Exponent News, Akure – 18th June 2025
EXCLUSIVE:Tinubu Must Choose Legacy Over Real Estate, As Ebiseni Slams Minister on Road Project
Chief Sola Ebiseni, Secretary General of Afenifere, arrived at Akure Airport from Abuja over the weekend and spoke with a group of journalists on a range of national issues, including developments within the Organisation. Excerpts:
Question:
Many believe the death of Chief Ayo Adebanjo should have united Afenifere. How do you respond to the ongoing controversy surrounding the leadership of the organisation, especially with the declaration of Oba Oladipo Olaitan as Leader and the appointment of Oba Olu Falae as Chairman of the Afenifere National Executive Committee?
Ebiseni:
Oba Oladipo Olaitan, from Osun State, was appointed by our revered Leader, Pa Fasoranti, to deputise Chief Ayo Adebanjo, who recently passed on gloriously. Oba Oladipo Olaitan naturally stepped in as Leader and Chairman of the three organs: the National Executive Committee, National Caucus, and the General Meeting. All meetings have since moved to his base in Ilesha. His emergence has effectively resolved a quiet but lingering discontent within the Organisation, which previously saw the position of Leader monopolised by the Lagos/Ogun and Ondo/Ekiti axis—beginning from the founder, Chief Obafemi Awolowo in 1951, through Chief Michael Adekunle Ajasin, Abraham Adesanya, Reuben Fasoranti, and Ayo Adebanjo. Leadership has now rightly moved to the Oyo/Osun axis, in line with the vision of Pa Fasoranti.
Question:
What is the path to reconciliation?
Ebiseni:
Afenifere is a welfarist socio-political organisation that has consistently maintained its ideological stance since 1951, with clear positions on national issues. At critical points in our national history—be it in the Action Group, UPN, SDP/NADECO, AD, AD/APP, and currently—there have always been ideological contestations. As Awolowo taught, such disagreements are often resolved through the interplay of thesis and antithesis. I do not consider the present disagreement deep. It is simply between a strict adherence to our historical socio-political identity rooted in Awolowo’s worldview, and a newer tendency towards transforming Afenifere into a broad-based Yoruba socio-cultural organisation. Every viable organisation, including political parties, faces such centrifugal forces today in Nigeria. The new Leader has the wisdom and credibility to navigate these complexities and unite all factions.
Question:
What is your take on infrastructural development?
Ebiseni:
Personally, I’ve observed some monumental efforts, particularly in road infrastructure development. Unfortunately, these efforts are marred by excessive noise, undue politicisation, and frequent policy reversals. Take the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway, for example. Historical records show this road was proposed as far back as 1900, when the Ilaje coastal region—now part of Ondo State—was still within Lagos Colony. A telegraphic line then connected Lagos through Ilaje to Warri, following the Atlantic corridor. The road was intended to follow that same alignment to link Lagos Colony with the Southern Protectorate, whose headquarters was then in Calabar. An agreement was reached in 1900 during Sir William MacGregor’s tour of the Ilaje boundary area. This was formalised on 12th January 1904 in a document signed by Sir William MacGregor and Sir Wyndham Rosebery, Governor of the Southern Protectorate.
President Tinubu has taken a bold and commendable step by launching this historic road project. If faithfully implemented, it will stand as a monumental achievement, particularly for the Niger Delta. But suddenly—and most annoyingly—we now hear from the Minister of Works that the road will only follow the coastal route in the Lagos area, and the alignment will no longer pass through Ondo State to Delta and beyond. Who tolerates such nonsense from a government? This raises serious questions: is the road just a scam to boost coastal real estate in Lagos? Why should the oil-producing areas, which fund the country, be excluded from such development? Why build hope in these communities, only for the Minister to declare the project impossible in their territories?
Ironically, the coastal potentials and economic opportunities present in these undeveloped regions surpass those in Lagos. The President must think beyond transient politics and strive to leave a legacy. Initiatives like Reno Omokri’s fact-finding tour of the road project communicate far more effectively than all the noise and posturing in official circles.
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