Bigotry: Kperogi’s misconstrued notion

Opatola Victor

IN the midst of our national prayers for the repose of the souls of the lives lost in the Ikoyi building collapse, I came across Professor Farouq Kperogi’s article on bigotry against Yoruba Muslims by their fellow South-West Christians, on account of their faith.

Reading his article, I believe he ran into some misconstrued conjectures. The article presupposes that non-muslim Yorubas are well to do and better off in the echelon of things compared to muslim Yorubas; so much so that this notion dictates his perceived opinion on “inferiorization” of Yoruba Muslims. Yoruba Muslims are not inferior in the South-West and can never be. Probably, because Kperogi is not  Yoruba as he said, he doesn’t understand the intricate web of love, mutual respect and human weakness involved in the Yoruba and Muslim relationship.

I grew up in the thick of Muslim communities in Oyo Alaafin.  I have a whole section of my immediate family members who when I think about them, the fact that they are Muslims doesn’t even come to fore; this is so for majority of all the Yoruba families in the the South-West. So I  can tell you of valid and current palpitating nature of friendship and family life between Muslims and Christians in the South-West.

How will a Muslim be said to discriminated against in Kwara State, Ogun State or Oyo State, even Lagos.  How?  Do personal individual prejudice exists? Yes. Definitely.  Can this prejudice swing both  ways?  Yes, it can swing both ways. Should we exalt such individual prejudices to the alter of general labeling? Definitely no!

These are instances showing few individual prejudices and weaknesses, and Kperogi’s article has managed to equate the exception with the general.

Kperogi’s piece will not achieve its aim of testing traditional unity in the South-West. We have read his article, both Muslims and Christians from the South-West and we will still share business opportunities together, be more cordial in our differences, celebrate together and pass on the mutual respect of our two religions to the next generation in order to do better.

Opatola Victor

[email protected]

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