Fasoranti’s ‘Denial’: Damage Control Over Schism In Afenifere, By Tunde Abatan
It is not news that at every point in it’s history especially in relationship with taking crucial decisions which affects it’s relationship with the rest of Nigeria, Yoruba has always been in turmoil.
The only period there was unanimity of purpose was when the issue of Yoruba leadership came up after the late Chief Awolowo’s release from prison and when hostilities between the Federal government and defunct Biafra Republic led by the late Odumegwu Ojukwu was about to commence after the progrom in the North. Then nobody raised objection to Awolowo’s leadership as nobody did for its legend Oduduwa.
Schism occurs among Yoruba not because it doesn’t know what to do to best serve it’s long term interests but because the convergence of power groups motivated by personal interests have always struggle for the soul of it’s leaders to make it do it’s bidding.
For Yoruba, It has been so since after the end of the civil war.
The crisis of power play however rear it’s ugly head and came to the fore again especially since 1999 when Afenifere, the socio cultural group formed at Owo in 1952, became the clearing house for aspiring politicians.
In 1999 Afenifere gained its potency because of it’s steadfast stand and defence against the military government on the annulment of the June 12 1993 June election, won by Moshood Abiola a Yoruba business man and philanthropist.
This steadfastness in the face of intimidation apparently made it the custodian of Yoruba core values and ultimately welfare of it’s people and defender of it’s mantra.
Following closely on this is the followership it enjoys across the broad spectrum of Yoruba political class and masses.
But as it happened in 1994 when many prominent Yoruba citizens and core Afenifere leaders decided to opt out of the National conference convoked by then ruling military government of the late General Sanni Abacha, while others defy its directive and took side with the military, Afenifere leader Pa Reuben Fasoranti last week came out of ‘retirement’ to dissociate himself and his leadership over the endorsement of Presidential candidacy of Peter Obi of the Labour Party, LP over Asiwaju Bola Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress, APC, and a Yoruba son, by acting leader, Ayo Adebanjo. who did a month earlier, the Yoruba are once again divided.
However, since Fasoranti’s open rejection of Adebanjo’s ‘unilateral’ endorsement of Obi without broad consultation, both him and Adebanjo and their followers have not rested .
To all intent and purpose, Fasoranti who spoke in a widely circulated YouTube, watched by this writer, was as clear and unambiguous in his condemnation of Adebanjo’s action as clear could be.
He openly denied being consulted by his acting deputy and declared that henceforth Afeniferes monthly meeting will shift to his Akure residence .
He also declared that he remains Afenifere leader that he only took leave adding that he is never senile nor out of his mind as being claimed.
With his declaration, Fasoranti has cleverly without calling names remove the rug of leadership from Adebanjo’s feet and upset whatever political calculation or gain his preferred candidate would have made in Yorubaland.
Fasoranti’s declaration, was also a bold move to emboldened hitherto silent dissenting voices in Afenifere to Adebanjo’s unilateral declarations and endorsement.
Thirdly, Fasoranti’s declaration is also by inference, a vote of no confidence in Adebanjos leadership and by extension his decisions of late and since his ascension to power over a year ago.
Fasoranti thus came to undo, what Adebanjo has done and send a clear signal to members to subject the later’s decisions and declaration to scrutiny.
That leaders like Olu Falae who claimed to have retired and others could come out of retirement to join ageing Fasoranti in welcoming and endorsing Tinubu rejected by Adebanjo’s leadership is a clear confirmation that, the house they left behind is crumbling.
What they have done is by inference a confirmation of Yoruba saying that,”agbalagba ki wa loja, ki Ori Omo titun wo”, meaning, “When elders are around, they won’t stand by and allow the head of the baby they begat go into rot”.
Fasoranti’s You tube declaration is a further affirmation of this saying.
This decision by Fasoranti and those who brought him out to welcome Tinubu, also has far reaching implications on Adebanjo’s credibility even among his close lieutenants and ‘kitchen’ cabinet.
This is why, the statement made by one Adebola Abiola, personal assistant to Chief Fasoranti, two days later denying removal of Adebanjo as acting leader and shifting of subsequent meetings to Akure is an attempt to paper the obvious cracks in Afeniferes wall.
By extension, Adebola’s claim that the very audible statement by Pa Fasoranti is false and ‘designed to cause confusion and polarize Afenifere’ is a clear after thought after the horse has bolted from the stable. In short it is damage control. The house is damaged and out rightly fractured!
Adebola will need all the soap in the world and several bath in River Jordan, to clear and edit the statement copiously made by Pa Fasoranti.
Yes, as Yoruba will say, “you don’t wash your dirty linen in the public”, but leadership claiming in public that it’s decisions and declaration which was apparently not fair even to it’s citizens for it’s lack of fairness, could not be questioned, has given itself to public debate and obvious contempt and ridicule.
Adebola’s attempt at denying veracity of such damning verdict of incompetence and bias on Adebanjo is not only futile but a further confirmation to close watchers of events in Afenifere that the group is obviously being run as a one – man show since Fasoranti’s leave of absence.
This to all intent and purpose, is designed to satisfy one man’s natural penchant to pull down somebody whose face he didn’t like.
The denial by Fasoranti’s aide which have since emboldened those who disagree with Adebanjo’s leadership, is a confirmation of deep seated division and exposure of unsatisfactory style of Adebanjo leadership.
The statement has not removed any element of doubt of the acting leaders biased leadership style but rather reinforced it.
By saying that Fasoranti’s preoccupation is the preservation of the “interest of Yoruba in the complex political situation in Nigeria” is a confirmation that such has not been the case since commencement of Adebanjo’s leadership.
To say that, ‘his concern that Afenifere should survive in dignity and remain a purveyor of the interest of the Yoruba race” shows that indeed the contrary has been the case.
What is more, Fasorantis original declaration is the real confirmation of the promotion of personal interest over collective interest of Afenifere as a group and by far an existence of clear division based purely on personal conflict against individuals elevated to collective interest by the leadership in question.
If anything, the denial and damage control has opened more can of worms in the group and subject the leadership to open scrutiny by its members who are now more divided than ever.
For those of them who are loyal, they will begin to question their loyalty since recent statements have proved that they are being used to pursue personal vendetta.
How Chief Adebanjo who has declared he doesn’t need to obtain permission and clarification or endorsement of his actions and pronouncement is able to manage the Afenifere house will determine his survival and by extension the cohesiveness or otherwise of the Afenifere.
To say that the groups followership and influence on the populace in Yorubaland has waned considerably since 2003 when it lost some of it’s states due to faulty political calculation ahead of the then general elections is at stake, is an understatement.
Will Afenifere reunite and remain one house during and after the general elections?
This question will be answered by unfolding events and how it is handled.
