Yoruba indigenous groups have rejected the proposal to establish a Sharia court in Oyo, Oyo State, or in any part of Yorubaland, saying it was “an insidious move to disrupt the progress and pace of development Oyo State is experiencing.”
The groups, under the aegis of Yoruba Regional Alliance (YRA) and Yoruba Nation Religious Council (YONAREC), said at a press conference today, at the NUJ Press Centre, Ibadan, that they had gone to court to challenge and counter the plan; and had also written formally to Governor Seyi Makinde to reject the proposed Sharia court in Oyo town and anywhere in the state, reports Nigerian Tribune.
Speaking on behalf of YRA and YONAREC, which include the Muslim Association of Yoruba Nation (MAYON); Yoruba Nation Christian Association (YORNCA); Imo Oodaiye (Isese Yorubaland), among others, Mr Opeoluwa George Akinola, who addressed newsmen, said letters and petitions had been written to Governor Makinde and the Inspector-General of Police on the undesirability of a Sharia court in Oyo State or anywhere in Yorubaland.
Akinola said: “We totally reject and condemn the proposed inauguration, while calling on the Oyo State government to forestall the impending catastrophe by immediately putting a stop to any further preparations by the Supreme Council for Shari’ah in Nigeria to inaugurate the Sharia court in Oyo town and environs, in Oyo State and in any other part of Yorubaland.”
According to him, it ran counter to the culture and tradition of the Yoruba people, saying “without mincing words, we hereby state categorically that this is an attempt to cause chaos, specifically in Oyo town and its environs and generally in Oyo State and Yorubaland.”
The groups warned Makinde that allowing the Shari’a Council to establish a Sharia court in Oyo State was an avenue to disrupt the peace and progress “and pace of development that Oyo State is experiencing under your tenure as governor.”
They said: “The Yoruba people are historically peace-loving and accommodating. We have built our culture and traditions to the admiration of people all over the world. The Yoruba Nation has been adjudged the bastion of religious tolerance and harmonious living worldwide. Hardly is there any Yoruba family where you don’t find adherents of Christianity, Islam, and Isese (Yoruba Traditional religion). This harmony and balance have endured for centuries. We intend to keep it that way.”
Addressing Governor Makinde, the groups advised him against supporting the move by the Supreme Council of Shari’ah in Nigeria, saying “for decades, Muslims from the North of Nigeria have been attempting to export their brand of Islam which espouses violence, intolerance, Jihad and the anachronistic Sharia Islamic code into Yorubaland.
“It had always been vehemently rejected by our people as this does not represent our values.
“Your Excellency, going back into history, it was the surreptitious importation of this religious code, which our people innocently accepted as a religion of peace, that was turned overnight into a jihad and a war of conquest against our people. This is the face of Fulani political Islam which only seeks to foist the hegemony of the Fulani people over the rest of us.
“We vehemently and unequivocally reject this!”
They claimed that the negative effects of the incursion by some extremists in Yorubaland “still reverberate all over Yorubaland till today. All these unsolicited interferences into our way of life continue to reinforce our conviction that the best way to safeguard our culture and traditions is the establishment of an independent, sovereign Yoruba Nation, separate from Nigeria, where no virulent imported dogma can be foisted on our people against our will.
“It is in the interest of Oyo town and environs, Oyo State and the rest of Yorubaland that the inauguration of the Sharia court is not allowed to take place anywhere in Yorubaland as it will lead to unimaginable chaos and cause massive dislocations beyond the imaginations of everyone. This will seriously paint your government in a bad light.
“We totally reject and condemn the proposed inauguration, while calling on the Oyo State government to forestall the impending catastrophe by immediately putting a stop to any further preparations by the Supreme Council for Shari’ah in Nigeria to inaugurate the Sharia court in Oyo town and environs, in Oyo State and in any other part of Yorubaland.”
