Afenifere leaders praise Adebanjo’s impact on Yoruba and national development

September 11, 2024

By Samuel Ogunsona

The pan-Yoruba socio-cultural organization, Afenifere, has commended Ayo Adebanjo for his significant contributions to the development of Yorubaland and Nigeria as a whole.

The praise came during a courtesy visit by Afenifere’s new executive committee members to Adebanjo’s Lekki residence in Lagos State, following their maiden meeting.

The Secretary-General of Afenifere, Ademola Folarin, who led the delegation, said: “We decided to pay a prominent leader of our organisation a courtesy visit to commend him for his leadership role in Afenifere and his contributions to the development of Nigeria, going by his record as a patriot.”

Meanwhile, Professor Olukoya Ogen, a historian and Fellow of the Nigerian Academy of Letters, has urged Afenifere to establish a historical research foundation.

This foundation would provide funding for Yoruba history fellowships, research grants, and prizes. Ogen made this call while delivering the 21st inaugural lecture at Osun State University in Osogbo.

Ogen lauded Afenifere for prioritizing the socioeconomic and political development of Yorubaland but emphasized the need to expand its mandate to include promoting historical research and cultural rejuvenation. In his lecture, “Reconstructing a Silenced Past: Echoes of Revisionism and Counter Hegemonic History,” Ogen advocated for the production of alternative, non-statist, and hegemonic histories to recover suppressed and historically marginalized narratives.