. Insists another Fulani won’t succeed Buhari
.As group pledges 20m votes for Tinubu/Shettima ticket
The apex Yoruba social, political and economic organisation, Afenifere on Monday, insisted that its decision to back Mr. Peter Obi, the presidential candidate of the Labour Party for the 2023 general election is irreversible.
The leader of the group, Chief Ayo Adebanjo, restated this position at a press briefing in Lagos.
He said that the group, formed by the late Sage, Chief Obafemi Awolowo in 1951, had never and would not deviate from its principles of fairness, equity and justice.
He said the Afenifere, remained a frontline advocate of true federalism, hence, all the major etnnic nationalities which made up the federation, must have equal opportunities in the running of the nation.
He contended that since former president Olusegun Obasanjo, a Yoruba, ruled the country for eight years and his kinsman, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo has also been sitting as Vice President in the last seven years, it would be unfair for Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, the candidate of the All Progressives Congress, APC to become president next year.
The elder statesman accused the Peoples Democratic Party of insensitivity, by presenting former vice president Atiku Abubakar, a Fulani, as it’s candidate to succeed President Muhammadu Buhari, also Fulani, who would be rounding off his eight-year tenure in May next year.
The full text of his speech read, “Before the political parties conducted their primaries, a journalist asked what is my view about the 2023 general election?
“I answered and said the country should be restructured before the general election, and he followed up by asking if there should be an election, which zone should the Presidency come from? And I unhesitatingly said, of course, the South East.
“After the primaries and the candidates emerge with Asiwaju Bola Tinubu from the South West, APC, Atiku Abubakar on the platform of PDP and Peter Obi on the platform of Labour Party and I announced Afenifere’s support for Peter Obi, not a few Yoruba leaders question why I should be supporting Peter Obi a candidate of Igbo extraction against Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, a Yoruba.
“I took my time to explain that the presidency is not a contest between the Yorubas and the Igbos and to a large extent I was able to convince many.
“But ever since social media has been filled with comments tending to ethnicize the campaign instead of making it issue-based.
“Afenifere has therefore decided to address you today and through you educate the public on the ideological and equitable principles which have influenced our decision.
“Let me state here for the benefit of those who may not know that Afenifere is the Yoruba interpretation of the social welfarist ideology of Action Group, a political party founded by Chief Obafemi Awolowo and his colleagues in 1951 with strong advocacy for federalism as the best form of government to give the federating units the requisite autonomy to thrive and peacefully compete among themselves for the ultimate development of Nigeria.
“The system was eventually agreed to by our founding fathers, Sir Ahmad Bello, Dr Nnamdi Azikiwe, and Chief Obafemi Awolowo, and endorsed by the Colonial Secretary, Sir Oliver Littleton in 1954 and embodied in the 1960 independence constitution.
“This is the modest contribution of Afenifere in shaping Nigeria into a federation where no person or ethnic nationality is oppressed.
“In the countdown to the 2023 general elections, long before the parties conducted their Conventions to elect their National Executives and candidates, we had insisted and still advocate restructuring before the elections proposing a synthesis of the identical Resolutions of the 2014 National Conference and the APC El Rufai 2018 True Federalism Committee.
“We did this as Afenifere and on the wider spectrum of the Southern and Middle Belt Leaders Forum (SMBLF).
“We did this, when politicians, in spite of the monumental crises confronting the nation, carried on as if the attainment of power was all that mattered, the SMBLF unanimously proposed that the minimum condition for a peaceful transition from the disastrous eight years of Buhari’s government headed by a President of northern extraction was to have the next President from the South.
“This position was also supported by all the southern governors, irrespective of their political parties at a meeting held in Asaba, Delta State.
“Incidentally, this North/South consideration which is at the very root of our amalgamated federation is also the most important testament of all political parties in Nigeria.
“The principle of federal character enshrined in the constitution dictates that the government of the federation or any part thereof shall not be concentrated in any ethnic group or a combination of such groups.
“It is therefore preposterous to adopt this principle for employment in public service admissions in educational institutions, political appointment, the composition of the executive committee of a political party only to jettison it in the most important question of rulership of the federation.
“In this quest for peace, based on equity and inclusiveness, the Yoruba took the first turn at the zoning arrangement in 1999, and that led to the emergence of Chief Obasanjo, the current Vice President is a Yoruba man and equity forbids us for presuming to support another Yoruba person for the presidency in 2023.
“The current President is a Fulani from the Northwest and by virtue of the zoning arrangement that has governed Nigeria since 1999, power is supposed to return to the south imminently.
“The Southwest as I have pointed out has produced a president and currently sits as VP, the South-South has spent a total of six years in the Presidency, but the Igbo people of the South-East have never tasted Presidency in Nigeria, and now that the power is due back in the South equity demands that it be ceded to the Igbo.
“We cannot continue to demand that the Igbo people remain in Nigeria, while we at the same time continue to brutally marginalize and exclude them from the power dynamic.
“Peter Obi is the person of Igbo extraction that Afenifere has decided to support and to back, he is the man we trust to restructure the country back to federalism on the assumption of office.
“We will not compromise this principle of justice, equity and inclusiveness because one of our own Asiwaju Bola Tinubu is a frontline candidate.
“It is on this same principle, we condemn the PDP for sponsoring Atiku Abubakar, a Northern Fulani Muslim to succeed General Muhammadu Buhari another Fulani Muslim who will soon complete 8 years of uneventful and disastrous rule. One can imagine such a high degree of political insensitivity.
“On our part, we are certainly not alien to sacrificing personal interests in the quest for a national coalition to put Nigeria on the proper pedestal.
“In this regard, the starting point is Southern solidarity for which we first enacted a handshake across the Niger, which had dovetailed to the Southern and Middle Belt Leaders Forum.
“We enjoin the labour movement, students, youth organisations, women associations, and every institution whose foundation is built on fairness and justice to join hands in this task of enthroning a democratic government by supporting Peter Obi.
“If we are sincere and honest about keeping Nigeria together in peace, the slogan henceforth should be : ‘To keep Nigeria one, everyone should be Obi/Datti compliant.’
“In the final analysis, let it be said that we have no apologies but due courage of our conviction that Nigeria can only prosper in righteousness.
“For me, in the twilight of my sojourn on earth at 94, it is too late to derail me on the track of true federalism and national inclusiveness on which I have travelled for over 70 years of my life as one of the few surviving initial prophets, I prefer to ascend on a chariot of fire, fueled by justice and equity.”
Meanwhile, a group galvanizing support for Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu the presidential aspiration, Emilokan BAT Ambassador has stated their resolve to deliver 20 million votes to him come February 25, next year.
The group made the promise during the official inauguration of its national executives and a novelty match organized to herald the sensitisation of populace and youthful electorates ahead of the poll in support of Asiwaju and his running mate Senator Kashim Shettima.
Speaking at the gathering, National Coordinator Emilokan BAT Ambassador, Mr. Frank Albert Okoli noted that the football match is basically organized to sensitize the youths that election is not all about war but friendliness and that with Asiwaju holding the reins of power lots of benefits await them.
“Given our spread across 28 states of the federation, we are assuring Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu of over 20 million votes, and as visible here, we have females more than male because they are the ones that come back to vote.
“That is why for our youths we are using this novelty match to tell our people that election is not all about war but about friendliness, that informs the sporting activities here, so that we can use this medium to interact with them and let them know that the future is bright with Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu as President come 2023.
“I am a Nigerian youth and in same vein knows how hard it is in Nigeria and that is why I am using this opportunity to call on youths like me to vote for somebody that has the interest of the country at heart.
“Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu had done it while he was governor in Lagos state, the idea he used in Lagos State I strongly believe he will translate that to the whole Nigeria. Currently we are in over 28 states of the country and we are still making efforts to ensure we cover the remaining seven states.
“The idea is to propagate support for our National Leader Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, we believe he has the capacity and leadership wherewithal, we believe he is the one that can take Nigeria to a greater level in the ruling party which the sitting President Muhammadu Buhari heads.
“So we believe the next person to take on the reins of power should be Asiwaju Tinubu because he has the human resources and people to work with in taking Nigeria to a greater level.”
Similarly, Mrs. Seweje Temitope, Emilokan BAT Ambassador Ex-officio and exco member in Ogun state in a chat with newsmen at the Jalisco Sports centre Oshodi, Lagos noted that Asiwaju’s track record place him above all other contenders and his presidency looks quite promising.
“I want to urge us to give this National Leader that has proven beyond reasonable doubt his worth as a leader to reckon with, our unalloyed support.
“This is a leader that has built many national leaders as well, he has all it takes to take Nigeria to the needed next level. Looking at his antecedents, you can tell that Asiwaju is the most experienced, the most capable in terms everything you need for a President in Nigeria.”
On his part, Elder Ndoma Odeh, Coordinator, Emilokan BAT Ambassador 2023, Cross Rivers State in his remarks however, described all social media giants mouthing the Obidient slogan as mere echoes of time that might end up fruitless.
“For some who are on social media taking a different turf, from my point of view, I believe they are doing mere echoes, whether Obidient or not, what we are saying is that we have one man we know has the capacity and that is Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
“We’ve tested him and we have seen his capacity and are sure he will take us from where we are to a greater level, that is what we want people to know. Don’t waste votes, however,you are entitled to your choice but we know that for you to enjoy why not just join us as we are going higher.
“In Cross Rivers state where I am, we have 18 local governments and we are present in all of them, in the 196 wards we had representatives across, we have our support office in Ikom local government, where I actually come from.
“We are targeting 100 percent because it is an APC state and the Governor Prof. Ben Ayade is the only South South APC governor in the six states, we are giving 100 percent of the votes cast for Asiwaju and BAT, we are focus for Aso Rock come 2023.”
Madam Ojubolamo Remi, the State Women Leader BAT Ambassador Ekiti State encouraged youths to rally round Asiwaju for solution to the economic woes in Nigeria.
“The youths will fare better with Asiwaju as President. As a youth I will say Asiwaju is capable and his time will be favourable to the youths, because a lot of our youths with B.Sc or Masters qualifications are roaming the streets riding the bicycle with no gainful employment, this saddens one’s heart,
“I am convinced this will be critically addressed, We are sure that God will direct Asiwaju to do better to salvage the situation when he gets in 2023.”
