That Afenifere endorsement of Jonathan

SIR: The recent pitching of tent with the ruling political party (PDP) for the March 2015 election by the pan-Yoruba association Afenifere, has continued to be mired in a heated controversy in Yorubaland. While some people do not see anything wrong with the partisan posture of the organization, others see the action of the group as an act of betrayal which is at variance with the wishes of the majority of the Yoruba both at home and in the Diaspora who believe that it was high time the PDP was replaced at the Federal level with the All Progressives Congress (APC) that is seen as the alternative party than can effectively tackle the two main problems facing Nigeria today as a country – insecurity and corruption.

  Going down the memory lane, if the views expressed by Chief Babatunde Oduwoye, a former Alliance for Democracy Whip in the House of Representatives and a one-time Publicity Secretary of a faction of Afenifere in an interview that he granted to Punch newspaper and published on page 44 in the paper’s edition of Wednesday, December 26, 2007 is anything to go by, then it can aptly be summarized that the protracted problem that is easily identifiable with Afenifere right from onset has been that of unnecessary endorsement of a political party against other political parties without a recourse to the diverse political interests and lack of balancing capability when it comes to taking a serious political decision as the one on endorsement of one out of the presidential contestants in the March 2015 election which is around the corner.

  It will be better if Afenifere endorses candidates, irrespective of their political parties; but taking into consideration who they are, where they come from and their relationship with their immediate community.

  Indeed, other regional socio-political associations in Nigeria such as, Ohaneze-Ndigbo, the Arewa Consultative Forum, just to mention a few, will be doing a lot of good for Nigeria and the enthronement of good governance by eschewing prejudiced political interests and self-centeredness but promoting excellence of character irrespective of ethnic origins instead.

• Odunayo Joseph,

Mopa, Kogi State