On Wednesday Pa Reuben Fasoranti, the leader of Afenifere, who resigned last week withdrew his resignation letter after buckling to pressure from Ondo State Governor Olusegun Mimiko, who had been trying to broker peace among the leaders of the group.
On Wednesday Pa Reuben Fasoranti, the leader of Afenifere, who resigned last week withdrew his resignation letter after buckling to pressure from Ondo State Governor Olusegun Mimiko, who had been trying to broker peace among the leaders of the group.
At a meeting held at the residence of Pa Fasoranti in Akure, the Ondo State capital, the leaders of the group reportedly begged the elder statesman to rescind his decision in the overall interest of the South West region and to avoid further rancor within the group.
SaharaReporters learned that today's closed-door meeting had in attendance the foremost leaders of the pan-Yoruba socio-political group both within and outside Ondo State, and lasted over seven hours. Reportedly security was also very heavy.
It was gathered from sources at the meeting that all the leaders joined forces with Governor Mimiko and practically coerced Pa Fasoranti to continue as the group’s National Chairman.
Several of those sources informed SaharaReporters over the phone that the governor made it known that he was “embarrassed” by the elder statesman’s decision to resign prior to consulting anyone within the group. According to our sources Governor Mimiko pleaded with Pa Fasoranti to reverse his decision, and utilized the promise of “juicy packages” to sweeten the deal.
One of the sources revealed to our correspondent that members of the group took turns to express their concerns, regarding the growing disloyalty amongst Afenifere’s leadership due to the promises promises of largess by Governor Mimiko.
“The meeting was just like a beer-parlor affair as many of us complained about the issue of disloyalty and how some people are making millions of Naira despite the contribution of everyone,” the source said.
At the meeting, it was further gathered that Pa Fasoranti expressed disgust at the disunity within the group, stating that some members wanted to soil his name over their desire for money at the expense of the group’s lofty goals.
A leader of the group told SaharaReporters, “I think Governor Mimiko needs members of our group for a certain mission that would be unpopular in the forthcoming governorship election of the State. He [Governor Mimiko] begged Baba [Fasoranti] asking him to consider his old age, forget the past, and let Afenifere move forward.
“The Governor’s action indicated that he is looking to achieve something. He came into the meeting when the argument was getting hot, but used his discretion to save the day,” The leader explained.
The leader added that Pa Fasoranti told some of them that he had no grudge against anyone in the group, but was trying to safeguard what was left of the his integrity and to avoid his name being tarnished.
Briefing journalists at the end of the meeting, Afenifere spokesman, Yinka Odumakin, tactfully said that the leaders were not happy with the resignation of Pa Fasoranti, and did not accept his decision.
Mr. Odumakin disclosed that the group wants Pa Fasoranti to continue as its leader, and to take responsibility as the Afenifere leader in order to ensure an orderly “leadership succession” is achieved after he leaves the group.
“We are glad to inform you that after listening to the whole meeting, Chief Reuben Fasoranti, our leader, graciously accepted to withdraw his letter of resignation and to continue his leadership of the group and to see us through during re-organization, re-invigoration, mobilization, and re-launch of Afenifere in Nigeria within the Yoruba land, and in the diaspora, the details of which shall be forthcoming,” Mr. Odumakin said.
He explained that those gathered thanked all Yoruba people, their supporters, and members who have expressed concern in the last 17 hours. Mr. Odumakin assured them all that there is no crisis in Afenifere and that the house of Oduduwa is well and forging ahead.
“We resolved to enjoin all our members and supporters to remain fully committed to our core values of enthroning a just democratic order based on true federalism within the Federal Republic of Nigeria and autonomy for the Yoruba region so that life can be more abundant for our people and they can live a life of dignity, a life of excellence and a life of fulfillment which have been the goals of our forefathers.
We are committed to the ideas just as we have pledged our support and full and unflinching loyalty to our leaders in leading us to achieve this set objective," Mr. Odumakin concluded.
Speaking through his aide, Pa Fasoranti also repeated that there is no crisis, adding that a communiqué would be issued to the public later.