OBJ’s letter: Afenifere warns against regime change •Kicks against attempts to stall national conference

PAN-YORUBA socio-political organisation, Afenifere, on Monday, warned against unconstitutional regime change in the country.

The organisation also drew a parallel between the letter written by former president, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, to President Goodluck Jonathan on December 2 and another document circulated  in January 1976, entitled “Facts to know about Murtala - A warning to the nation,” ahead of the putsch that ousted General Murtala Muhammed from power.


In a statement endorsed by its national publicity secretary, Yinka Odumakin, Afenifere, on Monday, it said “all citizens of our country with a sense of history would have been able to draw a parallel between Obasanjo’s letter to President Jonathan on December 2, 2013 and a document circulated in January 1976.”

According to Afenifere, when Obasanjo issued a similar letter against the regime of General Ibrahim Babangida, the latter rushed to Ota, Ogun State and immediately made changes to the military high command.

In making reference to a book, “Soldiers of Fortune,” written by Mr Max Suollin, the group recalled the role allegedly played by Obasanjo in the ouster of President Shehu Shagari in the Second Republic.

“This is why we in Afenifere are not impressed with the letter from the General, who has never shown any pure motive since he started his interventions in our national affairs.

“It is, therefore, the height of foolhardiness and or a lack of sense of history for members of the political class to be enabling these Generals, who have not been known to act in the collective interest in their infamous careers.

“Have our politicians forgotten so soon what the country went through for six years when Abacha was enabled to overthrow the Ernest Shonekan-led Interim National Government in 1993?

“We do not argue that Nigeria does not have serious challenges at the moment, but we refuse to accept that the solutions to our problems would come from any group of military adventures. It is a jaded option that we have been offered over the years and it has always created more problems than the ones it promises to solve,” Afenifere said.

It warned against any attempt to stall the proposed national conference, which it described as a veritable platform to address the crises facing Nigeria.

“We are issuing this warning as we can no longer ignore the rumour that has been very thick in the air that some forces who want to abort the proposed national conference are scheming to exploit the challenges of our democracy, so as to cause an unconstitutional change in the polity,” Afenifere stated.

It added that “on a more fundamental note, there is a delicate balance in the country at the moment, which has made the proposed national conference the most veritable platform to address the crises facing Nigeria and for which the nationalities are rearing to go.

“To attempt to stop that process by staging a coup would amount to rushing Nigeria to a major catastrophe, as any group of military adventurers may discover there is no space for them to preside over.

“It is, therefore, in the best interest of all that those who are possibly plotting to cause crisis in the country perish the thought and allow the national conference to proceed without hitch, so that the people of Nigeria can proffer their own solutions to the challenges of the country and so that we can emerge a united and prosperous entity from the table of brotherhood.

“This is our patriotic approach to nation building, which we commend to all reasonable Nigerians.”