Heads of some Pan-Yoruba groups have shown resistance to the alleged introduction of Sharia in any part of its territories, warning that its introduction in Yorubaland will never be accepted by the people.
They also raised alarm on what they described as a conscious and tailor-made plot to destabilise Yorubaland through organised sponsorship of divisive, retrogressive and dangerous proposals that will end up causing confusion, disunity and raise the spectre of intra-Yoruba conflict to the delight of our eternal foes.
The Yoruba leaders, in a statement jointly signed by Tajudeen Olowo – Alliance for Yoruba Democratic Movements (AYDM); Olu Sulaiman-O’odua – Nationalist Coalition (ONAC for coalition members); Hamzat Alao Oriyomi South West Professional Forum (SOWPROF); Bashorun Kunle Adesokan Federation for Yoruba Consciousness and Culture (FYCC); and Dr Kola Afolabi of The Covenant Group (CP), among others, said that the introduction of Sharia cannot improve the economic, political, social and cultural deficit in Yorubaland.
“We observed a conscious and tailor-made plot to destabilise Yorubaland through organised sponsorship of divisive, retrogressive and dangerous proposals that will end up causing confusion, disunity and raise the spectre of intra-Yoruba conflict to the delight of our eternal foes.
“We, the true representatives of Yoruba people hereby strongly oppose the introduction of Sharia in any part of Oduduwa land of Lagos, Ogun, Oyo, Osun, Ekiti, Delta, Kogi, Edo, Kwara and Ondo States; that Sharia is not feasible and can never be acceptable to a multi-religious, muti-faith people like the Yoruba. Sharia is only applicable in societies where Islam is the State religion or majority of the people profess Islam,” the statement read.
They noted that Yorubaland, though seen as the most economically developed territory in West Africa, attained this feat not through theocracy but by hard work, commitment, and determination of the forefathers who were Muslims, Christians and Traditional worshipers.
The groups added that the poverty, misery, lack of access to good health, increasing number of school dropouts, and lack of access to economic and political powers by poor Yoruba people, are direct results of poor, visionless and irresponsible leadership, which the introduction of Sharia cannot and will not curb.
“Poverty, corruption, high mortality rate, terrorism, violence and unprecedented human misery characterise the 12 states where Sharia has been introduced in the North. Zamfara State, for instance, has 74 per cent poverty rate, while 62 per cent live in poverty; Katsina has 74.1 per cent poverty rate. In fact, Sokoto, the headquarters of the Caliphate, which also operates Sharia has the highest poverty rate in Nigeria at 79.9 per cent. While the Sharia states have the poorest of the poor, the political leaders that introduced Sharia in these states are some of the richest in the world.
“The Sharia states are currently theatres of war, strife, killings and kidnapping driven by crisis of faith while the Sharia states also have the highest rate of instability in Nigeria. This is the dream of the tiny clique that wishes to Talibanise Yoruba Nation; they often learn nothing from history, until their self-destruction is evident.
“The hypocritical aspect of Sharia in these states is the biased implementation of the law whereby the rich continue to exploit the poor, steal billions of Naira and go scot-free, while the poor and the impoverished who steal fowl have their hands chopped off,” they said.
Continuing, the groups noted that having destabilised the North, the proponents want to destabilise the South West and uproot the very foundation of democracy under President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, noting that the intrigue is political, sponsored by vested interests, aimed at polarising the political and electoral fortunes of Yoruba nation who, for many years, have largely defined a common political future.
“No great nation would wish to have different laws for its own people of the same history and the same heritage; we, the true representatives of Yoruba people hereby strongly oppose any attempt, open or covert to introduce Sharia in any part of Oduduwaland of Lagos, Ogun, Oyo, Osun, Ekiti, Delta, Kogi, Edo, Kwara and Ondo States; We hereby warn religious bigots and extremists, including very naïve and shallow-minded political actors to desist from their evil plots or they will face the full wrath of Yoruba people.”
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