The pan-Yoruba socio-political organisation, Afenifere, has frowned against what it described as rising ethnic rhetoric in the country, particularly the labelling of President Bola Tinubu’s administration as a ‘Yoruba presidency’.
While describing the alleged ploy and attempts to frame Tinubu’s administration through an ethnic lens as dangerous and divisive, Afenifere stressed that Nigeria must rise above tribal divisions to foster national unity.
According to the frontline Yoruba group, in a statement issued and made available to The Guardian by its National Organising Secretary, Abagun Kole Omololu, the attempts to undermine Tinubu’s mandate as an elected president will not be tolerated.
Afenifere’s position was coming in the wake of the purported exposé by Dr. Susan Duru, popularly known as ‘Prof Mbeke’, detailing her conversation with the suspended Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan over her allegations against the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio.
While insisting that Tinubu will complete a full eight-year term, Afenifere commended Duru for her “uncommon courage — for speaking truth not only to power but to conspiracy.”
Afenifere said, “We have taken due note of the recent exposé by Dr. Sandra Duru, detailing her conversation with the suspended Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, particularly her shocking admission of a clandestine plot to sabotage the administration of His Excellency President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR, which the conspirators have stereotyped as a “Yoruba government,” and thereby stir the embers of division to deny him a second term.
“This is no light accusation. It is a revelation that demands reflection from patriots and repudiation from all who still hold Nigeria dear.
“Let it be said, plainly and without ambiguity, that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s government is not a Yoruba government. It is a Nigerian government. He did not ascend to the presidency by tribal inheritance but by democratic choice — the result of votes cast in faith by Nigerians of every tongue, creed, and religion.
“To label this administration as ‘Yoruba’ and weaponise that label as grounds for sabotage is not only dishonest but a vile act of tribal opportunism and sedition. We reject it utterly.
“We remind the nation: When President Muhammadu Buhari held office for eight years, no one branded his leadership as a “Fulani government.” No tribal coalition was formed to deny him a second term on the grounds of ethnicity. He was allowed to serve out his mandate in full — and rightly so. The same principle of equity and continuity must apply now. Let no one demand justice only when it suits them but deny it when it is owed to others.
“President Tinubu shall serve his full term of eight years by the will of the good people of this country and under the watch of the Constitution. To suggest otherwise is to play Russian roulette with our national destiny.”
The group also condemned what it described as a “campaign of calumny” against Akpabio, stating that false allegations were cooked up over his cooperation with the president in the spirit of statesmanship and progress.
“We reject the weaponisation of false allegations as political tools — especially when such weapons are aimed at innocent men, families and private lives. Politics has its place, but it must never trespass on the boundaries of human decency. To smear a man’s name, fabricate charges, and unleash innuendo on his children, his home, and his honour — that is not politics. That is malice in its rawest form.
“We strongly decry the internationalisation of fabricated domestic issues by those who authored the falsehood in the first place. This is akin to setting fire to your own seat in a cinema and running out crying, “Fire! Fire!” — not out of alarm, but out of selfish ambition. It is selfishness that seeks to burn down the image of the nation to satisfy the ego of one person who believes that except she has her way, the country should not have peace.
“Nigeria is not a personal or tribal empire. Our nation will not bow to tribal blackmail. It will not bend to invented narratives. And it will not break under the weight of conspiracy. Let all patriots rally to the defence of truth, justice, and constitutional order. Let us remember that nations fall not only when tanks roll through streets, but also when lies, repeated often enough, begin to sound like truth.
“We have come too far to be dragged backwards by petty ambition disguised as activism. Let us reject the agents of sabotage — not because they threaten one man, but because they threaten all of us.”(Guardian)
