Afenifere, a pan-Yoruba sociopolitical organisation, reiterated its support for Peter Obi‘s bid for the presidency on Monday and vowed to uphold the values of justice, equity, and inclusion.
In order to keep Nigeria as one in 2023, according to 94-year-old Afenifere leader Ayo Adebanjo, every Nigeria must be “Obi-Datti compliant.” Adebanjo made this statement at a news conference held at the Wheatbaker Hotel in the Ikoyi neighbourhood of Lagos State. Along with Datti Baba-Ahmed, Obi is vying for Aso Rock’s top position.
“The South-West has produced a president and currently sits as vice-president, 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.
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“Peter Obi is the person of Igbo extraction that Afenifere has decided to support and 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,” he said.
The elderly man’s remarks come a day after Bayo Onanuga, the APC presidential campaign council’s director of media and publicity, attacked him (Adebanjo) for publicly endorsing Obi, a former governor of Anambra State, claiming the Afenifere leader speaks for himself and not for the Yoruba people.
Adebanjo, who on Monday defended his group’s stance on Obi, suggested that Nigeria’s next leader come from the South-East in order to keep the nation united and suppress secessionist sentiments.
“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.
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“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,” Adebanjo added.
Ohanaeze Ndigbo Worldwide, the leading Igbo sociocultural organisation, has earlier expressed support for Obi.
The Northern Elders Forum, however, declared that it is still assessing the front-runners and that it is willing to endorse any of them, including Tinubu, Obi, Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples Democratic Party, and Rabiu Kwankwaso of the New Nigeria People’s Party.
