Leaders of Yoruba socio-cultural organisation, Afenifere, Chiefs Ayo Adebanjo and Olu Falae, were among a number of Nigerians that berated the national chairman of the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), Chief Bisi Akande, for allegedly insulting some notable Yoruba leaders, among whom were Adebanjo and Falae themselves. Former Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Chief Falae, downplayed the allegation by Akande that he (Falae), Chief Adebanjo and Chief Reuben Fasoranti are fake Awoists. Former chairman of the Alliance for Democracy (AD), Chief Adebanjo also had very strong reprimand for Chief Akande, reminding him that he (Adebanjo) was the chairman of the party that made him a governor in Osun State in 1999, among other historical facts he said Akande seemed to have forgotten. Falae and Adebanjo are, however, not alone, as other Nigerians have also lampooned the national leader of the opposition party in Ondo State, ACN, declaring that his statements were unbecoming of a 70-year-old man. The ACN national chairman, in an interview published by a national newspaper last Sunday, had, among other scathing remarks, called Chief Adebanjo and other leaders of Afenifere fake followers of Chief Obafemi Awolowo because they attended the declaration of the governor of Ondo State, Dr Olusegun Mimiko, for re-election in October. Adebanjo fires the first salvo Adebanjo, an unrepentant Awoist, lashed out at Akande for describing him (Adebanjo) as a fake Awoist, saying Akande was ignorant and ill-informed about Awoism.

In a statement made available to Sunday Tribune, then chairman of the party under which Chief Akande became governor of Osun State, AD, Chief Adebanjo, contended that what irked him was not that Akande said he (Adebanjo) was not an electoral asset, but that he spoke about Awoism, the history of which he said Akande lacked. “If Bisi Akande, the figurehead chairman of the ACN (which the Yoruba will call ologomugomu chairman), had confined his criticism of me in his interview in the Sunday Guardian of 5 August to my not being an electoral asset because I have never contested any election in this country, I would have ignored him and would not have bothered to dignify his ignorant and ill-informed statement which has become his singsong with any response. “The reason for this is simple. He is too junior to me politically for me to enter into political disputation with him. But when he opened his mouth so wide to call me, his political leader who was the chairman of the party, AD, on which platform he contested and won the election to become governor of Osun State in 1999, a fake Awoist, I believe AKande is, indeed, what the Yoruba will call Omo Atiro to lo da bata fun baba e, oro lofe gbo (literally means “a son of a lame father who thoughtlessly bought a pair of shoes for his father needs to be reminded of his father’s disability”). “In the first place, where is Bisi Akande coming from to be qualified to define who is an Awoist? Because Awoists have existed in the 50s, long before the late Chief Bola Ige recruited him from the National Council of Nigeria and Cameroun (NCNC) into the Unity Party of Nigeria (UPN) in 1979 and made him an emergency deputy governor to replace the late Chief Sunday Afolabi who had defected from the party to the National Party of Nigeria (NPN). Bisi Akande was the beneficiary of the plum political office of deputy governor because he comes from the same constituency as Chief Afolabi, otherwise, his senior members of the party, such as Senator Mojisoluwa Akinfenwa, Honourable Lere Adebayo and Chief Abayomi Morakinyo who were already in Chief Bola Ige’s cabinet would have been considered. These gentlemen, despite any political disagreement, would not refer to me as a fake Awoist,” Chief Adebanjo noted. He said further: “Now, who is an Awoist and when did the term Awoism enter Nigerian political lexicon? The populist political philosophy of Chief Obafemi Awolowo, which encompasses welfare programmes, among which are free education, free medical services, integrated rural development and full employment, with which he painstakingly administered the old Western Region from 1952 to 1959, was acclaimed worldwide and was termed Awoism.

To complement this was his advocacy for federalism under a parliamentary system of government and a political ideology of democratic socialism. “His party, the Action Group (AG), also known as Afenifere in Western Region, was acclaimed to be the best organised, democratic and disciplined party in the whole of West Africa. He was acclaimed the leader of progressive politics in Nigeria and his members and believers in these combined attributes are known and called ‘Awoists.’ I was a known leading member and mobiliser of the party during this period. “I ask; where was Bisi Akande during this period and what role did he play to be in a position to pontificate on who is an Awoist?” he queried. ‘I have also contested election and won’ Chief Adebanjo added that there were strong and notable Awoists who never contested elections, but lived their entire lives within the dictates and tenets of the philosophy of the sage, Chief Awolowo, adding that he had no regret to have shared something in common with such people. “The pastime criticism of me by Chief Akande is that I have no electoral value and that I have never contested and won an election. If this is the criteria of judging an “Awoist” from the jaundiced eyes of Akande, I plead, I am happy to be in the good company of past leaders of the party suc as Chief S. O. Shonibare (one of the founders of the AG), Chief Afred Rewane, Chief S.O. Lanlehin, Dr. J. Akanni Doherty and Chief Ladipo Amose, all of blessed memory, who laboured faithfully to popularise the AG with the philosophy of Awoism and never contested election. “But let me state for the record and political education of political neophytes like Bisi Akande who was only brought to political relevance by Chief Bola Ige of blessed memory. I contested and won election to Ijebu-Ode Local Government from my ward in Ogbo/Okelamuran/Ikoto in 1976 under a zero-party election, following the ban on political parties by the military. “The election was more on the candidate’s individual popularity, since political party platform was banned. It was an election that did not allow an unpopular candidate to be elected under a popular political party platform. The late Chief Bisi Onabanjo also won from Ijebu-Ode ward and was elected chairman of the council,” he explained. ‘Afenifere resolute in support of Mimiko’s second term’ The Afenifere leader, therefore, reiterated the stand of Chief Falae that the Yoruba socio-cultural group would continue to drum support for the re-election of Governor Mimiko in Ondo State, stating that; “I have no regret that I, with other Afenifere leaders, visited Mimiko to demonstrate our open support for his declaration for second term election as governor of Ondo State. His performance in the last three and half years in Ondo State should be a pride to lovers of good governance. His achievements are consistent with the ideals and philosophy of Awoism. “Those who have been regular visitors to Ondo State in the last three and half years would testify to the fact that the tenets of his administration have been to better the lot of the masses of Ondo State. Don’t forget that Mimiko was himself a member of the AD before he disagreed with some individuals in the party, a development that made him to leave for another party, the Labour Party. His political programmes show he is still keeping faith with the ideals and philosophy of Awoism. And for this, he deserves our support; just as I would have supported Governor Raji Fashola, if Asiwaju Bola Tinubu had jettisoned his second term as he had threatened to do, although I am not a member of the ACN.” ‘Tell the world the crumb you gave me as Osun gov’ While he likened Chief Akande’s outbursts that their “support for Mimiko was to collect crumbs from his table” to cheap blackmail and gratuitous insult, Chief Adebanjo challenged the former governor to say what “crumbs” he collected from his table when he was governor. “Such unguarded and irresponsible statement is least expected from somebody who is a chairman of a national party, however figurative he may be holding the post. Afenifere stands behind Mimiko for his second term as solidly as the Rock of Gibralta,” he concluded. Falae visits vitriol on Akande But Chief Falae, who spoke with Sunday Tribune at the weekend said as an elder statesman, ordinarily, he wouldn’t have reacted to Akande who he described as having penchant for rudeness, but for the need to set records straight. “What bad luck did he mean I brought to AD? In Osun State where he contested the governorship in 1999, I scored more votes than he did. So, who brought better luck? In his own state where he was governor, I got more votes for our party and I won states in the North where Southern candidates used to fail; where is the bad luck? I don’t understand what he is talking about. “The point is; as a Nigerian, it is my prerogative and right to belong to a party of my choice and Akande is also free to belong to a party of his choice. He is in the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN); he is the national chairman, have you ever heard me criticise him for doing so? Why is he criticising me now for belonging to a party of my choice and the party collaborating to support a particular candidate, just as the AD did with the All Peoples Party (APP) in 1999? “You can see that there is no sense in what he is saying at all. It is just out of bitterness; he has a penchant for rudeness and I don’t want to take him on. I am an elder statesman and all he has said are empty and meaningless,” Chief Falae said.

Speaking further, the former presidential candidate, suggesting that Chief Akande lacks the idea of who an Awoist is, explained what the notion really means. “An Awoist believes in the welfare of the people. If you read my book, The Way Forward for Nigeria: The Economy and the Polity, every statement there is an Awoist statement. My manifesto in 1999 when I was running for presidency, everything is Awoist. My commitment to the welfare of the downtrodden and to democracy was what led General Sani Abacha to detain me for two years, if I was an opportunist and as a member, with Abacha, of General Ibrahim Babangida’s government, I would have reneged on my commitment to Moshood Abiola’s victory. But I didn’t; that is Awoist. I went to detention for democracy for two years; that is Awoist and I am sure I have made enough points that I am authentic Awoist by conviction and by political performance,” he said. ‘Cooperation between political parties not new’ While also reacting to the ACN national chairman’s claim than an Awoist would not attend Dr. Mimiko’s declaration for second term as the Afenifere leaders did, Falae said; “he was wrong. I am the national chairman of Social Democratic Mega Party (SDMP) which recently went into an electoral cooperation with the Labour Party; we did not join LP. Electoral cooperation is normal; it is natural. In 1999, our party, AD, to which Akande belonged, went into an electoral alliance with the APP and I emerged as the joint presidential candidate of that alliance. If that was not abnormal, what is abnormal in SDMP and LP having a joint governorship candidate in Ondo State? If it was right for the presidential election in 1999, it cannot be wrong for governorship election in Ondo State in 2012. “It was, indeed, an insult for him to have said I pick crumbs from the table of Mimiko and I will ask my lawyer to look into that because Akande ought to know that I was in public service for about 30 years. I was permanent secretary for five years. I was managing director of a bank for about five years. I was Secretary to the Government of the Federation for four years and Minister of Finance for one year. I didn’t steal N1 of government throughout that period. “So, if I held top positions for 15 years at the national level without soiling my hands, how can I be picking crumbs and pennies from anybody? In any case, I never stole public funds. I am proud to say so and at the same time, I am not a poor man. I work very hard, I am comfortable. My father was comfortable before me and I am not the kind of person who picks crumbs from anybody’s table. I don’t pick crumbs and my children don’t pick crumbs either. So, that is an insult; I will ask my lawyer to look into that and if it is libelous, I will take him to court for libel. “I don’t want to engage him at all, but I hope I have debunked the points he made.” Other Nigerians speak Just as the elder statesmen have lashed out at the ACN chairman, other Nigerians have poured venom on Chief Akande for the alleged unguarded statement. A notable journalist and activist, Mr. Richard Akinnola, in a statement made available to Sunday Tribune, noted that the statements credited to Chief Akande would have been excusable, if it had come from a young man of 30 years of age. Akinola said; “twice within the week, the national chairman of the ACN, Chief Akande, launched blistering attacks on Afenifere leaders, Chiefs Fashoranti, Adebanjo and Falae for endorsing the re-election bid of Ondo State governor, Dr. Mimiko. “According to Chief Akande, in a follow-up interview aired on Osun State Television, Chief Akande described the three Afenifere leaders as hungry people who are scavenging for what to eat at the governor’s table. I find these condescending remarks from an elderly man to fellow elders very unbecoming. It is most unfortunate that Chief Akande who I have tremendous respect for could descend to the level of describing these eminent Yoruba elders, one of whom is 84 years, as hungry people who are looking for what to eat. I feel thoroughly embarrassed as a Yoruba person. “If an impressionable young man in his 30s is making such statements, he can be excused as a product of excitable youth, but not a man of over 70 years and chairman of a political party. It is only in South-West that this kind of political intolerance takes place. In the South-East, two of the states governors are of All progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), but they are not discriminated against by others in the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP)-led states. “When South-South governors meet, they don’t discriminate against the only ACN governor, Adams Oshiomhole. And when the Northern governors meet, they don’t treat as pariahs the governors of All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP) and Congress for Political Change (CPC), even though the two parties are in the minority. And that has not obviated from their intention of defending their common geopolitical interest. “But it is only in South-West that the majority party sees the governor of a different party as pariah that must be annexed or decimated willy-nilly. I find this approach highly objectionable,” he said. Akinnola, who said he was also at the declaration, noted further that; “one issue that Chief Akande kept emphasising, was the issue of progressives. He described those of us who attended the Mimiko declaration as non-progressives. I, first of all, want to state that I am not a member of the Labour Party, ACN or PDP. But if those of us who do not belong to ACN are being described by the ACN leaders as being non-progressives, nothing could be more absurd. Who wrote the constitutions and manifestoes of the AD, PDP and APP (as ANPP was called then)? The late Chief Bola Ige it was. This explains the reasons the manifestoes of all the major parties then were similar in content. “In our clime, empirical examples have shown that the yardstick for performance is the man driving the process and not the political party. While it is true that many of us in the South-West supported the ACN to re-claim South-West in the last general elections, the performance of the governors, rather than the platform, would determine their re-election in the next few years. And if the ACN is not careful, it’s going to lose one or two of the states. I had expected the party to consolidate on the states in its kitty, instead of becoming desperate to “capture” Ondo State. “Hence, those of us who are not in support of the planned take-over in Ondo State are called names. I have a number of friends in the ACN, but it is extremely absurd for any political party to lay exclusive claim to progressive tendencies.” ‘Yoruba nation under siege’ Similarly, in a statement entitled “Bisi Akande and the Mimiko purchase hypothesis,” signed by Alhaji Yekini Alli and issued to Sunday Tribune, it was noted that the current developments portended danger for the Yoruba race.

“The Yoruba nation is currently under the siege of ideological charlatans and intellectual failures,” Alli said. He further berated the ACN chairman for his comments, asking whether other notable Nigerians like the NLC and TUC presidents that graced Mimiko’s declaration were also looking for what to eat. “Akande chose to dance naked in the market place, pouring filth on his superiors, Chiefs Falae, Adebanjo and Fasoranti, for the democratic crime of attending Governor Mimiko’s declaration for a second term of office. According to Akande, Governor Mimiko paid the Yoruba leaders to attend his declaration. And we suppose that he also bought the millions of Nigerians who came to be part of his history. However, in a profound sense, yes, Mimiko bought them by providing school bags and free bus rides for their children; by building Abiye hospitals for their wellbeing, by setting up agric estates for their feeding, and so on. “Here then is a very peculiar argument. Did the NLC president, TUC president and other highly respected Nigerians who thronged Akure to witness the declaration also went loooking for what to eat when they thronged Oshiomhole’s declaration in Edo State?” he asked...................

I advise that the yoruba leaders should put their differencies aside especially at this time and embrace peace, so that they can speak with one voice.This is very sad for yoruba leaders to be washing their dirty Amala laundries outside is like they don't not their wort in Nigeria,i think yourubas need to find a good leader tifinbu will sell them and make the populace poorer..