The Pan-Yoruba socio- political organisation, Afenifere, has said that the success of the National Conference
will make President Goodluck Jonathan the hero of modern Nigeria.
In an interview with National Mirror, the National Publicity Secretary of Afenifere, Mr. Yinka Odumakin, said: “The setting up of the Advisory Committee on national confab by the president is a statesman move that will make him the hero of modern Nigeria if it is done with all sincerity. Nigeria is falling apart before our very eyes and there must be a soft-landing. Only a conference can bring that about.
“The core issues for the conference is for Nigerians to decide if they want to live together and define the terms since the answer to the first question would most likely be yes. The federalists and the unitarists would then slug out ideas and the country can make a decision.”
Also, Afenifere Renewal Group, ARG, lauded Jonathan, saying it is a welcome development.
The group in a press release signed by its Publicity Secretary, Mr. Kunle Famoriyo, said since it has been asking unwaveringly for a Sovereign National Conference, it “would cooperate with and support the Advisory Council set up by President Jonathan, where necessary.”
The group said: “ARG also believes that the committee’s chairman, Senator Femi Okunrounmu, who has spent a significant part of his life in the struggle for democracy and true federalism, will work to produce a guideline that we can all be proud of, provided the government has not dictated a “No Go Area” to the committee.
“We, however, urge President Jonathan to ensure this latest move comes from a pure motive of ending the country’s many problems. We recall many conferences had been constituted in the past that never yielded any dividend for the people of Nigeria.”
