Afenifere succession not decided by campaigns, says factional leader

Afenifere logo. Photo: Afenifere

Barely one week after the death of the leader of the pan-Yoruba socio-political organisation, Afenifere, Pa Reuben Fasoranti, the factional leader of the group, Oba Oladipo Olaitan, has declared that leadership succession in the organisation was not determined by campaigns or personal ambition.

Pa Fasoranti died on Monday, October 19, 2026, at his residence in Akure, the Ondo State capital, leaving the leadership of the organisation vacant.

Olaitan, who was a deputy to the late factional leader of the group, Pa Ayo Adebanjo, had been acting as the factional leader after his demise.

Speaking on Saturday during a condolence visit to the Fasoranti’s family in Akure, Olaitan said Afenifere’s established traditions and selection process would guide the emergence of leaders.

According to him, the leadership positions of the association were not offices members should contest through campaigns.

He said, “You don’t vie for it. You don’t campaign for it. It’s an apostolic selection. If you are the deputy, naturally, if the leader goes, you go.

”If anybody wants to topple the apple cart, I think the thoroughness that Afenifere is known for will get us through it, and any disagreement would be resolved in accordance with the organisation’s established processes.”

‎‎Olaitan, who has been a member of Afenifere for about 47 years, said the organisation possessed the institutional depth to overcome any leadership challenge, adding that its members understood its traditions and established procedures.

‎‎”Nobody will tell me the story of this organisation. I had a personal relationship with Baba Awolowo, Baba Ajasin, Adesanya and Baba Ayo Adebanjo. So, I’m not a new person,” he stressed.

‎‎Eulogising the deceased Afenifere leader, Olaitan described the late elder statesman as an exceptional individual whose integrity, discipline, humility and commitment to service distinguished him from many others.

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‎He said Fasoranti commanded respect without resorting to loudness or intimidation, noting that his character and conduct were sufficient to communicate his convictions and inspire those around him.

‎”He was a chapter in himself. You don’t have that too often. They come few and far apart. They come like a star, and then they glitter, a beacon.

‎”His coolness, fairness, and forthrightness were pure. He was a strict disciplinarian, but a disciplinarian who did not have to shout to give orders. He did that by example, by what he did,” the Afenifere chieftain said.

Meanwhile, the group, on Sunday, expressed appreciation to all those who were commiserating with it on the transition of Pa Fasoranti.

A statement by the Afenifere national publicity secretary,  Jare Ajayi, in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital, revealed that the chairman of its National Executive Committee, Oba Olu Falae, in conjunction with the family, would set up a burial committee to give a befitting farewell for the departed centenarian.

He also dismissed any issue relating to a leadership challenge within the organisation.

According to the statement, “In the meantime, Oba Falae will lead delegates from all the states in Yorubaland to pay a formal visit to the family on Tuesday, October 27, 2026. Tuesday would be the eighth day since the demise of the leader.”

Dismissing calls for leadership change in the group, the statement indicated that members of Afenifere worldwide are presently preoccupied with how to give their leader a glorious burial.

“Our attention presently is on how to give our leader and Asiwaju Yoruba a glorious burial that he deserves. It would be a height of irresponsibility to be talking about leadership when the remains of the respected leader have not been interred. Such is very much against Yoruba principles,” he said.

According to a statement released by the family, the funeral service would be held on Thursday, December 17, at St. David’s Cathedral, Ijomu, Akure, while interment will follow immediately at the church’s cemetery.