Obasanjo Bode George Ayo Adebanjo should seek public apology - Alawuje

The National President of the Yoruba Welfare Group, Abdulhakeem Adegoke Alawuje has called on former president Olusegun Obasanjo, Chief Olabode George and Pa Ayo Adebanjo of the Afenifere social-cultural group to publicly seek forgiveness from Nigerians for selfishly working against public, national interest as well as the interest of the Yoruba race during the last political season.

He said the trio did not only offend their country, but committed heinous  crime against their tribe - the Kaaro Oojire.

The call is coming on the heels of the recent move by Chief George who made a u-turn to support President Bola Tinubu after he had pledged to go on exile if Tinubu won the presidential election.

In a press statement made available to newsmen on Monday by Elder Yinka Salaam, the Media Adviser to the National President, Alawuje  insisted that the trio should not only apologise to President Tinubu, but must apologise to Nigerians whose interest they worked against.

"We need your letter of forgiveness, not only to president Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu but to the entire Yoruba sons and daughters and Nigerians at large. 

"The calamity of EndSARS is still fresh in our memories. We know how the three elderly persons clandestinely supported the criminals who wrecked havoc in Lagos, Ibadan, Osun and across the length and breath of the country, just because they wanted to frustrate the ambition of President Tinubu.

"You will recollect that the Yoruba Welfare Group assiduously worked with the Disciples of Jagaban (DOJ), to confront the shenanigans of these elders who threw caution to the wind to work against their tribesman and the nation. 

"We had to protect our heritage and our principal - Tinubu - under the banner of the Yoruba Welfare Group when these elders moved to destroy the political image of Asiwaju before the 2023 general elections.

"We know what we passed through before God's intervention Who singlehandedly saved Asiwaju from their evils scripts. We found their fingerprints in the dirty scheme to destroy the Yoruba heritage just because of only one person who these elders perceived as their enemy.

"We are surprised that today, these same elders are now shamelessly trying to romance the president who they individually and collectively worked against.

"We are surprised that Chief Olabode George has quickly forgotten his pledge to relocate outside Nigeria. Has he forgotten the wise Yoruba saying that: if we are in disputation, we should not foreclose the possibility of reconciliation, so when the fight is over,, we would have a refuge to fall back upon.

"Chief George, Obasanjo and Adebanjo had wished to celebrate the fall of Tinubu but Almighty God is beyond them.

"So with the failure of their evil plan, they are supposed to be walking under the cover of the night, but they are now working majestically in the public, seeking undeserved forgiveness and trying to reap where they did not sow, believing we are all fools who will easily forget their past misdeeds.

"Chief Obasanjo, Pa Adebanjo and Chief George have truly constituted themselves as dangerous elements against the interest of the Yorubas as witnessed in 1979, 1983, 1993 and 2023. 

"YWG as a socio-cultural group, on behalf of the entire Yoruba sons and daughters, is therefore demanding for a public apology from these three Yoruba elders for their betrayals. They must realise that politics in Yoruba land and indeed Nigeria will no longer be business as usual.

"However, if they feel too big to publicly apologise, it is better for them to stop polluting the public space with your political shenanigans".

Alawuje however expressed the appreciation of the Yoruba Welfare Group to the Arewa Consultative Forum and the Northern governors who stood firm with the YWG while the battle for Tinubu presidency raged, stressing that their support shall not be in vein.