By Sola Ebiseni
To start with, Afenifere is a
sociopolitical and not sociocultural organisation, a tag those bereft of
the knowledge of its history, objectives and modus operandi sometimes seem to
identify it by. Among its founding fathers, Afenifere is a political party and
its irrepressible Leader, Chief Ayo Adebanjo, still so insist, notwithstanding their
knowledge of the provisions of the 1999 Nigerian Constitution to the effect
that “no association by whatever name called shall function as a political
party unless (among other requirements) the names and addresses of its national
officers are registered with the Independent National Electoral Commission,
INEC”.
*Adebanjo
Such is the degree of commitment
to the ideals of the organisation which defines our discussion herein. Whatever
your views, the undeniable fact is that Afenifere is not apolitical and the organisation
has demonstrated that beyond all reasonable doubts. From its inception in 1951,
Afenifere, the Yoruba explanation of the Action Group and its social welfare
ideology, even during the heydays of military rule, has never been apologetic
about its position in the politics and political development of Nigeria. In
recent times, there has been controversy on what really is the position of
Afenifere about Yoruba interest, bearing in mind its support for a President of
South-East (Ndigbo) extraction in the face of a frontline Yoruba personality in
the race.
