Soun Vs Minbar: One city, two grand Imams as tension grips Ogbomoso

Peace is still elusive among the Muslims in Ogbomoso over who should be recognized as the grand chief imam between Dr. Toliat Yunus Ayilara and Habeeb Mahmud Usman Ayilara, both from the Ayilara family and one of the six groups that customarily present candidate for the exalted Islamic position in the ancient town.

The arrangement to pick/appoint the grand chief imam then, was at the discretion and done by the monarch, the Soun of Ogbomoso himself who would pick from the six stocks that have always laid claim to the position.

With this arrangement that has never been contested from time immemorial, the position has rotated among the six families of Musifa, Bango, Abogunde, Aduin, Alawiye and Ayilara.
But the understanding and maturity that all the concerned have displayed in the peaceful town that once produced the premier of the defunct Western Region and Aare Ona Kakanfo of Yoruba land, the late Chief Ladoke Akintola, and the late former governor of Oyo State, Chief Alao Akala, is now under threat, requiring immediate action by the stakeholders, including government at all levels.

As things stand now, two Grand Chief Imams have been announced and both are presently calling the shots. One Grand Chief Imam, Dr. Toliat Yunus Ayilara was turbaned by the immediate former Soun, Alhaji Jimoh Oladunni Oyewunmi (Jagungbade III) while the other Grand Chief Imam, his kin, Habeeb Mahmud Usman Ayilara was also turbaned by the present Soun, Pastor Ghandi Olaoye (Arumogege III) who branded him Palace Imam (without mosque).

The emergence of another grand chief imam one year after the turbaning of Toliat is not only querying the reason, but also raising tension with the supporters of the two religious leaders threatening a showdown should their candidate not declared the preferred at the end.

It all started three years ago when the late monarch gave Muslims the leave to always pick their grand chief imam from then on. The favour was celebrated round the town and beyond because the era of favouritism and godfatherism was considered gone, the Islamic leader would henceforth be picked by the major stakeholders, including versed scholars, religious and societal heads as well as Islamic youths.

It must also be recalled that Soun Oyewunmi instructed that the academic background of every contestant should be considered in the process of appointing a Grand Chief Imam.

Specifically, he instructed the committee saddled with the responsibility to always ensure that their choice is versed in Islamic scholarship in addition to being grounded in western education.

This prerequisite led to the discovery of a PhD holder, Toliat Yunus Ayilara, who was then the Chief Imam of Adiam Memorial Central Mosque in Iporo-Ake in Abeokuta, Ogun State. He was summoned home by the Muslim community who in the spirit of fairness threw the contest open to all interested aspirants in the Ayilara family.

“Since it was the turn of the Ayilara family to produce new Grand Chief Imam, we called for interest and four persons eventually indicated interest,” the chairman, Ogbomoso Muslim Community, Alhaji Akintoye Areago Onisaapa, told The Weekend Guardian.

He stated further that the family screened the aspirants that included Habeeb Usman Mahmud Ayilara, only to later announce the victory of Toliat. “This didn’t go down well with some members of the family who protested the emergence of Toliat. They came to us at the council and we in our little capacity urged for peace and conducted our own re-screening procedures coordinated by a four-man committee headed by Sheikh Rasheed Abdulazeez. Other members were Shaikh Alim AbdulWahab (former acting chief imam after the demise of Sheikh AbdulYakeen Ashafa in 2021), Alhaji Mikhail Bello and AbdulRazaq who served as the secretary,” Areago recalled.

He stated further that “the committee again declared Toliat winner” and that it was at that juncture that Toliat was turbaned by Oba Oyewunmi in his palace at an event well attended by all and sundry.

But a year after the turbaning of Toliat by the late Oba Oyewunmi, some members of the Ayilara family rose to contest his paternity.

The situation led to Toliat’s mother being summoned to the Soun Palace where she was said to have been quizzed. “When she came here, I remember she told all of us that she never married twice, that she was only married into Ayilara family. She even said that all her children were for Ayilara family,” a source in the Palace (names withheld) told our reporter.

The Guardian gathered that Oba Olaoye had initially accepted the paternity claim of the Chief Imam but for some family members who insisted that “he must go”, he became skeptical about it.

It was learnt that not that the Kabiyesi willingly reopened the case against the Grand Chief Imam, he was said to have been forced to do so, especially when an undisclosed member of the family informed the monarch that he partook in forging the academic certificates for the Grand Chief Imam. “This couldn’t be swept under the rug, forcing the Kabiyesi to change his mind and position,” another Palace source hinted.

It was gathered that if not for the high handedness of the Grand Chief Imam, the rebellion from many corners wouldn’t have arisen. For instance, some Islamic leaders who were later discovered to be allegedly fueling the palpable disunity had at several occasions cautioned the Grand Chief Imam for what they termed his fearless outbursts on the pulpit. Toliat is said to have always directed his sermons and preaching against traditional institutions and those found wanting in accountability and responsibility.

The League of Imams made up of scholars also stood against Toliat because he allegedly refused to join the group despite several entreaties. “Rather than join as an ordinary member, he requested to be the chairman, reasoning that he as the Grand Chief Imam, won’t be an ordinary member to be controlled and ordered by his subordinates in ranking,” a source who preferred anonymity confided in our reporter.

Aside this, Toliat, on assumption of office was also said to have directed the League of Imams and other Islamic groups to register with the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC), threatening to disband any group with contrary view. This generated heat, compelling the Muslim community to make several moves to douse the tension that in no small measure threatens the existing peace among the Muslims. Besides, a high-powered peace committee involving Dr. Saka Adegbite Balogun; Senator Hamzat Ayoade Adeosun; Alhaji AbdulHameed Monsur Ejide and Alhaji AbdulRazaq Sadik also attempted to find lasting peace to the ravaging crisis. The Islamic Muslim Community (IMC) also said it had made four different moves to quell the crisis that lingers till the moment.

It was gathered that the monarch is waiting patiently to launch Imam Habeeb into the community as the new Grand Chief Imam of Ogbomoso at the slightest opportunity. According to the source, Soun’s affiliation with his favoured Imam Habeeb became palpable especially when he allegedly seized the town’s Eid-ground for Habeeb to lead the annual prayer, a task that Toliat had been performing.

Aside the listed peace moves, the Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Abubakar Sa’ad too had made a move by raising a committee headed by the Registrar of the Joint Admission and Matriculation Board (JAMB,) Prof. Is-haq Oloyede which met with the warring factions in Ilorin, the Kwara State capital.

The Oloyede panel met with 32 members each from the two camps at the end of which three people were picked from each side to return home (Ogbomoso) and find lasting solution to the crisis. “They have not met since three weeks ago when they were directed to resolve the issue,” Areago of the IMC expressed regret. He described the happenings as a stain on Muslims, particularly in Ogbomoso. “This is like ridiculing Islam because the king that denied our Grand Chief Imam is a Christian,” Areago said. He, however, recalled: that “a similar situation once happened during Oba Oyewunmi’s era when there was a crisis with the Christians. They came to him for his position but he bluntly said ‘since I am a Muslim, I won’t be in a good position to be involved.’”

The face-off between the Palace Chief Imam and Toliat deepened this year when the Federal Government picked the Islamic leader as one of the spiritual delegates to hajj in Saudi Arabia.
For not taking permission from the monarch, he was said to have been asked to return home while the spiritual exercise was then ongoing.

It was learnt that when the Grand Chief Imam couldn’t make it home as spontaneously demanded by the monarch, he allegedly blocked his phone lines as well as refused audience with Toliat. When contacted, an ally of the Grand Chief Imam asked: “How could he have taken permission from him (king) when he wouldn’t see him and has blocked his phone?”

The narrative on the cause of the crisis among the Muslims in Ogbomoso is now changing as the Akeweje Musulimi Ogbomoso, Alhaji Biliaminu Olubukola Badmus alleged that the refusal of Toliat to share the monies donated to the course of Islam with some high-ranking Muslims led to their supports for those opposing him. “Monies donated for building and maintaining the central mosque was being mismanaged before the emergence of Imam Toliat. All this he blocked when he came on board, that is the bane of the crisis,” Badmus said. He threatened crisis and general unrest should the monarch eventually launch Imam Habeeb into the central mosque.

“The ongoing crisis has labelled us as a disorganised organisation. Kabiyesi should just forgive us wherever and however we might have erred and allow peace to return because there will be war in Ogbomoso.

“This is a case of a thief who stole the king’s trumpet, where will he blow it? If Habeeb is eventually made the Grand Chief Imam, we the youths will resist him because we as youths have decided to go along with Toliat as our Grand Chief Imam,” the Akeweje Musulumi declared.

As tension continues to mount in Ogbomoso, the monarch who initially asked our reporter to come down to Ogbomoso to book appointment with the palace secretary for his side of the story, has eventually declined to comment on the crisis, telling The Guardian via WhatsApp message that the battleground for the case has been shifted to the court. “Greetings, I am out of Ogbomosho land, the case is still in court so I cannot comment on it,” the message reads.

On why then the invitation to Ogbomoso, Soun replied: “I am sorry about that…it was a mix up.”