The crack in the pan-Yoruba group, Afenifere, last week became a gulf, following the declared support of its leader, Chief Ayo Adebanjo, for the presidential candidate of the Labour Party, Peter Obi.
For the past few months, the organisation has been divided over two presidential candidates, with Peter Obi, of Igbo extraction, and Asiwaju Ahmed Bola Tinubu, of the All Progressives Congress, (APC).
The division arises from the fact that some members such as Chief Olu Falae have rejected such support on the basis that instead, a Yoruba in the contest, Bola Tinubu, should be backed.
Although Chief Adebanjo has maintained that his stand on Obi has been the collective position of Afenifere, other voices within the group claimed that what Pa Adebanjo had constantly said about Obi was his personal opinion and not that of the group. Those against him had said that there was never a time the group sat to decide on a particular candidate, even Obi, and wondered why Pa Adebanjo should be using the name of Afenifere for his preferred candidate.
There were other people too, both within Afenifere and outside it, who believe that it is not morally right for Pa Adebanjo to back Obi against Tinubu, who is of the same extraction as him, since those of the Igbo extraction, especially the Ohanaeze Ndigbo, led by Prof. George Obiazor in the South-East, could not have abandoned Obi for Tinubu.
Since the 2015 election when the group supported former Jonathan, there emerged a rift, as some members preferred the APC, led at that time by Tinubu, which seems to have produced a new faction, led by Pa Rubean Fasoranti, and the other group by Pa Ayo Fasanmi.
The one led by Pa Fasoranti is with people like Chief Olu Falae, Chief Adebanjo, Senator Kofo Bucknor -Akerele, Senator Femi Okunronmu, Bashorun Sheinde, Arogbofa, and others, while that led by Senator Fasanmi are with Bola Tinubu, Aremo Olusegun Osoba, Chief Bisi Akande, Chief Koleoso, Chief Busari Alebiosu and other top Yoruba leaders, just like the first group.
With these two factions, it was argued that the question was: even if Chief Adebanjo was speaking for Afenifere, which of the two factions was he speaking for? Because, the two factions are still in existence. It was gathered that Chief Adebanjo believes that as a result of morality, equity, justice and fair play, Obi being the only outstanding candidate from the South-East deserves to be supported and encouraged to be the next president of Nigeria.
According to observers, that Pa Adebanjo has been at the centre of attacks indicated that he was talking based on his experience and in line with the First Republic Action Group (AG), which upheld strong advocacy for federalism, as the best form of government to give the federating units the requisite atmosphere to thrive and peacefully compete among themselves for the development of Nigeria. By picking Obi, according to them, the elder statesman perhaps believed it is the modest way of Afenifere contributing to the reshaping of Nigeria into a true federation, where no person or ethnic nationality is oppressed.
The latest argument of Pa Adebanjo heightened the anger of those backing Tinubu, a Yoruba man, and they were of the opinion that anything done otherwise against Tinubu by a Yoruba man from the South-West, is against the interests of the race.
Meanwhile, the Director of Media and Publicity of Tinubus campaign organisation Bayo Onanuga, said that the old man spoke for himself and not Afenifere, saying he is running the group as his personal estate.
But the former Secretary to the Federal Government and a former presidential candidate of the defunct Alliance for Democracy (AD), Chief Olu Falae, was non-committal on the position of Adebanjo, but in a recent statement, signed by his Personal Assistant, Raji Moshood, Chief Falae admitted that the South-East had not had the opportunity of being Nigerias president, stressing that its not an automatic slot that can be filled without other important considerations.
He agreed that it is a fact that the South-East region had not had the opportunity of being Nigerias president, but he pointed out that it was for them to persuade other Nigerians that they could offer something better to candidates from other geo-political zones.
