By Abiodun KOMOLAFE
When sometime in 2008, the late Yinka Odumakin invited me to his 23, Sylvia Crescent,
Anthony Village-office in Lagos, little did I know that a big surprise was waiting for me. A fine
gentleman with a consistent commitment to the progressive bent, Odumakin had offered to pay
me a visit but since it was unYoruba for leaders and elders to initiate the kind of visit he was
envisaging, I opted for the opposite. And there I was, face-to-face, with the inimitable Odumakin
and the irresistible Jimi Agbaje, aka JK. One thing led to another and I eventually became the
pioneer Administrative Secretary of the Afenifere Renewal Group (ARG), under the national
chairmanship of Olawale Oshun.
Notable members of the prestigious Group included Ayo Afolabi, former Governor Kayode
Fayemi of Ekiti State, Babafemi Ojudu, Bisi Adegbuyi, Oye Oyewumi, Lai Oyeduntan, Olutola
Mobolurin, Ademola Oyinlola, Tokunbo Ajasin, Jumoke Anifowose, Biodun Oyebanji, Zacch
Adedeji and Agbaje. Among others were Kunle Famoriyo, Ropo Sekoni, Charles Akinola,
Adedamola Dada and the now-deceased former Deputy Governor Funmilayo Olayinka of Ekiti
State (1960 – 2013), Dipo Famakinwa (1967 – 2017), Bayonile Ademodi (1952 – 2020) and, of
course, Odumakin (1966 – 2021).
On March 26, 2024, Oshun clocked 74 years on the Planet Earth and a group of intellectuals in
the Southwest under the leadership of Professor Lai Olurode converged on his Ijebu-Imushin
country house in Ogun State to honour this man of many parts with a Roundtable Discussion on
the Governance Crisis in Nigeria.
Oshun has done well and he deserves to be celebrated. He has paid his dues but then, only an
ungrateful heart would also say that God has not been good to this delightful ideologue of the All
Progressives Congress (APC) bent. So, he has no reason to complain! Author, journalist and
farmer, he’s a former Chief Whip of the Federal House of Representatives and prominent
member of the defunct National Democratic Coalition (NADECO). He was also a close ally of
the late MKO Abiola, the winner of the June 12, 1993 presidential election. As a matter of fact,
Oshun was reportedly one of the few, prominent faces at the historic Epetedo Declaration on
June 11, 1994. ARG under Oshun’s leadership produced the Development Agenda for Western
Nigeria (DAWN) Strategy Roadmap which led to the formal inauguration of DAWN
Commission by the Southwest governors in July 2013.
It is important to note that ARG was formed “with the stated intent of reuniting the feuding
factions” in Afenifere and as “a necessary body to preserve the ethnic identity of the Yorubas.”
If one may therefore ask, how smooth has the journey of hope which the Group brought to the
Yoruba race with its formation been and how many of its founding philosophical objectives have
been realized? Looking around today, the mainstream Afenifere has become more of a wrong
noise than communal togetherness. While one faction, led by Reuben Fasoranti, is obviously
looking in the direction of ‘E lo f’okan bale’, the other, headed by Ayo Adebanjo, is
excruciatingly Obidient-compliant. Since the guardians of society are either dead or deep in
slumber, Yoruba people have become deeply divided and that’s to our collective hurt!
Beyond its sequined glint, Yorubaland had expected Afenifere to serve as a very powerful
research institution like the Chatham House in London. Though ARG has done one or two things
along this line, it is unfortunate that what we now have is more of interest-leaders and self-
servers who have developed an unsatisfying urge for political slots for their children and
concubines thereby leaving the children of the poor with no future! And they have succeeded in
doing that! And nobody, except the Stone of Israel, can put an end to it!
In the days of Obafemi Awolowo, Adekunle Ajasin and Abraham Adesanya, the fear of
Afenifere was the beginning of wisdom for any governor who wanted to access relevance in the
zone, even beyond. How come that has faded away so soon? Where did the rain start beating the
Yorubas and who are the giants and strongholds who want Yorubaland to not remain even
stagnant but speedily moving backward? Has the Yoruba race arrived at the desired shore and
what’s the opium keeping the actors in deep sleep? Is the Yoruba progressive corporate world the
way it should be? What efforts has Afenifere made to reverse the pains of the grinding penury in
the midst of stupendous plenty that has now sadly become the lot of Western Nigeria? In the
sincerity of his heart, would Awolowo have abandoned his people to their fate without proffering
urgent, comprehensive and soul-saving solutions at a time like this?
Agbonmagbe, now Wema Bank (1945)! Western Nigeria Development Corporation, WNDC
(1949)! The Nigerian Plastic Company Limited (1954)! Western House (1958)! Western
Nigerian Government Broadcasting Corporation, WNTV (1959)! Liberty Stadium (1960)!
University of Ife (1961)! Cooperative Bank (1961)! Cocoa House (1964)! Lapal House (1978)!
And many others! Whereas some leaders have been in charge of the destiny of Yorubaland for
more than two decades with next-to-nothing to show for it, what Awolowo and his colleagues
did with a shorter reign is what the children of Oduduwa have got as their inheritance till date. It
is therefore unfortunate that successive leaders have only been feeding fat on the labour of these
heroes past!
Also, time was when the media space was controlled by the Southwest. Now, the zone is almost
nowhere to be found on the media map. In the Banking sector, not much is happening! In the
political space, the North has not lost its grip; and, in Agriculture, it has lost touch. But for
Amotekun, the security situation in the Southwest would have been worse! So, what’s
happening?
If we want to talk about Afenifere, we have to go back to the treaty that ended the Kiriji War and
the formation of the West African Students Union (WASU). The foundation of Egbe Omo
Oduduwa by Awolowo was a spinoff of WASU and it put together a level of work which led to
the manifesto of the Action Group, ‘Life more abundant’; and it made a difference because we’re
not just talking about ‘Free Education’ which was the centerpiece but also the formation of the
development financing institutions such as the WNDC, Western Nigeria Finance Corporation
and Western Nigeria Housing Corporation, established in 1958. Yoruba leaders at the time
followed the paths already embarked upon by the Brazilians. Of course, that’s why Brazil is not
looking for foreign investments. Brazil established the Brazilian Bank for Sustainable
Development (BNDES) in 1952 and it’s now about the most powerful financing agent for
development in the world. Every year, Brazil recapitalizes BNDES with about 1% of her foreign
earnings. That’s why the Bank, according to the Financial Times of London, can give loans with
up to 50 years tenor. Impliedly, a capitalized WNDC or Cooperative Bank would have made
Olokola Deep Seaport in Ondo State the best outside of Freetown.
Again, that a Yorubaman is Nigeria’s president does not mean the race should go to bed and start
snoring! Already, the noise in town is that too many appointments are in the hands of the
Yorubas and that it is because the president is of the Southwest extraction. So, let Afenifere visit
Awolowo’s grave with a view to atoning for its sins before it’s too late. There and then, it should
tie up with institutions like the Pension Fund to embark on serious capital projects that can give
loans of up to 30 years tenor. But, wait a minute: what have been the roles of the Ministries of
Regional Integration in the six states that make up the Southwest? If they have an agenda for
DAWN, why can’t they go back to it?
*To be continued.
•KOMOLAFE wrote in from Ijebu-Jesa, Osun State, Nigeria (ijebujesa@yahoo.co.uk)
