Pan-Yoruba social and political group, Afenifere, has urged elected governors in the country, irrespective of political affiliation, to unite in defense of the integrity of the nation.
The National Organising Secretary of the mainstream Yoruba organization, Abagun Kole Omololu, said the deliberate demarketing of Nigeria in the international fora was not for the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) but the entire citizenry.
Omololu, in his statement made available to reporters on Monday, said Afenifere registered its profound disquiet at the increasingly calculated maneuvers by certain political elements intent on imperiling the cohesion of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and discrediting the administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, both within and beyond our national borders.
According to him, these campaigns, often cloaked in the rhetoric of democratic dissent, are rapidly transgressing the fine line between legitimate political opposition and a pernicious assault on the nation’s global reputation.
Omololu said it is lamentable that some have chosen international platforms to propagate narratives that cast Nigeria in an unflattering light, ostensibly under the guise of advocacy or reform.
His words, “This growing proclivity for externalizing domestic political grievances does little to advance our collective cause. Rather, it undermines national pride and compromises Nigeria’s standing within the international community. To besmirch one’s own country on foreign soil is neither sagacious nor patriotic.
“A recent example was the demarketing of Nigeria and misrepresenting the country at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland, on Thursday, April 24, 2025. It is, indeed, a grievous affront to the values that ought to underpin national aspiration.
“As a non-partisan yet nationally conscious organization, Afenifere remains an unwavering custodian of the Nigerian Project. We affirm our steadfast belief in the unity, progress, and sovereign dignity of the Republic. Thus, it is wholly unacceptable when personal ambition and self-interest eclipse the sanctity of our shared identity and national image.
“In a period marked by multifaceted challenges and strains on national cohesion, the burden of leadership must necessarily encompass the preservation of our homeland’s integrity. To remain tacit in the face of a concerted calumny is tantamount to complicity.”
Afenifere urged Nigeria’s political stewards, particularly at the sub-national level, to repudiate this creeping culture of acquiescent silence.
The group called upon members of the Progressive Governors Forum and the South-West Governors Forum to rise to the occasion and speak with a unified and resolute voice.
Omololu said a principled and vigorous defense of Nigeria’s democratic institutions and international esteem is both apposite and imperative.
The group said no holder of public office should allow transient political calculations to eclipse the primacy of national interest, adding that the stakes are too significant, and posterity would not be kind to those who falter when the dignity of our Republic stood in jeopardy.
