Elders in Yoruba are extremely alarmed about the possible disturbance of peace in Yorubaland following the recent news of the opening of a Sharia court in Oyo town.
Yesterday in Ibadan, Yoruba elders speaking on behalf of the “Yoruba Regional Alliance (YRA)” strongly denounced the action, calling it a direct danger to the peace and cultural cohesion of the southwest.
The Supreme Council for Sharia in Nigeria has organized the planned establishment of the Sharia Court, which has alarmed Yoruba elders who worry that it will cause anarchy and upend the long-standing tranquility that has defined Yorubaland.
Com. Opeoluwa Akinola, the group’s head, warned that the planned implementation would spark unrest and conflict in Oyo State during a news conference at the Nigeria Union of Journalists, NUJ news Centre, Iyaganku, Ibadan.
He called for the initiative’s complete termination, saying, “This is an insidious move to disrupt the progress and pace of development that Oyo State is experiencing.”
“The Yoruba people have a long-standing tradition of religious tolerance, coexisting peacefully with diverse faiths, including Christianity, Islam, and traditional Yoruba beliefs.”
The elders emphasized that Yorubaland’s rich cultural legacy has been preserved for many centuries and that the establishment of a Sharia court would seriously upset the delicate balance.
The YRA reminded the audience, using historical background, of previous attempts to enforce Sharia rule in Yorubaland, which were unsuccessful.
“For decades, Muslims from the north have sought to export a brand of Islam that promotes violence and intolerance,” they declared. The elders argue that this does not reflect the values of the Yoruba people.”
The partnership also brought up the Fulani jihad’s historic failure at Osogbo in 1840, when a group of Yoruba warriors successfully fought off a major revolution.
“Had this conflict turned in favour of the Fulani, our Obas would have been replaced by Emirs,” they warned, underscoring the importance of this historical event in shaping Yoruba identity.
The Yoruba people are unified against what they see as a foreign imposition of ideals that endanger their way of life, and the YRA spoke not just for a select few but for all of them.
“We cannot allow our land to become a battleground for agendas that do not align with our values,” the group emphasized.
However, YRA urged local authorities to take immediate action and to put maintaining social harmony and peace first.
“The mantra of ‘To bury the Quran and the Jihad sword in the sea’ must be a guiding principle for our leaders,” they insisted.