Tinubu’s Endorsement By Afenifere Amid Controversy

Fidelis David writes that the recent pitching of tent with the presidential flag of the All Progressives Congress Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, by Yoruba socio-cultural group, Afenifere, has continued to be mired in heated controversy.

As the 2023 general election approaches, the race to clinch the presidential crown is getting tougher as the quartet of Atiku Abubakar of PDP,  Bola Tinubu of APC, Peter Obi of LP and Rabiu Kwakwanso of NNPP, who are to slug it out at the February poll continue to engage in clandestine horse-trading to enlarge and expand their support base.

October, 2022 closed in a seemingly symbolic and emotive moment for the All Progressives Congress (APC) Presidential candidate, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, when he took a benedictory pilgrimage to Akure, the Ondo State capital to receive the all-clear from the leader of Yoruba Soci-political  Group, Afenifere, Pa Rueben Fasoranti—an endorsement that is presently generating furore.

To underscore the enormity of the occasion and the weight of support he enjoys, the former two-time governor of Lagos State was received at the country home of Pa Reuben Fasoranti by the newly sworn-in Ekiti state governor, Biodun Oyebanji, Deputy governor of Ondo State, Lucky Aiyedatiwa, Deputy governor of Oyo State, Bayo Lawal, former Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Chief Olu Falae, former Ogun state governor, Otunba Gbenga Daniel, the Minister of state for Transportation, Ademola Adegoroye; a former Minister of state for Niger Delta, Chief Tayo Alasoadura and a former Governor of Osun State, Chief Bisi Akande, among other Afenifere leaders.

Fasoranti, who was made the leader of Afenifere In November 2008 and had stepped down for Chief Ayo Adebanjo in 2021, while performing the greybeard invocation, had his two palms firmly placed on Tinubu’s clean shaven head and wished the APC national leader a smooth glide in the race for Aso Rock, even as Tinubu put forward his 80-page manifesto before the nonagenarian with other prominent Yoruba leaders present.

The meeting came after Chief Adebanjo, the current leader of the group had earlier endorsed Peter Obi of the Labour Party as the preferred candidate of Afenifere for the 2023 presidential election.

It is incontestable to say that the two endorsements supposedly representing the opinion and interest of the Yoruba race, is another confusion propelled by politics and interests other than what is good for the people.

Recall that some members of the group, including the group’s leader, Pa Ayo Adebanjo and the Secretary-General of the association, Chief Sola Ebiseni, were not at the Akure meeting. This, some say renders the endorsement inconsequential.

In other words, while some people do not see anything wrong with the action of Afenifere, others see the posture of the group as an act of betrayal which is at variance with the wishes of the majority of the Yoruba people both at home and in the diaspora, who believe that it was high time the APC was replaced at the Federal level with another political party that can effectively tackle the problems of insecurity, harsh economy and corruption confronting the nation.

To give credibility to the endorsement, the former Secretary General Secretary of Afenifere, Chief Seinde Arogbofa, invoked the popular Yoruba proverb, saying “Omo eni ki sedi bebere, ka lo fi ileke si idi omo elomiran”— loosely meaning, the love and extension of kindness with limited slot can not be given to outsider while your child is suffering.

Arogbofa charged Tinubu to be a leader that will unite Nigeria and work for the progress and development of the country, “You are not just a Yoruba man but a Nigerian. When you become President take Nigeria into consideration in all you do but never forget home. Our demands are what you know already. Restructuring, security and fixing the economy. Our country is no longer safe. We want state police so that the country will be safe”, he submitted.

While some critics have condemned the endorsement by Afenifere, others claimed the group’s support for Tinubu  is due to his remarkable performance as governor of Lagos State and his remarkable human capital development.

A chieftain of APC in Ondo State who preferred anonymity said the endorsement was a plus for Tinubu and shows that the Yoruba people are solidly behind him.

He said: “For leaders of Afenifere from the six South West States including Kwara and Kogi to be present at the event shows that Asiwaju Tinubu is the man of the moment.

“The presence of Deputy governor of Oyo State, Bayo Lawal; former Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Chief Olu Falae who are from PDP and SDP respectively at the event underpinned the seriousness the group attached to the endorsement of Tinubu—suggesting that the action of the group could automatically translate to a resounding victory for the APC candidate in the region”.

Deputy Governor of Ondo State, Hon. Lucky Aiyedatiwa, who received Tinubu and his delegation on behalf of Governor Rotimi Akeredolu, said Ondo State people are Afenifere and will support Tinubu to win, saying, “Asiwaju has the reach, the competence to lead Nigeria”.

Adebanjo’s Faction and Obi’s Endorsement.

In a swift reaction,  the acting leader of Afenifere, Ayo Adebanjo,  described the Akure meeting as diversionary, saying the intent was to create a wedge between him and Fasoranti and he was not bothered about it, stressing that the “real Afenifere” has made its position known about endorsing the candidate of the Labour Party, Mr. Peter Obi, and that has not changed.

He said, “The Yoruba People know their leader. I’ve spoken, the National Secretary has spoken. This is no the time to engage in polemics. The way forward is my position. What happened was a diversion. They want us to be engaged in arguments. Is that the issue now?”.

Adebanjo insisted that in the interest of fairness and justice, it is the turn of the South East to produce the next President.

“Can he (Tinubu) deny it that the South-West has not had its turn? Can he deny it South-South has not had its turn? They should answer that. As far as I am concerned, the meeting does not concern us as Afenifere. Afenifere is not divided. That was why I said I don’t want to engage in polemics. They want to throw a wedge between me and Pa Reuben Fasoranti and I won’t allow it. The man phoned me yesterday and I warned him, don’t get yourself involved, those in attendance at the meeting were Yoruba APC chieftains”.

What Could Makinde Possibly Want In An APC Organised Forum?

Deputy governor of Oyo state, Adebayo Lawal, at the meeting said his principal, Seyi Makinde supported Afenifere leaders on their preferred choice of presidential candidate for the 2023 elections.

Lawal, who represented Makinde at the meeting, said the Oyo governor has always been in support of the decisions taken by Afenifere.

“Since he (Makinde) has become  governor, he hasn’t played with issues concerning Yorubaland. There is no time Baba (Fasoranti) calls him that he doesn’t answer. Whatever they are doing, whether it’s under Afenifere or another group, Governor Seyi Makinde has always been doing.

“Now, we are not of the same party, but we are connected by race. For this reason, the message he (Makinde) sent is that in Yorubaland, whatever you do, he is in support of it,: Lawal stressed.

Now, the point is, If Makinde, a supposed ally of Governor Wike of Rivers state has thrown his weight behind Tinubu, does this represent a subtle endorsement of Tinubu by the Wike camp, considering his earlier endorsement of Governor Sanwolu of Lagos state?

Another point is that could Fasoranti had taken a cue from Akeredolu who said earlier that there were no Obidients in Ondo State?

Recall that Afenifere backed Buhari when he contested in 2011 but lost the election to Goodluck Jonathan. Meanwhile, in 2015, the group supported Goodluck Jonathan for president,  but he lost the election to Buhari. Also, in 2019, Afenifere backed Atiku Abubakar for the race to Aso Rock, but he lost to Muhammadu Buhari.

The PDP Position

The spokesman of Atiku/Okowa presidential Campaign Organisation, Dr Daniel Bwala, picked a hole in the endorsement noting that the absence of Adebanjo and others was an indication that the endorsement was faulty.

He disagreed with the Afenifere leaders for inviting only Tinubu outbof all other presidential candidates to an event where they could have hosted frontline candidates and listen to their plans for the country.

Bwala in a statement said: “In what seem like the crawling of a rat at night to steal meat from the pot, Tinubu paid a strange visit to Pa Fatoranti; strange because it was not an organized setting of the usual meeting of the highly respected Afenifere; needless to say the leader of the group Pa Adebanjo and the secretary were obviously absent when he went  in a Gestapo manner.

First off, the Afenifere we know has through their leader made known their position as to who they support and it was certainly not Tinubu.

Secondly, if it were a meeting seeking to know the right person to support or endorse among the candidates it ought to have at least invited the leading candidates to hear their take on what plans they have for the country that caters to the interests of Afenifere.”

Bwala also described Tinubu as a “tribal evangelist”, saying the former Lagos State governor’s comment that he “would bring the trophy home” at the meeting was a “clear ethnic insinuations and divisive remarks”.

“So to Tinubu, the race to become the president of Nigeria is a trophy to be won and taken to his ethnic enclave. He was not only wrong in his tribal insinuation that not a single Yoruba opposed the ticket, but he also lied because lots of Yorubas took strong objections to the same faith ticket and to his divisive and religious politics. To say that his ticket is supported by all Yorubas is, to say the least disingenuous, false, and condemnable. Tinubu has made no secret about his tribal championship and utter disregard for other ethnic people in southern Nigeria. This to say the least is sad and terribly troubling and Nigerians should rise and condemn this rhetoric at the polls”, he noted.

Will the Endorsement Sway Votes?

The former publicity Secretary of PDP in Ondo State, Zadok Akintoye, said the protracted problem that is easily identifiable with Afenifere right from onset has been that of unnecessary endorsement of a political party against other political parties without a recourse to the diverse political interests and lack of balancing and capability.

He said: “You know this is a political season, I am neither here nor there as to the endorsement. Every candidate in this contest is going to look for such posture but it is not about endorsement but how well you can get the electorates to believe in your agenda. What matters is that you are able to give them a track record of  your activities over the years, how qualified you are.

“For me as an individual and am sure for the larger majority of the indigens of Ondo State, don’t need to be bothered about that and the very  respected Baba Fasoranti, one of our most respected leaders and respected citizens in the state, can endorse anybody and am also aware that every candidate irrespective of political party affiliation has the right or has the opportunity to go and honour Baba, so we only expect that he will give each an every candidate blessing because Baba as a leader of Yoruba race is expected not to be partisan.

“If you look at it, Afenifere has been divided into factions. One had endorsed Peter Obi and the one by Fasoranti endorsed Tinubu. I didn’t hear Fasoranti saying people should go and vote for a particular person because if you go back to the history of Afenifere, it is the Pan Yoruba socio-cultural group, not a political group. So, the position of any individual is their right but as to whether to determine who wins or speaking for the entire Yoruba, I think the group is speaking for the position of Afenifere” Zadok added.

Also speaking, another PDP chieftain in the state who preferred anonymity said, the presidential candidates Afenifere backed in 1993, 2015 and 2019 failed at the polls, noting that Afenifere’s endorsement of Tinubu was a reckless initiative that could well prove catastrophic for the  Yoruba race.

He said: “The acting leader of Afenifere, Ayo Adebanjo was not there,the secretary general, Sola Ebiseni was not also there,the executive members of the group were not there. To the best of my knowledge, those who attended that meeting are estranged members of Afenifere. Yes Fasoranti is a leader but he had since relinquished that leadership position to Ayo Adebanjo. What he did to Baba was a mere courtesy visit as a leader of the Yoruba race and other candidates will still visit him and he will still bless them.

“Aside this, what has been the effect of their endorsement over the years? In 2015, they endorsed Goodluck Jonathan but he failed, in 2019, they endorsed Atiku Abubakar, he also failed. Apart from morale booster, how many votes can they gather? Afenifere is not having a single governor, unlike in 1999 when they had the six governors, where they could tell anybody that this is where we are heading and they would listen. Over the years, they have lost political credence.

“Look at the age of Fasoranti, he’s 96 years, how many campaign rallies can he attend at that age? If they disobey him, what will be the effect? Before they took the decision to support Obi, executive members from states met and decided, so it was a joint decision” he noted.

On his part, a media professional, Kehinde Ogunkorode, charged regional socio-political associations in Nigeria such as, Afenifere,  Ohaneze-Ndigbo, the Arewa Consultative Forum, to eschew prejudiced political interests and self-centeredness for the good of Nigeria and the enthronement of good governance.

Be as it may, one can convincingly say  Afenifere, is at its defining moment and its members must avoid being divided by partisan politics of widely differing political ideology and see its consistent intervention and speaking loudly on issues affecting the region as portraying it as a major voice of the region.

The group which has come to represent the most politically salient legacy of the former Premier of old Western Nigeria, Chief Obafemi still Awolowo, has the ears of Yoruba people despite the existing division of the group.