Pa Reuben Fasoranti, the 100‑year‑old former head of the pan‑Yoruba socio‑political group Afenifere, died on Tuesday, reigniting a leadership dispute that has simmered since he stepped aside in 2021.
Afenifere traditionally selects its leaders through a non‑competitive, customary succession process, but the organisation has been split into rival factions for more than a year. Senior figures such as former SGF chief Olu Falae have expressed confidence that the group can still produce a new leader without internal contest, while insiders warn that the split may prove hard to mend.
In March 2021, Fasoranti announced his retirement, citing old age, and named Chief Ayo Adebanjo as acting national leader and Oba Oladipo Olaitan as deputy. By November 2022, Fasoranti released a viral video asserting that he remained Afenifere’s leader and that the group endorsed APC presidential candidate Bola Tinubu, rejecting the Labour Party’s Peter Obi. The following year, acting leader Adebanjo suspended National Publicity Secretary Jare Ajayi and National Organising Committee member Abagun Kole Omololu, a move that deepened the rift.
“I am still the leader of Afenifere. Afenifere has not endorsed Obi, we are endorsing Jagaban (Bola Tinubu) for the presidency,” Fasoranti said in the video.
Adebanjo, a staunch Awoist who had backed Obi, later accused the Tinubu visit to Fasoranti in Akure of being a deliberate attempt to divide the organisation. He claimed the former leader initially resisted the meeting but was persuaded, adding that the endorsement of Tinubu was “a diversion” and that “all we want now is an election on issues.” After Fasoranti’s death, both camps continue to lay claim to the Afenifere helm.
While chief Falae dismissed fears of a succession battle, noting the group’s history of producing leaders without contests, other senior members, including Mogaji Adejumo, have warned that the organisation’s future remains uncertain until the factions can reconcile.
<small>Source: Vanguard News — read the original story there.</small>