Yesterday, prominent Yoruba leaders warned all stakeholders affected by the recent book, “My Participation,” written by the former governor of Osun State, Chief Bisi Akande, to place the interest of the geopolitical zone of the southwest above all the suffering and anguish that the contents of the book could cause them.

In the book, the pioneering national president of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) made a series of allegations against the president of the Yoruba socio-political group, Afenifere, Chief Ayo Adebanjo, that the nonagenarian lobbied a moment given on the former Governor of Lagos State, Bola. Tinubu to build his house (Adebanjo) Lekki.

Akande also vilified former President Olusegun Obasanjo in the book, alleging that the retired military general deliberately failed to find and prosecute the late murderer the Federation Attorney General and later Minister of Power, Chief Bola. Ige, who had been assassinated during Obasanjo’s administration.

The former governor of Osun State accused Olagunsoye Oyinlola, who succeeded him (Akande) in 2003, of corruption, among other evils.

The book, which was launched in the presence of President Muhammadu Buhari, the national leader of the APC, Bola Tinubu and other prominent dignitaries in Lagos on Thursday, December 9, 2021, however continued to generate strong reactions among the population. yoruba.

While some Yoruba leaders have called for the immediate removal of books from shelves, claiming their contents are not good for the consumption of future Yoruba generations, others have vilified Akande, accusing him of being attached to the apron of hegemonic Fulani fishery led by President Buhari. suppress other ethnic groups in the country.

While, for some, Akande’s position in the book was seen as part of the desperation of the Tinubu political dynasty, of which the former governor of Osun State is a key member, to attract the Fulani hegemony favors for the 2023 presidency. It is alleged that Tinubu, along with Akande, whose body language has indicated his interest in succeeding Buhari, is determined to do everything possible to achieve his presidential ambition.

The innuendo is believed to explain why Akande deliberately singled out strong critics of the Buhari government like Pa Adebanjo, Obasanjo, Oyinlola and others while he (Akande) failed to point out the federal government’s obvious shortcomings. led by the APC in his biography.

Some critics of the book, especially those of APC, who preferred anonymity, lamented that the book may have created more opposition to Tinubu’s presidential aspiration in Yoruba Land than the good it could have done.

But within the party, other schools of thought believe that such a line of thinking is illogical because the former governor of Lagos, for whom Akande himself is “Man Friday”, must have seen the content of the biography. , digest and also weigh the implications before it. has been published.

Akande and Tinubu have both been accused of attempting to create disunity in Yoruba land to gain support from the Fulani ahead of the 2023 presidential elections.

Yesterday, in a telephone conversation with The Guardian, the chairman of the Afenifere Renewal Group (ARG), Mr. Wale Oshun, said the former governor of Osun State was aware of the implications and seriousness of the content of his autobiography before publishing and must have prepared his mind for the reactions which now follow its launch.

Oshun added that the fact that the book generates strong reactions and some sort of division is nothing new. He said the unity of the Yoruba race in a critical time like this has not always been achieved when people have remained silent about the type of weighty claims made by Chief Akande.

Oshun said Pa Adebanjo has the right to respond, just as it is incumbent on Chief Akande to prove that “the beauty of development is that it would allow the Yoruba people to deeply understand the kind of elders and rulers who ruled them. “.

He dismissed concerns that the book might create more resentment among the Yoruba base, saying, “The Yoruba are educated. Moreover, this is not the first time that problems like this have arisen in Yoruba land. He will soon calm down.

Senator Femi Okuroumu, who represented Ogun Central (1999-2003) under the Alliance for Democracy (AD) platform, accused Akande and Tinubu of “playing the slave” of the Fulani because of the Tinubu’s disproportionate presidential ambition.

He described the contents of Akande’s book as unnecessary and a slap in the face to the Yoruba race and not necessarily to those he accused in the book.

The Afenifere mainstay said it was time for the younger Yoruba generations to shed the old cargoes of politics if they really want to achieve anything meaningful.

He also dismissed Akande’s allegations against Adebanjo and Obasanjo, saying Tinubu and the former governor of Osun State should explain their sources of wealth as requested by Chief Adebanjo in his reaction.

Development Agenda for Western Nigeria (DAWN) chief executive Seye Oyeleye called for caution in his reaction instead. He called on all defendants to put the interests of the Southwest above personal feelings.

But former Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) national vice-president, leader Olabode George condemned the book and called for its immediate removal from shelves.

He stated that the content contained errors and inaccuracies and was not good for present and future consumption.

George also described the content of the autobiography as capable of creating a crisis within the Yoruba race.

But George called on stakeholders across Yoruba territory to ignore Akande’s claim in the book, saying the content of the autobiography is not good for the consumption of future generations of children. yoruba.

George recounted how Akande ran to Obasanjo for help during the Ife / Modakeke war in Osun State when (Akande) was governor and thanks to the intervention of the former president, a permanent solution to the crisis has been found to this day.

The former national vice president of the PDP criticized Akande for vilifying Adebanjo and Obasanjo, while he (Akande) did not speak about the alleged corruption of his friend, Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

A socio-political group in the Southwest, Yoruba Ronu Leadership Forum, also said the book should be withdrawn from circulation.

Forum chairman Akin Malaolu described the contents of the book as filled with wickedness and greed that are not good for the consumption of future generations.

The statement read: “By paying attention to the words and meanings of the phrases used in Chief Bisi Akande’s autobiography, one can touch with one’s fingers the presence of ‘malice and greed” in many paintings of several individuals, including Chief Ayo Adebanjo and former President Olusegun Obasanjo, in the book titled “My Participations”.

Ayo Adebanjo

“The book can perhaps be titled by its puzzling content as a ‘clever spooning’ for the purpose. These abuses of mostly Adebanjo and Obasanjo do not actually exist when one takes a critical look at the political faces of some. leaders described as contenders.

“Without a doubt, Adebanjo may have been too bossy in some cases, but painting him black is a bit too bad when you put his several political struggles side by side with the general conditions of things in our country. He could be considered a near-saint and that is exactly what he is on the minds of the indigenous Yoruba people and those in the Diaspora. The restructuring and the true spirit of federalism that underlie his many actions have made him a great and trusted follower of Awo.

“On Obasanjo, we ask, who among the current Nigerian rulers has done better than him in clear understanding of our situations and at regular times he summoned other rulers and they obeyed him? Regarding political corruption, can we fully absolve Akande himself of the same guilt if others he has painted black are?

“We are not saying that leaders and elders cannot duel, but it should be done with the utmost wisdom so that young people and future leaders can understand the language used in the struggle to outsmart one another. the others are not dishonest. And the intermediate connections of reasons and ideas should be the ones that help to better understand what to fight for and what to ignore.

“The way forward is for the Book of Unnecessary Greed to be taken off shelves wherever it may be found to remedy the most popular lies among today’s political leaders.

“Many tribes in Nigeria are now trying to fight against the yoke of internal colonization and this book has shown no interest in such a continuous but authorized struggle against their forced portrayal of slave portraits,” the statement said.