By Harry Awurumibe, Editor, Abuja Bureau
The Joint Body of South East Bishops, Archbishops and Traditional Rulers has expressed sorrow over the death of Pa Ayo Adebanjo, leader of the pan-Yoruba socio-cultural organisation, Afenifere who died last Friday at his Lagos residence at the aged of 96 years.
According to TheNiche the joint body in a statement on Monday described Adebanjo as a bold and courageous leader who spoke the truth, stood by the truth and fought for the truth.
Paying tribute to Adebanjo, the statement said, “A staunch disciple of Chief Obafemi Awolowo in the First Republic, he remained a leader of the progressive wing of politics which espoused the philosophies and ideas of Chief Awolowo. Chief Ayo Adebanjo fought to dislodge military governance in the 1980s and 1990s. Twice, he fled the country and went on political exile to Ghana and Britain. He later transitioned to the leadership of the pan-Yoruba organization, Afenefere. It was from the platform of Afenifere as its deputy chairman that his greatest exploits in leadership will long be remembered.
“In the last two decades of his life, Chief Adebanjo was a feisty advocate for reform in Nigeria’s constitutional configuration. He was consistent in his position that the Nigerian constitution was flawed and that this was the foundation of the country’s problems. And so, he argued that the constitution had to be changed. Many years were spent campaigning for TRUE FEDERALISM and RESTRUCTURING. Though he did not live to see Nigeria restructured, he was unyielding till the end in his position that nothing good could come out of the Constitution as it was. He never buckled on his view that ‘Restructuring’ was the sure way out of the doldrums for Nigeria.
“In the last years of his life, he broadened the scope of his advocacy, no longer limited to the causes for which Afenifere was known. Still with the mental sharpness and clarity of a young man in his prime, his youthful and flawless language and his voice still strong and powerful, he spoke relentlessly of how to right the wrongs with the Nigerian construct.
“In these later years, Chief Ayo Adebanjo tended to be guided more by principles. Neither personal nor group interests blinded him to what was wrong; what was unfair; what was unjust. It did not matter who was involved. He spoke out openly and loudly and called it as it was. No political correctness. Good was good. Bad was bad. Injustice to one, as he often said, was injustice to all. His message became a catalyst to the struggle for justice, fairness, and equity in Nigeria.
“As head of Afenefere, a group known for its dogged pursuit of the Yoruba agenda within Nigeria, this obviously was not always an easy course. Pa Ayo Adebanjo did not always speak as expected by his tribesmen. Indeed, there were many times he spoke against the grain of Yoruba thinking, thereby causing the hawks in their midst to react. Still, neither their murmurings nor their open attacks could stop him.
“Such was the position he took on the 2023 election. The Joint Body recalls he was the first to loudly argue in 2022 that Presidential power must leave the north and come to the south and in the south, it should go to the zone that had never held power. This resonated powerfully with Ndigbo everywhere. He was the first to give a loud voice to the idea of a President of South-East origin, thereby running into conflict with dominant elements in the South-West, who were nursing presidential ambitions.
“The Joint Body also recalls that one of the memorable bridge-building journeys he undertook was the HANDSHAKE ACROSS THE NIGER, an event where Chief Adebanjo led a large delegation of Yorubas to Enugu to meet their Igbo counterparts and discuss ethnic harmony and peaceful co-existence.
He co-founded a very strong coalition between the South West, South East, South-South and the middle-belt states to add momentum to the campaign for TRUE FEDERALISM, RESTRUCTURING, Rotation of power and other strategic issues shaping Nigeria.
“The political class did not yield to their calls for Restructuring and constitutional reform before election however. Instead, they rolled on with the political calendar under the flawed Constitution and held the 2023 general elections. Adebanjo saw the election as a road to nowhere. Yet, he put into action what he had preached, loudly canvassing his position that it was the turn of the South-East to hold presidential power. At the ‘Greater Nigeria Conference’ in Abuja organized by South East elites to orchestrate this point and showcase the presidential aspirants from the East, Ayo Adebanjo argued passionately for a President from South East Nigeria. He was unabashed in his support of Peter Obi because he believed that Obi would open the door for the reforms necessary to make Nigeria work.
“Greatness comes in many shades. Chief Ayo Adebanjo’s peculiar greatness derived from his extraordinary boldness, fearlessness, doggedness in fighting for his convictions and his incredible personal force.
“He was a good man who believed in the dream of a better and united Nigeria. Adebanjo was blunt but fair. At times of national crisis, he stood up and spoke out for Nigeria. Such was the role he played in the formation of NADECO, TRUE FEDERALISTS, and THE PATRIOTS. His message of True Federalism and Restructuring resonated with Ndigbo and other groups dissatisfied with the way the country was skewed. His home became a Mecca of some sort for people in search of justice, equity and democratic rights.”
The joint body of clerics and traditional rulers said it recognised Adebanjo’s many noble ideas and initiatives which aligned with Ndigbo’s positive aspirations.
The statement which was jointly signed by His Majesty Obi Nnaemeka Achebe, Agbogidi, Obi of Onitsha; H.M. Igwe Ambassador L. O. C. Agubuzu, Chairman, Enugu State Traditional Rulers Council; Most Rev. Dr. Chibuzo R. Opoko, Methodist Archbishop of Umuahia; and Most Rev. Dr. Valerian M. Okeke, Catholic Archbishop of Onitsha, further said: “It is for this reason that we join his family, his group, Afenifere and the country in mourning his loss and also in celebrating a man who was a positive force for change in Nigeria; a man who lived a life of great impact. We raise up his legacy as model for those aspiring to public life in Nigeria. Politics without principles, as Mahatma Ghandi says is a deadly social sin. Chief Adebanjo’s life teaches us it is possible to overcome that sin.”
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