By Olusegun Olanrewaju
The confusion rocking Nigeria’s political parties, especially the three leading ones, in the build-up to the 2023 general elections, has festered in the camp of the pan-Yoruba socio-cultural group, Afenifere, which is now boiling to the seams over the candidature of All Progressives Congress (APC) and Labour Party (LP).
The confusion is rooted in the throes of choice thrown up by the powerful ethnic political block as to whom to support in APC’s presidential candidate Bola Tinubu, and LP’s Peter Obi, as the race gets hotter towards the February 2023 presidential poll.
Feuding factional leaders have drawn the political sword by pitching camps with the two electoral forces flying the kite for their respective sub-regional zones, the South-West and South-East, in Nigeria’s testy game of power struggle in the race for the control of the centre.
While Fasoranti has endorsed Tinubu for the presidency, nonagenarian Adebanjo, who was the acting leader of the group is fiercely rooting for Obi.
Adebanjo and Fasoranti have since put the advanced nature of the ages in the cooler, fire-belching on who is supporting who and why. There have been exchanges of tirades between the two elder statesmen and matters would only get worse yesterday.
*Fasoranti’s big stick
Fresh from his controversial endorsement of Tinubu at his Akure, Ondo State conducted on Sunday, October 30th (re-affirmed on Monday, 31st) during the week, the nonagenarian has insisted on backing Tinubu as the South-West’s candidate for the presidential race.
Yesterday, the leader of the pan-Yoruba socio-cultural group, literally put his foot down on who calls the shots in the group, barring Afenifere members from further meetings at the Ijebu-Igbo home of Adebanjo.
Rather, he said, Afenifere members will now be holding their meetings and socials at his own home in Akure, the Ondo State capital.
Observers note that the obvious implication of this is that Adebanjo’s leadership has been rendered lame-duck. In short, a coup had been perfected in the coven; the Ijebu leader’s job as acting chairman had been truncated.
This represents the icing on the cake of controversy in the movement, following the dramatic occasion on Sunday when APC presidential candidate, Tinubu, visited Fasoranti, educationist and Second Republic Commissioner for Finance in Ondo State, and he supported the presidential candidate’s quest to support President Muhammadu Buhari in the office next year.
A report quoted Fasoranti as having lamented that ‘the people had earlier shifted the meeting of Afenifere to Adebanjo’s residence “because they felt he was becoming senile.”
Fasoranti grumbled that ‘some people had felt he could not comprehend things, adding that the person who said that had regretted it.
Discounting the earlier perception of his senility, the elder statesman commented, wryly, that “there is no shaking.”
”The reason the meeting was shifted was due to misunderstanding and misinterpretation of some people that I was going senile and that I cannot comprehend. When I heard that, I reacted and the person saying regretted it,” an online medium quoted Fasoranti as having darted.
In harsh words, he said, “I’m still the leader of Afenifere. Afenifere has not endorsed Obi. We are endorsing Jagaban (Bola Tinubu) for the presidency.
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*Adebanjo’s counter-attack
The response of the shadowing octogenarian, Adebanjo, the acting leader of the Yoruba socio-political group, was to fault the visit of Tinubu to Fasoranti.
Speaking on Monday in an interview on Channels Television, The group’s acting leader explained why he announced the endorsement of LP’s Obi for the presidency.
He restated his earlier widely-reported statement that Afenifere stood on the federalist credentials of the late Chief Obafemi Awolowo-led movement, in this instance requesting justice for the South East that is yet to experience a robust taste of power at the centre.
That followed a trajectory that kicked off in March 2021, Fasoranti had handed over Afenifere to Adebanjo due to old age.
Speaking on the development, Adebanjo admitted that there was a conspiracy to divide the socio-cultural group.
*Tinubu: Apple of discord
When on Sunday, Tinubu, as the presidential candidate of the APC visited the home of Fasoranti, a founding father of Afenifere, in Akure, the Ondo capital, he presented his manifesto to Afenifere leaders, showing reverence by bowing his head to receive prayers from Fasoranti.
The development trailed Adebanjo’s (who is also one of the founding fathers of Afenifere)’s, endorsement of Obi, presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP), as Afenifere’s choice for the presidency.
He said though Fasoranti informed him about the notice of Tinubu’s visit, and he encouraged the elder statesman to allow the visit, had some misgivings, having held out that it was immoral for the South-West to be contemplating a run for the south-west after having a shot at the presidency and the north had had its turn for eight fresh years
“The people in Afenifere — the executives and all that — we know where we are. Those who have left Afenifere, who are jealous of the solidarity there now and who want to cause dissension that is bringing in him (referring to Tinubu).
“I warned Pa Fasoranti not to allow himself to be put into this mess. I can deal with all of them who were there. They were not there when we were doing all these things. But I don’t want any diversion at this time. Afenifere is for Obi, hook, line and sinker,” Adebanjo said.
This forms the plank of argument that is gutting the soul of the Yoruba position.
