n Yoruba culture respect for elders is natural. Elders are seldom questioned. Automatically, they command obeisance, obedience and respect. In return, the elders are expected to exude virtues of wisdom, commensurate to, if not exceeding their age. Elders in Yorubaland, as a matter of course are also expected to value the respect they receive by steering clear of undignifying acts that could undercut their integrity. The same culture from the beginning of times has always held leaders or elders accountable for any act of commission or omission. Yes, it is the same culture that refers to its kings as "Kabiyesi" literally meaning, " no one dare asks him why" that also requests that the same king voluntarily commit suicide for transgressions against the people.

The Afeniferes pedigree is not in question (?). Almost all of them were followers of Chief Obafemi Awolowo. Their credibility is therefore etched (or is it merely marked?) on the Awolowo marble. To this end, the Yorubas without question believed them hook, line and sinker and voted for the party (Alliance for Democracy) recommended by these leaders. Before then, they had led the battle against the deranged Sani Abacha's tyranny. They did very well.

But since the beginning of Olusegun Obasanjo's second coming, the Afeniferes seem to have lost focus. With the loss of focus came what we have today which is tantamount to derailment. It is highly imperative that some issues are pointed out for the benefit of the Yoruba leadership because the Yorubas at any time in their history have never been as vulnerable as they are now under their watch. This vulnerability results from lack of vision, an important ingredient of which is moral purity from which stems integrity and dignity. It is the only natural means to commanding respect from the followers.

	One would like to respect the age of the Afeniferes in accordance to the dictates of the tradition. But all they are doing are undeserving of any respect. Their leadership is scarily secretive, horrendously highhanded, dangerously divisive, crankily censorious and destructively dictatorial.

From the heights of noble objectives of democracy and freedom for Nigerians and the Yorubas in particular, they have condescended to mortgaging the general cause for individual pursuits in the most obnoxious and opprobrious manner. Not only were they engaged in uncharacteristic acts of perfidy against each other and the Yoruba interests, they became petty-minded, quarrelsome, odiously arrogant and incorrigibly dictatorial.

The controversy surrounding the presidential ticket of AD in which late Chief Ige was upstaged at the last minute by the Afenifere leadership was not handled in the appropriate manner. No doubt, Chief Ige had legitimate reason to be offended by the perfidious nature of the arrangement that saw Chief Olu Falae emerging as the ticket bearer for AD/APP. But that ought not to have turned into bad blood and spilled into the public. One could not recall any public show of disaffection by Pa Alayande after Chief Ige upstaged him in 1979. Pa Alayande even accepted to serve as an adviser to Chief Ige.

Those who are privy to the events and activities within the Committee of Friends before the formation of the Unity Party of Nigeria would remember that the two persons who first made known their desires to become state governors were Pa Adekunle Ajasin and Pa Emmanuel Alayande. But during the party primaries that followed almost thirty something months later, Chief Ige was able to upstage his formal principal, Pa Alayande, via some deals with late Chief Busari Adelakun. Pa Ajasin had to browbeat, cajole and appeal to a lot of people before he could prevent an upstage by Senator Ayo Fasanmi. Pa Alayande was not bitter about the event and actively supported Chief Ige during the general election. He commanded more respect as a result of it. Chief Awolowo himself was surprised but considered the verdict as vox populi. That was an expression of trust and confidence in the people by Chief Awolowo. It is exactly what Chief Ige should have done. May be, just may be, the Afenifere crisis would have been avoided.

We have heard Justice Adewale Thompson accusing the Afenifere. We have also heard Fryo accusing Otunba Omisore, the PDP leadership and the presidency. We have also heard a variety of theories of involvement of some notable anti -Yoruba interests. The crisis in Osun State and the immaturity (which has nothing to do with age) of the Afenifere leadership created a perfect opening for Chief Ige's enemies to murder him and also caused the untimely death of Hon. Olagbaju. The Yorubas have a saying, "Bi ogiri ko la enu, alangba ko le r'aye wo ibe." It may well be that the Afeniferes, the Osun deputy governor, the PDP leadership and the presidency have questions to answer, because they all have obvious motives to see Chief Ige dead.

Even then the Afenifere leadership has repeatedly demonstrated poor leadership skills. Or may be, just may be there are other sinister motives known to them at that level but are at variance with the people's interests which inadvertently are incubating all these leadership foibles? Or how do you explain the threat by some of these leaders to renounce their family members should they accept to serve in Obasanjo's cabinet when there are evidences that they actually nominated same family members?

How do you explain the unwholesome manner in which some undeserving elements became governors in Yoruba states regardless of their suitability and the desires of the people? I thought their singsong under Abacha was democracy, how come they are so scared of it? What happened to Chief Bola Ige during the AD presidential nomination imbroglio was as a result of these odious dictatorial practices by the Afeniferes of which Chief Ige himself was not very innocent. That perfidious act snowballed into a major crisis and the Yorubas have been the worse for it.

Or how do you characterize their order and or threat issued to the deputy governors of Lagos and Osun States other than a symptom of senility? Is that how to make peace and forge unity? By threats and blackmail? What other words would appropriately describe their absence at the get-together in Ibadan on January 23rd this year other than insidious arrogance? Or could it have been guilt or shame or both? What explanation do we have for the appearance in Chicago, of the leadership symbol of the Afeniferes with General Abdulsalaam Abubakar who supervised the assassination of M.K.O. Abiola?

How does one explain some Afenifere leaders' complain that some people are playing "Awolowo politics" and not their ( Afeniferes' ) kind of politics? So there was a difference between Awolowo and Afenifere politics? Yet they go all over the place, on the rooftops, in market places, in the street corners, using Awolowo as the reason the Yorubas should continue to believe in and follow them? Does this mean that they are just "followers" of Awolowo not believers in Awolowo? Does this mean that they only cared what Awolowo's name could buy them in the political market and not what it could get for the poor masses of Nigeria and the Yorubas in particular?

For example, the Treasurer of the AD in Lagos State, Chief Yahaya Adeniyi Dosunmu just resigned from the party recently. His resignation did not surprise this writer, but his parting shot was of utmost interest and pertinence. In resigning from the party, Chief Dosunmu said inter alia, "As a democrat, I have to leave since I can no longer defend most of the actions and utterances of our leaders, colleagues and political office holders in the Afenifere Justice Group (AJG)." This is a serious indictment of the Afenifere leadership.

It is the only reason, why my own "Albert Einstein," the youthful but seminally brilliant Wale Adebanwi once referred to them as "those political museum pieces masquerading as leaders." No one could have said it better. Otherwise, how do you explain their "abominable" dialogue with "Babangida's fronts in the bid to form a single party?" Nothing conveys lack of vision, isolates aridity of etiquette, demonstrates absence of principle and expresses abject want of self-respect on the part of the Afeniferes than that singular act. How could they do that? It beats the imagination of any right-thinking Nigerian who has a reasonble understanding of what dignity and integrity mean. Vouching for the Afeniferes in today's political landscape is like jumping into the tracks of a train without brakes! It is sure death!

A major function of leadership is to come to equity among all the followers. Yet, he who must come to equity must do so with clean hands. The Afeniferes have stained and reeking hands. When a leadership becomes unreliable, untrustworthy and unfaithful not only to its rank and file but also to its followers, then the end has come for that leadership. When a leadership would say one thing and do another, then it is no longer relevant. When a leadership could no longer trust its followers and has no confidence in them, then it should abdicate. When a leadership has compromised its sacred duty to be fair, honest, open and just, then it should cease to lead. The Yorubas have always valued integrity in and of leadership. The Afeniferes seem to lack it!

Awolowo commanded our fanatical reverence not because he was duplicitous, but because he was eternally faithful to our yearnings. Awolowo's words were his bonds. With Awolowo you always know where you stand. You may not agree with him but at least you know that whatever happens, what you heard and what you see is what you get. He was also very loyal to his followers, to a fault. Otherwise, some of those parading allover the land today as Awolowo faithful would not have had the temerity to do so. But it is extremely difficult to say the same thing about the so-called Afenifere leadership.

All these attitudes on the part of the Afeniferes are helping to portray the Akinjides and Akinloyes of this world as men of principle, no matter how misguided and selfish such principles are. One may not like their politics or what they purportedly stand for, but at least you know what it is that they do not stand for. The Akinjides and Akinloyes of this world never claimed to be believers in Awolowo and as such never played around with it. So we know them for what they are. What could one possibly say about those who go on the rooftops to shout Awolowo during the day and undermine Awoism during the night! It is a case of your best friend being your worst enemy, apology to Robert Nesta Marley

The Afeniferes provided the needed leadership during the dark days of Abacha. They did a good job. But it is a different story these days. Obviously they are not properly equipped for these times. The Yorubas should be ready to do what the British did after the Second World War when they threw Winston Churchill out of office after he had provided a capable leadership during the war. They should be ready to do what the Americans did after the Gulf war throwing George W. Bush (Sr.) out of office for Bill Clinton (God bless him). It is time to start asking questions of anyone who comes around brandishing the Awo name. It is time for the Yorubas to put an end to this political "jibiti" that is compromising their fortunes and their future.

Professor J. F. Ade Ajayi knew what he was talking about in his Jauary 3rd presentation when he advocated for moral leadership. As a seminal historian, he must have done a dispassionate analysis of the present crop of Yoruba leaders in juxtaposition to the prevailing political and social climate to arrive at that conclusion.

One would like to respect the age of the Afeniferes in accordance to the dictates of the tradition. But all they are doing are undeserving of any respect. Their leadership is scarily secretive, horrendously highhanded, dangerously divisive, crankily censorious and destructively dictatorial. They are elders and should demonstrate some wisdom. But an elder's ability to demonstrate any wisdom would be seriously impaired if such an elder is pathologically selfish and dishonest. By the way, you do not have to be an elder before you can be a leader. The two do not always go together as is obvious in this case.