Ayo Adebanjo
Afenifere leader: We’re not asking Fulanis to vacate Yorubaland
Pa Ayo Adebanjo, the acting leader of the Pan-Yoruba sociocultural group, Afenifere, on Saturday said the group was not against the continued stay of the Fulanis in Yorubaland. He said the group is only asking the criminals among the Fulani to vacate the land. Pa Adebanjo also reiterated his call on President Muhammadu Buhari to restructure Nigeria, saying only restructuring can save the country from its near precipice. He spoke at Origbo Anglican Grammar School, Moro, Osun State during the funeral of the late spokesman of the group, Mr. Yinka Odumakin. The Afenifere leader who has consistently advocated for restructuring said Nigeria has reached a point where restructuring is inevitable if the country must survive. According to him, only restructuring can save the country from seceding as...
Yinka Odumakin: Premature departure of a bright star – Senator Tinubu
Like millions of Nigerians, I received with profound shock the news of the death early this morning of Mr. Yinka Odumakin, spokesman of Afenifere, committed fighter for democracy, dedicated civil society activist, courageous and outspoken defender of whatever ideals and principles he believed in and a patriotic citizen in every sense of the word. Ever since his student days, Odumakin had been fearless and unrelenting in speaking up in promoting the cause of justice and what he perceived as the best interest of the citizens of Nigeria. He participated actively at the forefront in the various students and youth struggles against successive military dictatorships in the 1980s and 1990s. In the process, he was arrested, harassed and even detained several times. Yet, he never allowed himself to...
Bishop Kukah: Nigeria has not recovered from civil war
Catholic News Agency Catholic Bishop of Sokoto Diocese, Rev Matthew Kukah, has said Nigeria has not recovered from wounds of the civil war, 51 years after the unfortunate event. He also lamented the leaders have not learnt instructive lessons from the 30-month war. The activist-cleric, who spoke at the second edition of the ‘Never Again Conference” said the country has failed to adopt resolutions meant to heal the wounds of the war. The theme of the virtual conference was:’51 years after the Nigerian-Biafran civil war.’ It was chaired by Afenifere chieftain Chief Ayo Adebanjo. The ‘Never Again Conference’ is the brainchild of Nzuko Umunna, a pan-Igbo socio-cultural organisation, which organised the first edition in Lagos last year. Kukah said some of the neglected resolutions were re-echoe...
Ayo Adebanjo: President Buhari not sincere about keeping Nigeria together
President-General of Ohanaeze Ndigbo, John Nwodo, elder statesman and Afenifere leader, Chief Ayo Adebanjo, and former Governor of Ondo State, Dr Olusegun Mimiko, have described Nigeria’s constitution as illegal. They spoke in a video conference organized by Governance Index titled: “Coronavirus Pandemic: Is it time to reevaluate the political structure of the country?” Opening the session, Nwodo said the constitution was given to Nigerians by a military government which was not elected, adding that in 1999, politicians went into the election without knowing the parameter that will guide the democratic process. He said the military wrote the constitution and abandoned regionalism. At the video conference which was the fifth edition of the weekly conference series: Covid-19: Turning a crisi...
SMBLF asks Nigerian government to declare ‘invasion’ of South, Middle-Belt by Almajiris illegal
Southern and Middle-Belt Leaders Forum (SMBLF) has called on the Federal Government to publicly declare the invasion of the South and Middle-Belt by teenagers, including Almajiris from far North, in spite of the ban on interstate movements imposed by President Muhammadu Buhari as illegal and direct the security agencies to immediately flush them out and ensure that they do not return. SMBLF made these demands on Sunday in a joint statement signed by Chief E K Clark for PANDEF, Chief Ayo Adebanjo on behalf of the Pan-Yoruba socio-political group, Afenifere, Chief John Nnia Nwodo (Ohaneze) and Dr Bitrus Pogu (Middle- Belt Forum). The group, while making the demands, expressed outrage at what it termed complacency on the part of Nigerian security forces at the invasion of their areas by teena...
