A faction of the pan-Yoruba group, Afenifere, under the leadership of Oba Olaitan Oladapo and some loyalists of the 2023 Labour Party’s presidential candidate, Peter Obi, have met with former President, Olusegun Obasanjo, to discuss the state of the nation.
The meeting took place at the former president’s Abeokuta residence, located within the expansive Olusegun Obasanjo Presidential Library.
The Secretary General of the Pan Yoruba socio-political group, Sola Ebiseni, disclosed this in a statement sent to journalists on Friday.
Ebiseni explained that some of the groups Obasanjo received included the one he led and a former political adviser to the ex-president, Akin Osuntokun.
He disclosed that others in the group were the Lagos State Coordinator for the 2023 Peter Obi Presidential Campaign Council, John Ughulu, as well as its Secretary, Folaseye Adebayo.
Speaking with journalists after the closed-door meeting with Obasanjo, Osuntokun was quoted to have stated that, “We are honoured for that deep conversation with Baba on the state of the nation, despite his very tight schedule as you can see.”
Providing further insight into the discussion with the former President, he noted that it was a consultation with the indisputable father of the nation, Africa, and a world statesman.
Osuntokun stated that “But you know Baba for his passion for Nigeria, and our position remains that Nigeria belongs to all Nigerians and leadership at the highest level should reflect our collective aspiration for fairness, inclusiveness, and justice.
“No region holds an exclusive right to power, and the notion of entitlement by any region or ethnic nationality to the leadership of the nation is unhealthy for national stability and its democratic growth”.
Speaking on the view of the Afenifere on the current political development, particularly the coalition of opposition groups during the visit to the former President, Ebiseni said it was a welcome development against the troubling tendency of a one-party state.
He, however, cautioned that only a broad-based grand coalition concerning the established regional rotation will have any meaningful effect.
Ebiseni explained that “The APC emerged as a coalition which in 2013 aligned itself with the popular sentiment of regional rotation and strategically settled for a President of northern origin, by which Buhari succeeded Jonathan.
“Afenifere and other groups, including the Southern and Middle Belt Leaders Forum and the Southern governors, were in the forefront insisting uncompromisingly that only a President of Southern origin would succeed Buhari after eight years as we have it today.
“The fact speaks for itself that there can be no serious proposition today against the fullness of the eight-year tenure of the South. It is not about individual political actors or parties. It is a consensus for regional mutual respect and national political stability.”
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