The Yoruba Nation Self-Determination Movement, otherwise known as the Oduduwa Nation, has told the Sultan of Sokoto and President of the Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs (NSCIA), Alhaji Muhammad Sa’ad Abubakar II, that the Islam religion has not given him a mandate over Yoruba muslims.
The group made its position known following a recent statement by the Sultan where he gave his support for the establishment of Independent Shariah Panels in the South-West region.
In a statement signed by the National Coordinator of the Oduduwa Nation on Tuesday, Professor Banji Akintoye, the group described the Sultan’s call for the imposition of Sharia law in Yorubaland as disrespectful to the Yoruba people, as no Islamic provisions mandated Yoruba Muslims to accept the Sultan as their leader.
The self-determination group argued that the Sultan’s message which alleged that Yoruba people are denying Yoruba Muslims their religious rights was falsehood.
“We Yoruba people have read your statement that was sent to the public through the Deputy National Adviser of the Nigeria Supreme Council of Islamic Affairs, Imam Haroun Eze, following the failed attempt to impose Sharia Courts on the Oyo and Ekiti States of the Yoruba people of the Nigerian Southwest.
“Since your spokesperson, Imam Haroun Eze, made your statement to the public, we also hereby make our response public.
“The Sultan’s spokesman chose to couch the Sultan’s statement to the Yoruba people as if the Sultan were an overlord of the Yoruba people.
“The statement said in effect that Yoruba people must accept Sharia as dictated by the Sultan. We have great respect for the Sultan as a traditional ruler, since our own traditional rulers, our Obas, are mightily important to our Yoruba nation.
“But because of the Sultan’s chosen approach in his message, we are reluctantly compelled to spell out our response in ways that truthfully uphold our Yoruba nation’s independence, integrity and dignity, leaving no doubt about what is our nation’s relationship with the Sultan.
“The Sultan’s message claims that the Sultan is the head of the Islamic religion in Nigeria. Well, while our Yoruba Muslims faithfully surrender their lives to the Almighty God Allah and fully exalt Allah’s great Prophet Mohammed, most do not know the Sultan as their leader.
“There is no provision in the tenets of Islam that lays the duty on our Yoruba Muslims to accept the Sultan of Sokoto as their leader.
“All Yoruba people of all religions have our own traditional rulers, which traditional rulers are among the most revered on the African continent, and of whom the Ooni of Ife and the Alaafin of Oyo are the foremost and topmost royal fathers of all Yoruba people.
“Therefore, it is important to get rid of the presumption that the Sultan is the leader of Yoruba Muslims. That the Sultan is not leader or father of Yoruba Muslims is clearly borne out by the fact that while, during the past ten years, the Sultan’s Fulani people have killed countless thousands of Yoruba Muslims in all parts of Yorubaland, have destroyed the farms, villages and other assets of Yoruba Muslim farmers, have raped and killed countless Yoruba Muslim women, and have kidnapped, and extorted millions of Naira as ransom for countless kidnapped Yoruba Muslim men, women and children, the Sultan of Sokoto has not, at any time, raised his influential voice against these heinous crimes by his Fulani people against Yoruba people – or even, at least, against Yoruba Muslims.
“Therefore, the Sultan should not find it difficult to understand that Yoruba Muslims cannot see him as their leader. These facts are very important. The Sultan and Imam Haroun Eze must have noticed that in the enormous mass of hostile responses among Yoruba people against the Sultan’s message, there are as many Muslim as non-Muslim voices – in fact, probably more Muslim than non-Muslim voices.
“Furthermore, we are shocked that Fulani people find it impossible to respect other people. The Sultan’s statement through Imam Haroun Eze is a very disrespectful statement concerning the Yoruba people.
“It shows that you think you are the dominant people in every aspect of life in Nigeria. Yes, our Yoruba political leaders and the other political leaders of the rest of Nigeria have made the mistake of giving reality to the British attempts to impose the Fulani on Nigeria.”
