Afenifere

The Afenifere is a socio-political organization in Nigeria that is one of the most influential interest groups, especially in the south-west of the country.

history

"Afenifere" ("those who wish well") was originally just the Yoruba name of the Action Group founded in 1951 in Owo , a political party that dominated the southwest region. After the military coup in 1966, all political parties were dissolved and banned. In this situation the Afenifere was founded, which continued to pursue the principles formulated by the founder of the Action Group Obafemi Awolowo : modernization, democratization and federalism as an independent interest group. Even after the reintroduction of democracy in 1979 and then again in 1999, the Afenifere did not reconstitute itself as a political party, but functioned as a political-ideological power block between the parties. During the military dictatorship under Ibrahim Babangida and Sani Abacha, the Afenifere played a key role in coordinating the democratic opposition in the country.

influence

Today she exercises considerable influence on the second largest opposition party, the Alliance for Democracy (AD). She is a registered member of the Yoruba Leaders Forum , an umbrella organization of the Yoruba , to which the ethnic militia Oodua People Congress (OPC) belongs. Claims that the OPC is the militant arm of the Afenifere are always denied by both sides. The Afenifere, which, according to its self-image, is not only a spokesman for the Yoruba minority, but also consistently represents the principle of regionalism for all of Nigeria, has cross-party support from many progressive politicians in Nigeria. It should therefore not be confused with the socio-cultural Yoruba organization Egbe Omo Oduduwa .