Afenifere Must Liaise With Ohanaeze Ndigbo, Others To Remain Relevant – Odunowo

A chieftain of Afenifere, Adebayo Odunowo has said that the group must learn to evolve and move with times so they can stay relevant.

Speaking via a statement on Tuesday while receiving members of Afenifere from Ikenne and Odogbolu Local Governments, the Afenifere chieftain raised an alarm over the neglect and relegation of Yoruba Language.

He warned that there would be dire consequences if the tribe’s rich history and cultural identity is not preserved.

Odunowo argued that for Afenifere to remain relevant, it would have to liaise with other  ethnic groups such as Ohanaeze Ndigbo, Arewa Consultative Forum and other ethnic nationality groups.

According to him, “The Nigerian political landscape is evolving, and Afenifere needs to evolve too if they want to continue to remain relevant. Some of their political agenda has been overtaken by events, hence the need to craft new political agenda that will be in line with present realities.

“To achieve their new political agenda, Afenifere will have to embrace inclusiveness and collaboration, they will have to liaise with other socio-cultural groups like Arewa Consultative Forum, Ohanaeze Ndigbo and other ethnic nationality groups.

“If they come together, they will be able to present a common front that will help each ethnic nationality get what they deserve from the centre. Joining hands together with other groups in the country will not only speed up the process by the Federal Government to hands off the control of local governments and grant local government autonomy but it will smoothen the process of creating new states.”

He advised the Afenifere members to take urgent steps to ensure that the Yoruba language does not become extinct, expressing disgust at the current situation whereby the Yoruba language is categorised as a vernacular in schools across Yorubaland.