Sharia introduction in Southwest conscious, tailor-made plot to destabilise Yorubaland — Group

Leaders of Pan Yoruba groups have expressed strong opposition to the alleged introduction of Sharia in any part of their territories, warning that its implementation in Yorubaland will never be accepted by the people.

They also raised the alarm over what they described as a conscious and tailor-made plot to destabilise Yorubaland through the organised sponsorship of divisive, retrogressive, and dangerous proposals intended to cause confusion, disunity, and intra-Yoruba conflict for the delight of their eternal foes.

In a statement jointly signed by Tajudeen Olowo of the Alliance for Yoruba Democratic Movements (AYDM); Olu Sulaiman of O’odua Nationalist Coalition (ONAC for coalition members); Hamzat Alao Oriyomi of the South West Professional Forum (SOWPROF); Bashorun Kunle Adesokan of the Federation for Yoruba Consciousness and Culture (FYCC); and Dr. Kola Afolabi of The Covenant Group (CP), among others, they argued that Sharia cannot address the economic, political, social, and cultural deficits in Yorubaland.

“We observed a conscious and tailor-made plot to destabilie Yorubaland through organised sponsorship of divisive, retrogressive, and dangerous proposals that will end up causing confusion and disunity and raising the specter 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, including Lagos, Ogun, Oyo, Osun, Ekiti, Delta, Kogi, Edo, Kwara, and Ondo states.

“Sharia is not feasible and can never be acceptable to a multi-religious, multi-faith people like the Yoruba. Sharia is only applicable in societies where Islam is the state religion or the majority of the people profess Islam,” the statement read.

They noted that Yorubaland, widely regarded as the most economically developed territory in West Africa, achieved this feat not through theocracy but through the hard work, commitment, and determination of their forefathers, who were Muslims, Christians, and traditional worshippers.

The groups further highlighted that the poverty, misery, lack of access to good health, the increasing number of school dropouts, and the lack of access to economic and political power among poor Yoruba people result directly from poor, visionless, and irresponsible leadership, which the introduction of Sharia cannot and will not address.

“Poverty, corruption, high mortality rates, terrorism, violence, and unprecedented human misery characterize the 12 states where Sharia has been introduced in the North. Zamfara State, for instance, has a 74% poverty rate, while 62% live in extreme poverty. Katsina has a 74.1% poverty rate. In fact, Sokoto, the headquarters of the Caliphate and a Sharia-operating state, has the highest poverty rate in Nigeria at 79.9%. While the Sharia states have the poorest of the poor, the political leaders who introduced Sharia in these states are some of the richest in the world.

“The Sharia states are currently theaters of war, strife, killings, and kidnapping driven by crises of faith. These states also have the highest rates of instability in Nigeria. This is the dream of the tiny clique that wishes to Talibanize the 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 exploit the poor, steal billions of Naira, and go scot-free, while the poor and impoverished who steal fowl have their hands chopped off,” they said.

The groups also noted that, having destabilised the North, the proponents now want to destabilise the South West and uproot the very foundation of democracy under President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
They alleged that the intrigue is political, sponsored by vested interests, and aimed at polarising the political and electoral fortunes of the Yoruba Nation, which for many years has 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,” they said.

“ We, the true representatives of Yoruba people, hereby strongly oppose any attempt, open or covert, to introduce Sharia in any part of Oduduwa land, including 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.”