Tag: ADEBANJO

Afenifere does not believe in secession – Pa Adebanjo

The Pan-Yoruba socio-political group, Afenifere, says it does not believe in secession and disintegration of Nigeria but demands true federalism to address the country’s challenges.

“We are not anarchists; we are not secessionists. We recognise that there is a democratically-elected government, acting leader of the group, Chief Ayo Adebanjo, told newsmen in Lagos.

“However, it is the considered position of Afenifere that the president urgently constitutes a Government of National Unity solely to undertake the restructuring of Nigeria, in consultation with the Nigerian peoples.

“The issue of restructuring is about our freedom. We are democrats. I don’t want violence. I don’t want the country to break,’’ the 93-year-old Yoruba leader said.

Adebanjo, who noted that most states of the federation were unviable entities, decried the level of insecurity across the country, which he said a restructured Nigeria would resolve.

The Yoruba leader also called for a sovereign national conference on restructuring and said that the country must be returned to the 1960 Independence Constitution before the 2023 general elections.

“The Nigeria that was agreed is one that was deliberately federal in structure. The Nigeria that was agreed was by design, based on a parliamentary system of government.

“The Nigeria that was agreed was one that recognised the rights of the federating regions to nationhood within the ambit of the federation that was birthed.

“It was the position of Afenifere and the National Democratic Coalition that there existed an urgent need for a sovereign national conference of ethnic nationalities that have become known as Nigerians.

“We remain convinced that the need for a sovereign national conference is imperative. The basis of the Nigerian state must be clearly negotiated,’’ he stressed.

Adebanjo said that there could not be peace in the absence of equality, justice and truth guaranteed by substantial restructuring and true federalism.

He added that he had spent more than 70 years of his life to relentlessly struggle for a united, civilised and prosperous Nigeria.

According to him, the Afenifere will support any person who has a clear cut understanding of a restructured Nigeria and sincerely committed to true federalism.

He said that Afenifere shall be leading the Yoruba nation to demand substantial restructuring before any election could be held in 2023.

On the on-going National Assembly’s Constitutional amendment, Adebanjo said that he did not believe in any amendments to the 1999 Constitution because Nigerians were not part of its drafting.

November 12, 2021
Photo News: Oyetola, Fayemi, Makinde, others bid Yinka Odumakin farewell

Governors Gboyega Oyetola (Osun), Seyi Makinde (Oyo), Kayode Fayemi (Ekiti) were among the top dignitaries that bid the late spokesman of Afenifere, Yinka Odumakin final farewell at his country home in Osun State on Saturday (today).

Also the immediate past governor of Ondo State, Olusegun Mimiko and leader of Afenifere, Pa Ayo Adebanjo were in attendance.

TheNewsGuru.com, TNG reports that Yinka Odumakin’s remains have earlier arrived for the final Lying- in- State at Origbo Anglican Grammar School Moro, Osun State.

His widow, Dr Joe Okei Odumakin, led undertakers carrying the corpse to the venue.

President of Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria (PFN) Bishop Francis Wale Oke is leading other officiating Ministers at the event.

TheNewsGuru.com, TNG reports that the popular activist breathed his last on Friday, April 2nd, 2021. He was 54 years old.

April 24, 2021
Buhari is number one enemy to unity of Nigeria

The leader of the pan-Yoruba socio-political organisation, Afenifere, Chief Ayo Adebanjo, said President Muhammadu Buhari is the number one enemy to the unity of Nigeria.

Adebanjo stated this on ‘The Morning Show,’ a breakfast programme on ARISE NEWS Channel.

He said President Buhari has given wind to the sail of separatist agitators in the country by ignoring the calls of patriotic Nigerians for a new constitution.

Adebanjo stressed that the 1999 Constitution (as amended) was imposed on Nigerians by the military and must be changed.

He blamed the constitution for creating the conditions for marginalisation and injustice against some parts of the country.

He said only a new constitution before the 2023 general election can silence agitators like Nnamdi Kanu and Sunday Igboho.

He said: “Since President Buhari has refused to listen to the masses concerning the call for a change in our constitution, which has led to the continued agitations from different parts of the county, thus creating disunity among Nigerians who are calling for secession, then it becomes obvious that President Buhari is the number one enemy to the unity of Nigeria.”

Adebanjo accused Buhari of having a hidden agenda by refusing to restructure Nigeria.

He said the youth were too impatient and could not bear the sufferings inflicted on them by the present constitution.

“If Buhari is patriotic enough, a new constitution and restructuring will silence Nnamdi Kanu of IPOB and Yoruba activist, Sunday Igboho, and all others with their secessionist agenda.

“If you don’t, you will continue to give impetus to them. You are encouraging secession. You want to suppress them. We are the people who want restructuring. Those who make peaceful change impossible make violent change inevitable.

“This constitution was imposed on Nigerians in 1966 by the military, and it is the reason for the crisis we have today.

“We must restructure Nigeria and bring it back to true federalism which our founding fathers fought for.

“The refusal of President Buhari and the members of APC to change the constitution is a clear indication that President Buhari and the APC government are the number one enemy of Nigeria’s unity if they continue to refuse the call for the restructuring of Nigeria back to true federalism,” Adebanjo added.

April 22, 2021
No 2023 if Buhari fails to restructure Nigeria – Adebanjo

Leader of the Pan-Yoruba Socio-Cultural Organisation, Afenifere, Chief Ayo Adebanjo has said there will be no 2023 if President Muhammadu Buhari fails to restructure Nigeria.

“There is no 2023 in my own diary. Get that straight. If he does not restructure, that is the end of Nigeria. He must restructure this country before any election.”

He said Buhari must restructure Nigeria before any election could take place.

Adebanjo stated that the president could not keep this country together under the obnoxious 1999 Constitution.

“There is no 2023 in my own diary. Get that straight. If he does not restructure, that is the end of Nigeria. He must restructure this country before any election.

“He can’t keep this country together under this obnoxious constitution. Who is he deceiving? He controls the court. He controls the tribunal.

“He rigs the election and heads to the tribunal and the Supreme Court which he dictates to,” Adebanjo said in an interview with Tribune.

He said Afenifere once supported Buhari because of restructuring, which he had now failed to do.

“I have no personal grudge against Buhari. The military, who gave us the constitution, have gone back to their barracks. I want you to emphasise this: for some of the misguided intelligentsia among them and among our people, I have repeatedly said that this constitution is a fraudulent document.

“The military made it in 1966. They have not rebutted that. I have said it publicly that if Buhari truly loves this country, why is he opposed to restructuring? Why is he hesitant? It is this restructuring our founding fathers: the Sardauna, Awolowo, Nnamdi Azikiwe, Tafawa Balewa, Aminu, Oyibo Ojigwe, all agreed to at independence in 1960.

“Is he more Fulani than the Sardauna? Is he more intelligent than our founding fathers? I even challenged Femi Adesina and Garba Shehu, who are defending all the nonsense the government is doing.

“The confusion in this country today is because the people refused to address the issue we are talking about.

When we said they are more corrupt, it is not a case of just blackmailing them. One of the reasons we supported Buhari in 2007 was when we thought he was going to do restructuring,” he said.

March 25, 2021
Afenifere: Pa Fasoranti didn’t consult me before announcing that I take over from him – Adebanjo

Elder statesman, Chief Ayo Adebanjo has said he his not enthusiastic about his new role as the leader of Afenifere, Pan Yoruba Socio- Political Group.

TheNewsGuru.com, TNG reports that Pa Reuben Fasoranti, 95 stepped down as leader of the group last week during the group’s monthly meeting in Akure, the Ondo state capital citing his old age. He later announced that his deputy, Chief Ayo Adebanjo take over in acting capacity.

However, in his first official reaction since the announcement last Tuesday, Adebanjo said:

“Well, I am not enthusiastic about it. The way my leader, Pa Fasoranti did it, he didn’t consult me. He only asked if I was coming to the meeting and I said I can’t come because of the danger on our roads. It is not that I didn’t like it but I think he should have looked for a younger person. He said he is old. He is 95 years and he is asking a 93-year old to step in. That’s all my reservation.

As he said in his address at the meeting, nothing is going to happen outside what has been happening. We are only going to continue with the vigour. Traditionally, Afenifere has been governed and ruled through a collegiate system with the approval and consent of my leader, Pa Fasoranti.

There is nothing I do that he didn’t approve. All the events, meetings and organisations I have been attending have his approval and consent. There is no change at all, except that we will continue in that trend,” Pa Adebanjo said in an interview with Tribune on Wednesday (today).

Responding a question on why the group has always picked from the older generation to steer its affairs, Adebanjo said:

“No, it’s not a question of appointing elderly people to the leadership position of Afenifere. I have tried to correct this impression severally. I intentionally mentioned earlier the question of youths. Where are the youths that can be appointed who have not been here, there and here again? Tell me? In fact, some of our members, who knew I could reject the appointment, asked me, “Baba, who would you suggest amongst us?” They are all competitors among themselves; they all claim to be equal. For instance, if Professor Banji Akintoye had not displayed what he did, he is bound to be there because he is younger. So when he came, I put him forward wherever we went; but he wanted to jump the queue. He formed the Yoruba Congress against our leader but everybody knows that the leader of Afenifere is the leader of the Yoruba nation. They are just deceiving themselves. We don’t argue that. He did cause a controversy within. Somehow he has repented but he is still carrying on. That’s our problem. So, when people say young men should take the lead, a lot of young men are opportunists. You can’t see traditional members of Chief Obafemi Awolowo in any party today I can tell you with the hindsight of young men, who joined us as the Unity Party of Nigeria (UPN), as the Alliance for Democracy (AD ) because they knew that if they didn’t join our party, they couldn’t win any election. But the moment they had difficulty in getting their ways, they bolted away and that’s responsible for where we are today. That’s why they have to go with the North. What is the relationship between Tinubu’s antecedent with Afenifere and Congress for Progressive Change (CPC)? They are incompatible. I said it at a time that the alliance they have is a conglomeration of incompatibles. Look at what is happening now. They have nothing doing other than sharing of offices and the sharing of offices is what is tearing them into pieces now. All I am saying is not off record; it should be out in print.”

March 24, 2021
Insecurity: FG’s move to push Amotekun under IG’s supervision is arrant nonsense – Adebanjo

Elder statesman, Chief Ayo Adebanjo on Tuesday attacked the presidency for saying that the Inspector General of Police would determine the structure of Southwest regional security outfit, Amotekun.

Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu had said during a programme on Channels TV that the IGP would determine the structure of Amotekun.

Shehu was speaking on the approval of N13bn by the Federal Government for community policing across the 36 states of the federation.

He said, “Whatever name they go by, Amotekun or whatever, will be streamlined and they will be run in accordance with the structure as defined by the Inspector-General of Police. They will be localised, they will be owned by local communities, they will be managed by them.”

The President’s spokesman further stated that the community policing structure would be the same across the 36 states and whatever does not conform with the national structure would not be “in the scheme of things”.

But Adebanjo, in an interview rejected the presidency’s assertion, saying that they are ‘arrant nonsense.’

According to him, “What Shehu said is arrant nonsense! Is he the Attorney General (of the federation)? He is just talking trash. Please quote me.

“They are controlling the police from the centre, it is not working, now they want to control Amotekun again from the same position? Do you have an IG of police in America? Even in Britain, it is not centralized. What you have is metropolitan police.”

Adebanjo wondered: “How can you send someone from Jigawa State to control the police in Ibadan? What does he know? You say the Governors are the chief security officers of their states, yet they control nothing, what kind of arrangement is that?”

He said Shehu might not understand as the issue was beyond him.

He added: “I don’t want to engage him because he may not understand. The issue is beyond him. Amotekun is the case of localizing security, yet they want to control it from the Centre like the police, how?”

August 26, 2020
Illiterate Buhari can’t save Nigeria, he’s only bothered about his cows – Adebanjo

Pa Ayo Adebanjo, Afenifere Chieftain and elder Nigerian statesman has said that President Muhammadu Buhari is illiterate and returning the country back to the dark ages.

Pa Adebanjo, who spoke at a lecture titled: ‘Restructuring: Building a Knowledge-Based Economy’, organised by the Voice of Reason in honour of her Founder, Late Prince Goke Omisore, also lamented that Nigeria had not been lucky with the right political leadership since return to democracy.

The Afenifere chieftain stated that, “Despite far-reaching resolutions submitted to President Muhammadu Buhari on how to restructure Nigeria politically, economically and socially, Buhari is less-concerned because he does not know what restructuring means.

“President Buhari is an literate, he does not know what restructuring means, he is less concerned about the future of Nigeria, he is only bothered about his cows.”

Adebanjo called on Nigerian youth to unite and form a movement that would facilitate how they would regain power from the old guard.

He added, “I am 92 now, I want to challenge the younger generation to take their destiny into their hands.

“There is little to what I can do, the energy is no longer there.

“I want you to take the bull by the horn, take Nigeria back from the hands of your oppressors and build a society that will make you proud among your fellow young people in the global economy.”

February 20, 2020
Fasoranti's daughter: You all have failed us, Adebanjo slams South West Governors

Elder statesman, Chief Ayo Adebanjo, on Saturday, blamed Southwest governors for the security challenge in the zone and said they have failed in defending the people.
“You governors, you are supposed to defend us but for one reason or the other, you fail in that task. Our people were being kidnapped, our people are being raped, our people are being killed yet you keep quiet,” an emotional Adebanjo said during a condolence visit to Chief Reuben Fasoranti whose daughter, Mrs. Funmi Olakinrin, 58, was shot dead on Friday by gunmen at Ore, Ondo State.
But Governor Seyi Makinde of Oyo State said the occasion did not call for political statements or coloration.
Adebanjo broke down in tears as he spoke at the Fasorantis’.
Speaking to reporters thereafter, Makinde said: “What happened is something very serious and if it had happened to somebody ordinary we would never hear anything.
Governors from the South West held a security summit and we are serious about it and we will take this seriously and what has happened will make us to double up our effort.
“This is supposed to be a federation with federal system and both the state and the federal government.
“We will continue to fight for true federalism and for the opportunity to be able to protect our people because it is so fundamental that we have to do it.
“This is the time to come together in unity to fight for our people, it is not the time to fight or look at ourselves as belonging to different ideological set up or different political parties.
“It is the time to bring the agenda of Yoruba land forward and fight it collectively. It is sad that something like this has to happen to nudge us to this direction. I want to seek everybody support and we will provide the leadership and we are not going to turn our back to the people.”

July 14, 2019
Tinubu’s day-dreaming if he thinks north’ll support his 2023 ambition – Adebanjo

A chieftain of Afenifere, Chief Ayo Adebanjo, has said that the National leader of the All Progressives Congress, APC, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu is day-dreaming if he thinks the north will support his 2023 presidential ambition.

Senate President, Bukola Saraki had said that the reason why Tinubu was supporting President Muhammadu Buhari’s presidential ambition was because of his 2023 dream of becoming president.

The 90-year-old statesman also urged the people of the South-West not to allow themselves to be fooled by Tinubu a second time.

Adebanjo, who spoke in Lagos said, “Tinubu is day-dreaming if he thinks the North will ever support his presidential ambition. We have our principles.

“We are not supporting Buhari under any circumstance and Tinubu cannot lead Yoruba land because all he has done is to lead us astray. All he has done for us is to give some of our people who are close to him appointments.

“Nothing tangible has been done for Yoruba land. He gave his stooges appointments, nothing more, nothing less. If he has done more than that, let him say it.”

Adebanjo said the only demand the Yoruba had made was restructuring which the APC had been dishonest about.

The Afenifere chieftain said one of the reasons Afenifere supported Buhari in 2015 was because of his promise to restructure the country to allow for true federalism.

He said instead of keeping its promise, the APC resorted to setting up a committee on restructuring to deceive gullible Nigerians and the likes of Tinubu participated in the grand scheme of deception.

“How can they be telling us about restructuring committee, when from the outset, they were supposed to have started restructuring. Who do they think they are fooling? If Tinubu is daydreaming, he shouldn’t think others are daydreaming like him.”

“Buhari is a stranger to us in Yoruba land. The only Yoruba supporting him are those benefitting from this corrupt regime,” Punch quoted Adebanjo as saying.

August 22, 2018
How Adebanjo taught me rebellion in politics – Tinubu

Former Governor of Lagos State, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu on Tuesday said elder statesman, Chief Ayo Adebanjo taught him (Tinubu) the art of rebellion in Nigerian politics.

The national leader of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) said this on Tuesday during the public presentation of Adebanjo’s autobiography titled Telling it as it is, which was presented in Lagos on Tuesday as part of activities to mark his (Adebanjo’s) 90th birthday.

Tinubu, who strolled into the hall unexpectedly, told the audience that he was on his way to Abuja to attend his party’s meeting when he was informed that Adebanjo’s book launch was holding today (Tuesday) and he decided to be there, even if it was for only two minutes.

He described the celebrator as “a nationalist worthy of emulation. “He has been a father to all of us in politics; he is a man of principle, who is always ready to defend his position on any issue”, Tinubu said of the nonagenarian.

He went on: “If not for his honour and integrity, I wouldn’t have been Lagos State Governor. He stood against rigging the Alliance for Democracy (AD) governorship primary in 1999. He insisted that direct primary should hold. And when the result came, some people wanted to manipulate the result; Adebanjo stood his ground that the result of the primary should be upheld. If he had been a corrupt leader, he would have taken money and my name would have been substituted.

“I respect you; you are a mentor to me. We can disagree. If you call me a rebel, you taught me the act of rebellion. If I go the other side, I am not a bastard, I have a good father. Please, continue on the path of integrity and honesty you are known for.

“You can’t but praise and honour him for his principled stance on restructuring. Restructuring means true federalism; there should be opportunity for each federating unit to govern according to its blueprint; it is about management of resources. I agree with Chief Adebanjo on this. We thank God for you and want you to continue to serve humanity in good health,” Tinubu said.

April 4, 2018