The peaceful capital of Kwara State, Ilorin, has been in the news over a supposed plan to hold a major traditional religion ceremony in a city known for Islam. BIOLA AZEEZ presents the views of the persons at the centre of the drama in this report.
ASIDES historical facts that point to the foundation of Ilorin in 1450 by the Yoruba, one of the three largest ethnic groups in Nigeria, as a town populated majorly by Muslims, the Kwara State capital still stands as an Islamic metropolis in present day.
A typical indigene of Ilorin would jealously guard and guide Ile Alimi, as the Emir’s palace is generally referred to by the indigenes, with all sense of patriotism.
So, when a viral video posted on Facebook on Monday, June 26, by one Arowolo Abdulfatai (Sheikh Abdul Fathai Arowolo) that a traditional religious festival, Isese, was being planned to hold in Ilorin with anticipated funfair, the people had misgivings.
Nigerian Tribune gathered that Majlisu Shabab li Ulamahu Society, a Muslim group in Ilorin, stormed the residence of Adesikemi Olatunji, a priestess of a traditional religion, said to be the brain behind the planned festival, to impose a ban on any form of Isese festival in the five local government areas which constitute the Ilorin Emirate in the state capital. The local governments are Ilorin West, Ilorin East, Ilorin South, Moro and Asa.
Isese, the Yoruba word for tradition, is used to denote different kinds of festivals held by adherents of the Yoruba traditional religion in Nigeria, Cuba, Brazil, the United States, Benin Republic, among other countries.
The group reportedly warned the young woman, telling her that the Emir of Ilorin, Dr Ibrahim Sulu-Gambari, sent them to convey the warning.
The priestess, who lives at Oke Adini otherwise called Oke Andi in the metropolis, had reportedly released fliers announcing a three-day traditional event aimed at celebrating certain Yoruba deities.
Reacting to the social media post, members of the Muslim group stormed the home of Adesikemi Olatunji and met her sister, simply identified as Alaba, warning her against going ahead with the planned event.
Although, the group said that the visit and their intention were peaceful, the clerics warned the devotee of dire consequences should the event hold, stressing that the state only supports Islamic activities.
The clerics also said that traditional religion worshippers could celebrate in private but never publicly in the ‘emirate’ as the only deity that could be publicly celebrated is the one Muslims in the state serve.
“We are here on behalf of the Emir of Ilorin to ask that you desist from any Isese. We are also backed by the laws of the land. We are not here to fight you but to warn you against this celebration,” they had said.
Shedding light on the development, the Public Relations Officer of the Ilorin Emirate Development Union, Usman Jagunma, said that the intention of the clerics was not to stop the priestess from practising her religion, but to stop her from holding elaborate events that affect the doctrines of the Ilorin community.
He, however, added that the event could have been held in any part of Kwara State aside from the five core Ilorin local government areas identified as Ilorin Emirate.
“These Ilorin Emirate LGs are mostly dominated by 90 percent Muslims and would not allow such religion to be practised in their vicinity except that there will be a public outcry that could lead to the breakdown of law and order.
“There are other places dominated by Christians too, especially some wards in Moro Local Government Area,” Jagunma said.
While all these went on, the state police command said that it was yet to get an official report on the purported ban imposed by a Muslim group, Majlisu Shabab li Ulamahu Society, on the planned Isese festival.
The state Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Okasanmi Ajayi, said, “Kwara police command has not received any official report from any citizen concerning the warning to Yeye Olokun you referred to.”
Ajayi also reiterated the command’s readiness to forestall any face-off that could arise between the Muslim community and the traditionalists in the state as a result of the ban.
“We are firmly on ground to forestall any security breach that could happen,” he assured.
It will be recalled that the Emir of Ilorin and chairman of the Kwara State Council of Chiefs, Alhaji Ibrahim Sulu-Gambari, had warned residents of Ilorin Emirate to desist from any act that is alien to the culture of the people which is generally known for Islamic culture and traditions.
The emir gave the warning in his Sallah message delivered shortly after the two rakat prayers marking the 2023 Eid-El-Kabir Sallah celebration led by the Imam Imale of Ilorin, Alhaji Abdullahi Abdulhamid.
The monarch cautioned idol worshippers against desecrating Ilorin and its environs, saying the city is an Islamic community inhabited by peaceful people.
“No idolatry event should be held within the Ilorin Emirate. Organisers of such proposed gatherings should consider any other location(s) far away from Ilorin Emirate,” he had said.
Giving her side of the story, the woman at the centre of the drama, Adesikemi Olatunji, expressed surprise with the turn of events, saying she has been living in Ilorin for over five years in peace.
“I have lived in Ilorin for many years and experienced nothing but peace until recently. I have always been fair and kind to my neighbours and this has been reciprocated over the years.
“With the visit by the Islamic clerics, some of my people began to call to inform me of plans by the Imams to shut my event down. It has been a stressful couple of days since the fliers were released. I have received multiple death threats from unknown people,” she said.
Olatunji, who said that she had planned to celebrate the annual Aje Olokun festival as a member of the Kwara State Association of Traditional Religions, otherwise known as Isese, added that it was planned to hold between July 22 and 24.
“This is an association of people practising traditional religion. We are not members of the Christian group or the Muslim group; we practice traditional religion which is allowed by the Nigerian Constitution.
“We planned a three-day event to celebrate the traditional religion festival between July 22 and 24. It is not a secret thing that we want to do. It is a get-together party in which we want to give recognition to some people who live within and outside the country.
“It is not a secret thing and that is why we want to do it at an event centre. We have printed invitation cards and we have paid for a hall at an event centre which is a popular area in the town. That is to show that what we want to do is not a secret thing.
“I have been holding the festival since I came to Ilorin five years ago, but I celebrate it within the confines of my home. But this year festival is planned to be more elaborate and we want to give recognition to some of our friends who have been supporting us.
“But there was misinformation caused by the social media. Some of the information on social media are not true. They started a publication on what we did not plan to do during the festival. They said that we want to worship a river and that we want to celebrate Osun goddess as it was being done in Osogbo. The social media published that we want to celebrate Ogun festival and that we want to bring idol worship to Ilorin which I know is the place of Islam.
“I have been living in Ilorin, which is a peaceful town and I have enjoyed the peace of the town since I came to settle here. I am a peaceful person and nobody has gone to report me to anyone that I have disturbed him or her and no one can accuse me of carrying any sacrifice or littering the area with local sacrifice. I have been living peacefully in the community.
“However information which is not true and which did not emanate from me are on social media. Up till now, none of the social media handlers have come to me to seek for information or clarify things from me. The wrong information published on social media made the people who came to my house react that way.
“Various publications on social media, made people to misinterpret the programme. It is not my intention to bring idol worship to Ilorin because I know what the town stands for as the centre of Islam.
“The people who are circulating false information about me and peddling unsubstantiated rumours on what I want to do are those who want to set the people against me. They are those who want to set me on a collision course with the people of Ilorin who have accommodated me and have been very friendly to me. I don’t know why they are doing it or what they want to gain from it,” she said.
Olatunji, who said that she is married and has children, added that she lives with her husband who, she said, is also a traditional religion worshipper.
The Aje Olokun worshipper also said that she was a prophetess in a spiritual church before she became a traditional religion worshipper, adding that her conversion had paid off.
“I was not born into traditional religion practice but every family, especially in Yorubaland, has a trait of ancestral practices. My foray into traditional religion is self-indoctrination. My conversion to traditional religion was through personal experience. Nobody converted me into traditional religion, but I got the inspiration from dreams and other sources of self-motivated factors,” she said.
She advised members of the public to always listen to all sides of a matter before passing their judgment in order not to promote crisis.
“People should exhibit love. We should love one another. Love for humanity should come first before any religious consideration. We should not lose our Omoluabi etiquette.
“Also, the government should maintain equality among the three recognised religions in the country – Christianity, Islam and traditional religion. The government should treat them equally so that peace will reign. There should be no preferential treatment of one religion over another. The government should accord traditional religion public holiday. Government should grant public holiday to Ifa festival day (Odun Ifa) or Oke Itase. It should accord recognition to the traditional religious worship,” she added.
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