Omololu Ogunmade
25 November 2008
analysis
Lagos — After holding forte as the leader of Afenifere, the pan-Yoruba socio-political organization in acting capacity for four years, Chief Reuben Famuyide Fasoranti, was finally named the substantive leader of the group last week.
The ratification was the fall-out of a congress held in Ijebu Igbo home of Fasoranti's predecessor, Pa Abraham Adesanya, who passed on in April, this year, after a protracted illness.
Present at the meeting were the former presidential candidate of the All Peoples Party (APP) and Alliance for Democracy (AD) in 1999, Chief Olu Falae, two respected leaders of the group, Sir Olaniwun Ajayi and Chief Ayo Adebanjo, the group's General Secretary, Senator Femi Okurounmu and leader of the Lagos State chapter of the group, Chief Supo Shonibare.
Others were Senator Mojisoluwa Akinfenwa, Chief Wumi Adegbonmire, Chief Kole Omololu and former deputy governor of Ogun State, Alhaji Adegbenga Kaka.
How the Crisis Began
The ratification marked a turning point in the history of an organization which had been been rocked by protracted crises since November 22, 2005, when an alleged dissident group, led by Senator Ayo Fasanmi emerged in Lagos. In the group were the former governor of Lagos State, Senator Bola Ahmed Tinubu, incumbent National Chairman of the Action Congress (AC), Chief Bisi Akande and former governors in the South-west on the platform of the moribund Alliance for Democracy (AD), excluding the late Chief Adebayo Adefarati (Ondo).
Since then, things have virtually fallen apart in Afenifere, the hitherto authoritative platform of the Yoruba people, which vehemently fought the despotic government of the former military head of state, General Sani Abacha to a stand still at the heat of pro-democracy struggle in the 90's.
Reconciliatory Moves
Both groups have continued to call each other names, while several efforts to achieve reconciliation proved abortive. In a bid to ensure true reconciliation, prominent Yoruba leaders notably a former Justice of the Supreme Court, Justice Kayode Eso, Bishops Bolanle Gbonigi and Ayo Ladigbolu as well as the former military governor of the defunct Western Region, General Adeyinka Adebayo had constituted different reconciliation committees all to no avail.
While the Fasoranti group of Afenifere, has in the past four years, claimed to have duly sought for reconciliation, Fasanmi's group has always ruled out the possibility of reconciliation, vowing to have nothing to do with their brothers in Fasoranti's camp.
During the Ijebu Igbo ratification meeting last Wednesday, General Secretary of the group, Senator Femi Okurounmu narrated how all their efforts to reconcile with the Fasanmi-led group, had fallen through despite the constitution of a committee led by Justice Eso (rtd.) to champion the course of reconciliation.
According to him, the Fasanmi faction shunned the meetings called by Eso's committee, disclosing that rather, it requested to see Eso in privacy during which it told him that it was no longer interested in its membership of Afenifere.
He also recalled how further efforts by Adebayo to achieve reconciliation between the two groups failed, saying the rival group would either jettison the meeting called by Adebayo's committee or come to be excused from the meeting.
How Fasoranti Emerged
After about two hours of deliberation at the Ijebu-Igbo congress last week, a former leader of Pro-National Congress Organisation (PRONACO), Baba Omojola moved the motion for the confirmation of Fasoranti as Adesanya's successor. He said: "I hereby move the motion that the acting leader who has been doing well, be confirmed as the leader of Afenifere."
The motion was seconded by Chief Lere Adebayo, a member of the Osun State chapter of Afenifere and ratified by the entire congress.
Speaking after the confirmation, Okurounmu said the confirmation of Fasoranti as Afenifere leader, was well deserved, saying: "One of the things that has endeared him to us in his acting leadership capacity was his efforts to re-unite us and see that all of us come under one platform." Okurounmu said since the olive branch waved to the Fasanmi's group had yielded no result and realizing that time and tide wait for nobody, the group was left with no option than to confer the leadership of the group on Fasoranti, who according to him had portrayed himself as a true Yoruba elder in the spirit of reconciliation in the last four years.
In his acceptance speech, Fasoranti said he was overwhelmed by the support of the people present at the gathering and the zeal with which they conferred the position of that magnitude on him.
He said with deep emotion that he had acted as the leader of the group in the past four years with tears and anxiety, regretting that persons expected to give maximum co-operation to the organization, in the pursuit of the wellbeing of Yoruba people, have turned against him and other leaders of the group, but assured members that the leaders of the group have vowed not to be discouraged, pledging that he would continue to extend his hands of fellowship to the alleged dissident group.
Reaction to His Emergence
However, 24 hours before the conferment of Afenifere leadership on Fasoranti, a group within Afenifere, Afenifere Renewal Group, comprising younger elements, decried the move, saying it was unfortunate that elders of Afenifere, had opted to embark on such steps at the time it was working assiduously to reconcile the aggrieved parties.
A statement by Wale Oshun and Yinka Odumakin, the group's chairman and secretary respectively, said elevating Fasoranti to the position of the leader of the group at this time of crisis, would further aggravate the crisis bedeviling the organization.
The statement read in part:"The attention of Afenifere Renewal Group has been drawn to a report in a weekend newspaper, quoting an elder in Afenifere as saying that a meeting of Afenifere has been fixed for Ijebu-Igbo on Thursday to ratify a successor for the departed Leader, Senator Abraham Adesanya. Though he admitted that there are tendencies within the organization, he described his group as 'mainstream.' This move has already generated reaction from other leaders.
"This development is a recipe for another round of saber-rattling, factional squabbles and abandoning the vision of the founding fathers of Afenifere for personal quarrels, inward throwing of punches and open rounds of acrimony. It is a weather-beaten path that has substantially distracted from confronting the challenges facing the Yoruba nation.
"We must put on record that the late Leader of Afenifere, Senator Abraham Adesanya spent the last five years of his active life resolving internecine disputes among his followers till he collapsed in the middle of the crisis and never recovered. To resume that line of action six months after his death would appear to us as dancing on the grave of Adesanya, whose last earthly regret was not leaving one united Afenifere behind like Chief Obafemi Awolowo and Chief Adekunle Ajasin," the group said.
What Afenifere Renewal Group Wants
At any rate, reasons for the position of the Afenifere Renewal Group are not far fetched. The group has since its emergence, been canvassing the need for a generational shift. It is its position that the elders which still hold sway as Afenifere leaders, should have shifted grounds to pave way for the emergence of younger elements as leaders of the group.
To this end, the ARG argued that Awolowo, the revered late Yoruba leader had begun to lead the group when he was in the current age brackets of members and hence. They therefore, said according them such an opportunity, would have been the only right step in the right direction.
But the elders have been swift to dismiss this insinuation, saying it is sacrilegious for persons who constitute the ARG to compare themselves with Awolowo. They argued that none of the members of ARG possesses the integrity and qualities which gave away Awolowo as a potential leader.
Besides, Falae said the idea of generational shift was strange in Afenifere. According to him, Awolowoo died at the age of 78; Ajasin departed at the age of 89, while Adesanya passed on at 85, explaining that nobody ever canvassed any generational shift before these leaders died at their ripe ages. Falae therefore viewed this call as misplaced.
How ARG Began
It would be recalled that Afenifere Renewal Group was first known last year, when it took its first step of reconciling the feuding leaders at the International Institute for Tropical Agriculture (IITA), in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital. The group was celebrated, having succeeded for the first time after the outbreak of the crisis to bring the feuding leaders together under the auspices of an event, Yoruba Retreat.
The event which was held between October 26 and 28, 2007, witnessed principal figures in the feud, Fasoranti and Fasanmi embracing each other. In fact, Fasanmi expressed utmost pleasure in seeing Fasoranti, whom he described as his age-long friend, that he had missed for several months. Fasanmi further echoed Falae, who had earlier said: "O ti re 'ja," meaning, "our quarrels have now been exhausted."
While delivering his opening remarks at the IITA retreat, Oshun said: "The organizing committee of the Yoruba Retreat desires that all those who served with or served Chief Obafemi Awolowo and all those who directly benefitted from his welfarist policies, need to work together to clearly sharpen and refocus those objectives which served us greatly in the past. Even the first beneficiaries of the free primary education policy of Chief Obafemi Awolowo, are if not 60 years of age now, are closer to that age and may therefore, only be expressing concern for the lives of their children and grandchildren We are all on our way out. Hence, we couldn't spread a hand of fellowship across the divide for the benefit of our children, grand children and great grand children."
After Oshun left the podium, Dr. Wale Adebanwi, a political scientist who lectures at the University of Ibadan, provoked the elders by his presentation: "The Yoruba Vision." Adebanwi who reviewed the commitment of the Yoruba race to nation building since inception, regretted that the Yoruba nation, instead of experiencing an upward vertical mobility, has continued to slide backward. He therefore admonished the elders present at the occasion to put behind them their differences and forthwith revive their progressive ideals which to him, appeared to have gone moribund.
Adebanwi traced the crisis in the South-west today to the undesirable romance of some Yoruba leaders with Obasanjo. He lamented with deep feelings that Afenifere, which hitherto paraded a bunch of resolute and resilient individuals, had become a more or less non-existent organization authored by the alleged romance with former president Olusegun Obasanjo.
"The tragic romance with Olusegun Obasanjo by some in the leadership of Afenifere partly led us to where we are today. Even after the crisis that engulfed the group in the post-D'Rovans' era, if the terrible error of alliance with Obasanjo had not been committed, perhaps the group's solidity would not have been so sorely sacrificed. But the leaders were not without voices that warned them," the university don noted.
He noted that Yoruba Vision, also known as Yoruba Agenda, "is at the fundamental level, about shareable social and political vision and goals that are humanistic," adding: "It is about how the Yoruba are located and locate themselves in the global and national dialogue of human possibilities."
Before he ended his lecture that evening, he did not fail to charge the leaders of Afenifere to revive the seeming comatose Afenifere to remain a vibrant platform for the realization of Yoruba vision, which he noted should be shot into other nations because of its progressive instinct for the purpose of building a great country, free from the perceived mess of the moment.
By the time Adebanwi ended his presentation, the entire conference hall of IITA had been laden with emotion. Thus the intensity of Adebanwi's charge to the entire assembly led to remorseful expressions on the faces of the participants and thus earned the presenter a standing ovation from the entire hall. The elderly Yoruba men recounted how much they were touched by the lecture, prompting their demand for copies of the paper for their own continuos digestion.
The lecture which participants said opened their eyes to see how much the Yoruba have traded their values was the highpoint of the agenda that propelled reconciliation. Thus renowned Professor of Yoruba Language, Professor Akinwumi Isola seemed compelled by the lecture to carry out the task of reconciliation which hitherto was not stated in the programme. It was during this time that the warriors purged their grievances, promising to bury the hatchet and forge ahead in the spirit of oneness for the progress of Yoruba race.
First to be given the floor was the then Acting leader of Afenifere, Fasoranti. He described the crisis in the leadership of Afenifere as the fall-out of ego between him and Fasanmi. Fasoranti therefore used the opportunity to narrate the bone of contention after which he expressed optimism that the strife had ended.
"The two of us (he and Fasanmi) saw each other today. We greeted and embraced. But I think something is missing. When Papa Awolowo was alive, he was thoughtful and he set the pace for others to follow. But as soon as he left the stage, everybody thought he knew best. Finance has also become one of the factors causing disunity. Some people have allowed the ego to disorientate us. Two meetings had been held to settle the rift. More will still be held and I believe if we put in more efforts, all will be well," Fasoranti remarked.
In his own comment, Fasanmi said: "If all I have come here to do is to hear the lecture of Adebanwi and go back, I am satisfied. When I got here and saw my friends - Chiefs Fasoranti, Ayo Adebanjo, Olu Falae, I was happy. The quarrel is already being settled. If we can't settle our quarrel, it will be a shame on all of us. What has started today is the beginning of good things for our country and by the grace of God, we will settle our differences," he promised.
Also speaking, Falae who chaired one of the occasions said if quarrel must be settled, the first thing that must happen is that quarrel itself must be tired. He advocated the need to put malice behind them, noting that the unity of Yoruba race is being threatened by other nations who know that the strength of Yoruba people reside in their unity.
"If quarrel must be settled, quarrel must be tired. Now quarrel is tired. I Olu Falae does not know what I have contributed to this crisis. But I believe it is possible for us to resolve our differences. We have a serious business before Yoruba people. Our unity is perceived as a threat by people who see us as the most united nation. They are fearful and they now feel as long as we are in crisis, they feel safe and secured. Obasanjo is among those who brought us to this level. Let us take note that there are enemies within us. That is why we must settle our differences," Falae said. But the euphoria that greeted this so-called reconciliation was ephemeral as the promises made at the retreat have now been consigned to the dust bin of history.
Adesanya's Shoe
The death of Adesanya in April threw greater challenges on the Yoruba race as far as leadership responsibility is concerned. Since 1966, the race had always paraded a perceived worthy and noble son of the race as Yoruba Leader. Thus the baton of leadership had been passed down from Awolowo, to the late Chief Micheal Adekunle Ajasin, the first executive governor of the old Ondo State and later Adesanya, who was crippled by an ailment, which rendered him completely inactive for four years, before his eventual demise. The ailment of Adesanya, which culminated in the delegation of his leadership authority to Fasoranti was the offshoot of this seemingly endless crisis rocking Afenifere today. Fasanmi's group became aggrieved by the development, saying being Adesanya's deputy, he should have handed the leadership of Afenifere to Fasanmi as Ajasin did while he was his deputy.
Since inception, the emergence of Yoruba leader had always been a natural phenomenon. Apart from Oduduwa, widely acclaimed as the progenitor of the Yoruba race, the late Awolowo was the first to be publicly voted as the leader of the Yoruba race. Awo was unanimously elected the Yoruba leader at a Yoruba leadership summit conveyed by Adebayo in Ibadan in August 1966. At the time, Awo had just been released from Calabar prison, where he had been remanded for four years after being convicted by Justice Sowemimo and upheld at the Court of Appeal of treasonable felony against the government of Alhaji Abubakar Tafawa Balewa, the then Prime Minister of the Nigeria. Awo was released after being granted a state pardon by the newly enthroned military government of General Yakubu Gowon.
Upon Awo's return home, the first military governor of the Western Region, Adebayo conveyed a leadership summit in Ibadan, with a view to devising the way forward for the Yoruba race which appeared to be at a cross road at the time. Accordingly, Awo was invited to the meeting. Upon the commencement of the meeting, Awo was asked to preside. While emerging issues in Yoruba nation were being discussed, there were suggestions that for things to take their normal shape in the region, there was the need to appoint a leader to steer the ship of the region and on whose shoulder the well being of the region would rest.
According to Awo, in his book: "My March Through Prison," he deliberately ignored the suggestion that a Yoruba leader should be appointed at the meeting, saying issues at stake should rather be digested and thereafter, participants headed for their houses. But Awo said the more he tried to resist the suggestion, the more it reverberated throughout the meeting and when he could no longer resist it, he eventually succumbed and consequently, he was unanimously appointed as the leader of the Yoruba race.
Awo said one factor which encouraged him to accept the responsibility of that magnitude was because those who came up with the suggestion were mainly persons who were in the opposition party when the Action Group (AG) and the National Convention for Nigeria Citizens (NCNC), battled for supremacy in the region before the collapse of the First Republic.
The development implied that Awo leadership was never sought and as well devoid of party sentiment, but rather a natural event, as dictated by trust. After the death of Awolowo in 1987, the issue of Yoruba leadership never cropped up until the military president, General Ibrahim Babangida annulled the June 12, 1993 presidential election, won by Chief MKO Abiola, a Yoruba philanthropy. As a result of the heroic leadership presented by Ajasin, who was then the leader of Afenifere, a major opposition platform to the military junta of Abacha, he was aptly addressed as Yoruba leader.
His death conferred the leadership of Afenifere on Adesanya, his hitherto deputy, who like Ajasin lifted the banner of opposition high against tyranny, oppression as well as the despotic rule of the military. This bravery act of Adesanya later led to the convocation of a gathering which crowned him as the Yoruba leader.
But since Adesanya was crippled, till his eventual passage to the world beyond and after, none has been deemed fit to step into his shoes. A source within Afenifere said though Fasoranti had been named the leader of Afenifere, it never implied that he was a Yoruba leader. According to the source, he obviously won't be accepted by the entire Yoruba as their leader, recalling that the emergence of Yoruba leaders in the past had always been dictated by certain circumstances which made such situations imminent.
Fasoranti's Goal
Nevertheless, Fasoranti at his maiden press briefing in Jibowu to mark the commencement of his leadership era last Monday, said it was high time that controversies and strifes were brought to a close, adding that the door of reconciliation remained open. Giving reasons while all and sundry must close ranks in the interest of Yoruba nation, Fasoranti recalled that the original intention of the founders of Afenifere was not to struggle for positions, but rather aimed at providing leadership with a view to advancing the progress of the people as well as the zone.
"While we shall keep the door open for reconciliation and continue to stretch our hands of friendship to those still out of the fold, we must now close the chapter on the unfortunate era of dissension, disagreements and wranglings over who was to hold what position in the party. Afenifere was not established just to provide opportunities for people to occupy positions of authority; rather it was founded to provide leadership in moving our people forward in peace and prosperity," Fasoranti explained.
But Fasoranti's optimism may be dashed as the Fasanmi's group has ruled out the possibility of any reconciliation. Nevertheless, a source told THISDAY on Monday that Tinubu, a prominent leader of the Fasanmi's group, has gradually begun to sheathe his sword. According to him, if the former governor were still interested in elongating the crisis, he would have gone to look for Fasanmi in Osogbo and assembled other AD ex-governors behind him and thereafter jointly proclaim him also as Afenifere leader as was done in Ijebu Igbo.The source said Tinubu at this time is taking interest in the unity of the Yoruba. He however, added that in no too distant time, Tinubu would throw his weight behind the Afenifere Renewal Group, to strengthen their pursuit of reconciliation.
A Non-partisan Organisation
However, a new dimension was introduced into the development on Monday, when Fasoranti at the press briefing, announced that henceforth, Afenifere would cease to be a partisan platform, which would accommodate all Yoruba from 18 years of age and above, irrespective of party affiliation. This declaration brought to a close, the age-long clamour that Afenifere should severe ties with any political party. This agitation gained grounds in the days of Adesanya, when the group maintained that Afenifere was synonymous with AD. This was widely condemned by some stakeholders who insisted that Afenifere, should serve mainly as a socio-cultural organization and not a partisan platform. This suggestion was strongly condemned by Adesanya and his team, who believed that advocates of the agitation did so in pursuit of their selfish objectives.
But Fasoranti said on Monday, that the need to forge a new consensus among the people of Yoruba nation, had become compelling, if Yoruba must secure its pride of place, which he said had been lost in recent times, as a result of disunity and loss of focus.
According to Fasoranti, the newly constituted Afenifere, unlike the previous one, will be entirely non-partisan, whose goal, he added, would mainly be the pursuit of the wellbeing of the people of Yoruba race adding that the new Afenifere will harness talents with a view to empowering Yoruba people.
He also disclosed that in order to achieve its aims and objectives, Afenifere will set up committees with the mandate to spell out the mode of operations of the group, which according to him, will address important issues like education, culture, health, agriculture, industry, communication, transport, technology and the like.
"If we must regain the pride of place to which our members, education and cultural advancement entitle us, we must come together on the Afenifere platform, which has served us well for over 50 years. To make this easier to achieve, we have now decided to throw membership of Afenifere open to all Yoruba people above 18 years, regardless of present party affiliation, provided they accept the Afenifere credo of making the welfare of the individual citizen the main purpose of government.
"It must be made clear that no member, whether old or new, will be representing any political party in the new Afenifere. All members will meet and interact as patriotic Yoruba leaders who are concerned about the condition of the race and are willing to offer their time and talents towards the revival and re-empowerment of our people," Fasoranti said.
Explaining this further, Lagos leader of Afenifere, Shonibare said the aim of the new agenda, was to bring Yoruba progressive elements under one umbrella, where all and sundry would pursue common goals and objectives. Shonibare who noted that it is not every Yoruba man in PDP that is a progressive, said "if your views are not in tandem with that of the group, then you can't be a member of Afenifere."
While the crisis in Afenifere rages, traditional rulers, led by the Ooni of Ife, Oba Okunade Sijuwade said recently that they were busy searching for another credible Yoruba leader as a replacement for Adesanya. THISDAY learnt that Afenifere, has pledged to co-operate with the traditional rulers in their search for the new Yoruba leader.
This has further strengthened the earlier information that Fasoranti, given the situation of things today, would by no means be an acceptable Yoruba leader. This is moreso that the past three Yoruba leaders had always been totally accepted by all the Yoruba in view their acts of bravery which they had hitherto displayed.
The Confused Path
The current developments in Yoruba land, have been said to portray a nation at cross roads, authored by self inflicted leadership crisis. Indeed, the crises are legion. First, the nation is struggling to find a befitting leader, a situation which observers believe show the level of deterioration that has crept into the race, bearing in mind that natural leaders, depicted by their values, integrity and discipline, had never before now, been scarce commodities in Yoruba land.
Second, thoughts of a Yoruba leader had never been the concern of traditional rulers in the region, neither had he emerged outside the platform of Afenifere. Osun State governor, Prince Olagunsoye Oyinlola recently said neither the Afenifere nor the Yoruba Council of Elders (YCE) as constituted today, were fit to produce the next Yoruba leader.
Initially, Tinubu and Ogun State governor, Otunba Gbenga Daniel were said to be struggling for the office of the Yoruba leader. But THISDAY learnt that Tinubu has shelved his own ambition having been advised by a close friend, that emerging a Yoruba leader would portray him as a tribal leader and hence would jeopardize his ambition to remain relevant in national politics; while events seem to have overtaken Daniel's ambition.
Nonetheless, how Afenifere will manage its new agenda of non-partisan posture is a one factor, while what becomes of the future of Yoruba race remains another issue to watch.
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