Olusegun Obasanjo
Former President Olusegun Obasanjo on Monday paid a visit to the leaders of Afenifere at the residence of the leader of the group, Reuben Fasoranti in Akure, Ondo State.
During the meeting, the former president called for the cooperation of the group to save Nigeria from collapsing.
Obasanjo hailed the group for being at the forefront of fighting for the interest of the Yoruba nation while he was working towards the interest of the country as a whole.
He said: “I remember visiting Pa Abraham Adesanya thrice in Lagos before the 1999 election and I was asked to join Afenifere and Alliance for Democracy then, but I told them that AD was a cul-de-sac.
“Pa Abraham told me that if I joined, things would change; but I refused to join them. I went back the second time, but they refused to work for my emergence.
“I went there again the third time, but Afenifere maintained their stand. They refused to vote for me; but I secured my votes outside Yorubaland, though they supported me in 2003 for my re-election.
“Our priority is now one. If we do not join hands to repair this country now, it will collapse and this could be disastrous.”
While responding, Fasoranti said the visit of the former President was historic and first in about 20 years, adding that the Yoruba group was in support of the ex-President’s moves to achieve peaceful and virile Nigeria.