The Pan Yoruba Socio-Political Group, Afenifere, has been reorganized by Yoruba youths working under the direction of the Afenifere Youth Organization of Nigeria (YAYON).
Additionally, they casted a vote of no confidence in Pa Ayo Adebanjo, the Afenifere national leader.
During a protest in Akure, youths led by youth leader Eric Oluwole and women's YAYON leader Bukola Olusooto declared that the Yoruba Group "needed to be sanitized."
Oluwole stated that Adebanjo should immediately step down in his capacity as the acting leader of the Afenifere while addressing newsmen during their protest at the country home of the national leader of Afenifere, Pa Reuben Fasoranti, in Akure, the state capital.
The protesters held up signs that read, "Fasoranti please revoke the mandate you gave to Adebanjo Now, Pa Adebanjo must step down, Afenifere must restructure now, Adebanjo must go, Our vote of no confidence stands, Pa Fasoranti please rescue Afenifere," among other things. Ayo Adebanjo Must Disappear;" Adebanjo, Pa: It's Time to Get Away from Afenifere, among other things.
Oluwole stated that Fasoranti remained the genuine leader of the mainstream Yoruba group as the true National Leader.
He lamented the group's polarization after Adebanjo assumed leadership due to his political interest.
“We cannot allow one leader to mortgage our future. We cannot continue like this. The only person we recognise in this Yoruba nation is our Pa Reuben Fasoranti as the National Leader of Afenifere, and he still remains as the National Leader of Afenifere.
“We hereby call on Pa Ayo Adebanjo, to step down immediately, and he should stop parading himself as the National Leader of Afenifere.
”He has been acting and we have the letter because Baba (Fasoranti) wrote him a letter then that he should act on his behalf of him.
“But now, the whole drama has changed, and the youths are involved now and we want to make sure we are part of the restructuring of Afenifere.
“We can only depend on Baba Reuben Fasoranti as the National Leader to immediately call him (Adebanjo) to order to step down immediately.
“We believe that this protest can still yield a good result but we are going to come back again massively.
“What we need is sanity in Afenifere and we believe in Pa Reuben Fasoranti’s leadership.
“Recently he said that our own father (Fasoranti) cannot talk to him and we believe that he is not the almighty God of the Yoruba nation and the universe. We still believe that we are youths and we can talk to him. But if he is unable to listen, we know what to do next.
“We are not threatening him. What we are saying is that he should step down in the interest of Afenifere. We want peace and we want Baba Reuben Fasoranti to take over.
“If you look at the tradition of Afenifere when Baba Abraham Adesanya was still alive then, he was so old and asked Pa Reuben Fasoranti to act on his behalf and according to tradition, they were still holding meetings at Ijebu-Ogbo in his house up till the time he died and they appointed Pa Reuben Fasoranti to take over as National Leader.
“The same thing is applicable to Pa Ayo Adebanjo and we believe that all Afenifere meetings ought to take place here at Pa Reuben Fasoranti’s house. Baba is still alive and still kicking.
“Recently, Pa Adebanjo sanctioned two national officers, Abagun Kunle Omololu and Jare Ajayi, the National Publicity Secretary for supporting Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, who is our own person in Yoruba land. It is like Pa Adebanjo is using his political inner mind to cause the crisis.
“His major offence is, he doesn’t have that power as of now based on the tradition of Afenifere to suspend any national officer without the consent of Baba Reuben Fasoranti.
The head of the ladies' wing of YAYON, Bukola Olusooto, said they never again perceive Adebanjo as the Acting Head of Afenifere.
Pa Fasoranti, speaking through Sunday Ogunkalu, his Chief Security Officer, assured the protesting youths that the group was not in trouble and would find long-term solutions to move forward.
He begged the young people to stay cool and behave in a quiet way during their dissent.
Pa Ayo Adebanjo stated, "I don't know them and I have repeatedly said I don't know their father" in response to the protest against his leadership. I've never met their parents. They are merely urging them to speak.
That's what adebanjo demanded "I have let you know they don't exist. I think some people just gathered them and gave them money to make them talk as though something was going on in Afenifere.
