitalise on it. None of them has won election in the Southwest before; the Yoruba’s know their leaders including Obasanjo who said he was now Afenifere renewal, we know our leaders. The era of fooling our people is over; we are now wiser,” Ogunade said.
