All’s well that ends well

IT takes a discerning spirit to see the unequalled blessings to the Afenifere from what ordinary folks see as a crisis from the recent gathering in Akure. To start with, it is apposite to say, and as revealed in his interview with the SUNDAY PUNCH on November 6, 2022, that the meeting was convened by Dare Babarinsa and Otunba Kole Omololu through the ‘Conscience of the Yoruba Nation,’ a WhatsApp group administered  by the latter  who incidentally is the National Organising Secretary of Afenifere.

The invitation, which was on the letterhead of the group and now in circulation on social media, was said to be a meeting with the leadership of the Yoruba nation “to discuss the historic 2023 general elections and take a definite and wise decision, and also with “one of the leading presidential candidates, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu”, within a specified two-hour duration, from 11 am to 1pm.

Apart from the information that Pa Fasoranti had agreed to host and preside over the meeting, nowhere was any reference made to Afenifere. By the way, I read in the interview of Kole Omololu that I was one of those invited but absent at the meeting; nothing is farther from the truth and my brother knows that if it was an Afenifere meeting, I would have been the one to invite him.

It left so much to be desired, to say the least, that the WhatsApp group conveners of the meeting would seek to create confusion, like Pa Fasoranti later said in his statement refuting some of the lies imputed to him, by issuing the communiqué at the end of the meeting in the name of the Afenifere in a desperate bid for legitimacy and credibility. But that is one of the gains of the Afenifere which they never intended.

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I do not wish to be involved in the needless controversy by confusion merchants on the leadership of Afenifere. The structure of an organisation is determined by its objectives and may be modified from time to time by history and experience.

Thus, a little excursion may suffice on how Afenifere came about its seemingly complex organogram of a leader and acting leader simultaneously. Our guide in this regard will be Pa Fasoranti’s address to the General Meeting of the Afenifere on Tuesday, March 16, 2021, which held mid-month rather than the conventional last Tuesday of the month, speaking to its urgency and importance.

Only our revered leader, his children by blood and God Almighty knew those who were putting him under such intense pressure, which was the reason he kept the agenda close to his chest. I can say most authoritatively, and as subsequently revealed, that such heat was not from Ayo Adebanjo, who was not even at the meeting.

Recounting his experience since 2008 when he took over as leader,  Fasoranti recalled the challenges Afenifere had to contend with, chief of which “is the stubborn determination by a section of the North in power to continue running Nigeria through a defective structural arrangement  manipulated and dominated by the North to the disadvantage of the South through a fraudulent constitution.” Stating that Afenifere needed “a more agile and active leadership” to confront the challenges, he stressed that “at 95, I am hardly able to provide such and so, it is time for me to step aside.”

The leader, in glowing remarks, said, “Chief Adebanjo’s efforts stand him out as a deep lover of Afenifere and the Yoruba people. He has been in the trenches all his life and he’s dedicated to the Yoruba race and to Afenifere, to which his name is almost synonymous now. I thank Chief  Adebanjo; I deeply appreciate you.”

Concluding and in an unprecedented manner, Pa Fasoranti declared, “At this juncture, I am proud to announce Chief Ayo Adebanjo, a politician of the Awolowo School of Thought, as Acting Leader of Afenifere and His Royal Highness, Oba Oladipo Olaitan, as Deputy Leader. There is much work to do. So, I urge you all to support them even more than you did for me. I remain a loyal and lifelong Afenifere till demise.”

It goes without saying that the General Meeting, the highest organ of the Afenifere, approved this voluntary retirement and change of leadership by which as the Leader, Pa Reuben Fasonranti for all intents and purposes effectively became functus officio and leadership devolved on Ayo Adebanjo at whose instance the meetings of all the organs of Afenifere (National Executive Committee, the National Caucus and the General Meeting) had since been summoned and presided over by him with Oba Olaitan as Deputy.

Pa Fasoranti, a great leader with the mien of a Bishop, has never contested space with his successor just like his own predecessor, Abraham Adesanya, never did before he passed on.

The relationship between the two leaders has been very cordial, with mutually demonstrated courtesies mostly extended from Adebanjo on many occasions. At one of Pa Fasoranti’s birthday recently, Chief Ayo Adebanjo from Lagos led a crème of Afenifere leaders, stayed in Akure for three days accompanying Pa Fasoranti to Ita-Ogbolu where the emeritus leader was honoured.

At the burial of Pa Ayo Fasanmi, where his children thoughtfully made Ayo Adebanjo the father of the day, he came from Lagos and straight to Pa Fasoranti from where they both went to Iye Ekiti to honour one of their comrades in spite of the orchestrated shenanigans to make the trio enemies during the tenure of Fasoranti when Fasanmi was set up as factional leader of Afenifere. It was on that visit that Pa Adebanjo requested that Pa Fasoranti should nominate one of his children by which my brother, Kehinde Fasoranti, was appointed as a member of the National Executive Committee.

At  the recent terrorist attack on Saint Francis Catholic Church, Pa Adebanjo from Lagos led Afenifere leaders, first paid the traditional courtesies at Pa Fasoranti’s Akure residence from which, all of us, including Chief Olu Falae, went to the Olowo of Owo, the affected Church and the Governor of Ondo State on solidarity and condolence visit.

Time and space may not allow a full appraisal of the Akure gathering of the All Progressives Congress faithful on a courtesy and prayer visit to which they are legitimately entitled. It is deeply ironic that they did not find the Afenifere Renewal or any of the dissident groups set up by them to supplant Fasoranti’s leadership throughout his tenure appropriately credible for endorsement or holy enough for prayers. It is Afenifere they have surreptitiously sought to return to, confirming to the world that the genuine Awolowo group remains eternally the socio-political soul of the Yoruba people.

The press release of Pa Fasoranti, through his dutiful personal assistant, Abiola, has put all controversies to rest as to the leadership of Pa Adebanjo, in whose residence and at whose instance all meetings and other appurtenances of authority, including all acts and decisions taken since he assumed office, remain the status quo.

This is without prejudice to the ceremonial activities of Baba receiving anyone in the audience and for spiritual blessings. It is not without precedent. When we endorsed Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, I was in attendance when the former Governor of Kaduna State, Ibrahim Shekarau, was brought to Baba wherein he mesmerised us all with his oratory, knowledge of Nigeria and deep intellectual capacity; ditto for many others.

The choice of the Yoruba in 2023 is either to embark on the futile journey of competition with a section of the North for Yoruba hegemony over Nigeria, or a goal of ensuring fairness for the health of the federation and prosperity of all.

The latter is the rationale behind Afenifere’s choice of the South-East, and Peter Obi in our rigorous monthly meetings and debate from July 29, 2021 to  September 27, 2022 compared with a two-hour predetermined ethnic endorsement.

Nigeria, we hail thee.

• Ebiseni is the Secretary General of Afenifere