"Obasanjo was actively involved in that factionalization" of Afenifere: OAU Prof

Legit NG

Gbemisola Adeoti, a professor of literature from Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), has said the pan-Yoruba socio-political group, Afenifere were united during the pro-democracy era. 

The university don revealed that the crack started in 1998 when the Yoruba were meant to produce a candidate for the presidency. 

Professor Adeoti said:

After the annulment of June 12, there was that unanimity unanimous front in the southwest, represented by Afenifere, led by first Baba Adekunle Ajasin, and then later Baba Abraham Adesanya. That built up to the death of Abacha and the coming of Abdulsalami and then the transition program.

They were one. But when the field was declared open for politics in the Fourth Republic, they had to choose a presidential candidate. They were all together in PDP. But some sections of the Southwest discovered that most of the people or the dominant people in the PDP were the real people who work with the military, who are against democracy, and they cannot work with them.

Pa Reube Fasoranti faction of Afenifere has been avoiding people that work with the military

So, they pulled out and then form an APP (Action People Alliance). But by the time they were in APP, they also saw that some of these elements, like Baba Adedibu, were also in APP, it was then pulled out again, and formed an Alliance for Democracy (AD), which had root in the southwest.So, in picking a presidential candidate for Southwest. They were torn between Olu Falae, who joined them later, and Bola Ige, who had remained with them since the First Republic. So when they cast the vote, it went in favour of Olu Falae.To the surprise of the many people who thought that somebody who remained with them will be the person to pick so the division started from there. Bola Ige and his supporters never forgave them and that accounted for his reason to take up appointment under Obasanjo.