A former President of the Yoruba Council of Elders (YCE), Col Samuel Agbede (rtd) has slammed the acting leader of Afenifere, Pa Ayo Adebanjo, for refusing to back the presidential ambition of the All Progressives Congress (APC) flagbearer, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
The elder statesman said the acting leader of Afenifere, Pa Ayo Adebanjo, is driven by political sentiments for supporting the presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP), Peter Obi, while Pa Rueben Fasoranti, who endorsed Tinubu, considers Yoruba interest.
According to the former military officer, opposition to Tinubu’s presidential ambition is similar to the rejection of President Olusegun Obasanjo by the same section of Yoruba leadership.
He stated that despite the opposition of some Yoruba leaders to Tinubu’s ambition, Yoruba people know who they are going to vote for in the 2023 election. 
Agbede told Vanguard that the rift between the leadership of Afenifere over who to support may not affect the choice of Yoruba people, adding that what matters most at the moment is the interest of the race.
He said: “There are similarities. A lot of people in Yoruba land do not like Tinubu that much. But I have said that whether a child will live or die, you have to rejoice with the parents first. When you study the political landscape and go back to history, you will understand what is playing out in Yoruba land. I am sorry for the present generation that doesn’t study history. Unfortunately, they do not study history and do not know about Yoruba history to understand what is going on now. Yoruba had long existed before the jihad of Usmanu dan fodyo and amalgamation. We keep on talking about interest because that is what various actors used in our history. The British were driven by their interest when they ruled Nigeria.
“That was why they concluded that it was better to use the wealth of the South to service the North. It was done so that the British economy wouldn’t fund the North and South. Back to the NADECO people, when they took over government in the South-West states in 1999, they performed terribly on the platform of AD. They were doing virtually as bad as Abacha except that they didn’t kill the masses. It was unfortunate that they betrayed the confidence the Yoruba people reposed in them. Today, you could see how some of them amassed wealth. They did exactly the things they were opposed to during the period of Abacha. They had nothing when the Yoruba voted for them after Abacha. How come they amassed so much wealth?
“Yes, his position covers the interest of Yoruba people all over the country. We admire what he said. He is a Yoruba elder who has seen everything. He was there for a long time and understands what Yoruba interest means. He knows what he is talking about. It is not that Pa Adebanjo hasn’t seen everything and doesn’t know what he is saying, but as I said, he is trying to pay back the favour some people did to him at some difficult moments. Adebanjo is a learned lawyer. He knows history, but he is trying to turn to the other side. He can’t say he doesn’t understand there is no equity in Nigeria. He would not say there is justice in Nigeria. He can’t deny knowing there is nepotism in Nigeria. Nobody can tell him all this. He is putting them aside because he has his sentiments. Yoruba people are wise. They know where they are going. Let Afenifere and Adebanjo go to their side, Yoruba know where they are going. It is not today that they, Afenifere people, have been doing so. They did it in the second coming of Obasanjo. It was only YCE that endorsed Obasanjo’s second coming. Afenifere people refused bluntly that for whatever reason, they were not supporting Obasanjo. Did Obasanjo not win? He won because Yoruba people knew where they were going and they still know where they are going this time. That is why Yoruba people are not taking one or two of them seriously. Yoruba unity and destiny are not negotiable. Yoruba nation knows where it is going.”
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