Afenifere Renewal Group (ARG) yesterday said it was not part of the purported reunion of the Pan-Yoruba socio-political group, Afenifere, as the latter claimed, following its recent meeting in Akure, the Ondo State capital.
The ARG Leader Wale Oshun said members of the ARG have no antecedent of fraternity with the conservative politicians in Afenifere.
He noted that such politicians have been antagonistic to progressive ideas in the Southwest.
Oshun told reporters in Lagos that ARG cannot have dealings with an Afenifere, which he said harbours the likes of Senator Iyiola Omisore.
He added: “If Omisore sits in Afenifere, the bodies of Chiefs Obafemi Awolowo, Adekunle Ajasin, Bola Ige and Abraham Adesanya will turn in their graves.”
The ARG leader denied any tension between the group and the Chief Reuben Fasoranti-led Afenifere.
He explained that its delegations had visited Fasoranti, Sir Olaniwun Ajayi and Chief Ayo Adebanjo at various times to brief them on ARG activities.
Oshun said: “ARG is a group with explicit and untainted moral values and stance. We affirm, therefore, that anybody that purported to be an ARG member and sits in a meeting with Iyiola Omisore as well as some of the other personalities mentioned at that meeting, is on his or her own. Such individual cannot and will not be a member or an associate of ARG.”
There have been speculations that the Fasoranti faction of Afenifere, allegedly supported by Ondo State Governor Olusegun Mimiko, is being positioned to play a critical role in the endorsement of President Goodluck Jonathan for 2015. But the old Awoists in the association said it would be hard for them to hobnob with the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
Oshun alerted Southwest residents to the clandestine moves by the PDP to encourage the formation of new political parties to cause confusion in the region.
He said: “We are aware of the plans by the PDP-led Federal Government to take the advantage of our historical sensibilities by promoting certain individuals to form political associations and political parties in our region as well as funding them through spurious and dubious contracts to use them as agents of destabilisation. This is for a sinister 2015 agenda.
“We are putting this in the public space so that our people would be informed about the threats that are being massed against them. However, this is Yorubaland. We are veterans in this kind of struggles and we dare say that we are not battle-weary. We will, as usual, fend this off.”
The ARG leader expressed concerns over persistent Boko Haram threats to the peace and unity of the country.
He urged the Federal Government to halt the frequent bloodshed by the Islamic sect.
Oshun expressed misgivings on the agitation for amnesty for the sect, as being canvassed in some quarters.
The ARG leader doubted if an amnesty would end the sect’s activities, adding that it might even create an opportunity for anarchists to have a field day.
He added: “Considering the structural deficiency of this country, it is not likely that we would see an end to the use of amnesty. Therefore, in line with our constant agitation for the imperative of restructuring this multi-ethnic, multi-religious and multi-faceted country, it is our view that there is no better time than now to convene a national conference that would finally resolve the nationality question that consistently and continuously pushes this country to the precipice.”
