28th June, 2024
PRESS RELEASE:
QUERY: DON'T SET OGBOMOSO ON FIRE -
MURIC WARNS SOUN
The Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC) has warned the
Soun of Ogbomoso, Oba Afolabi Ghandi Olaoye, not to set Ogbomoso on fire. This
was sequel to the query issued by the king to the Chief Imam of Ogbomoso,
Sheikh Dr. Taliat Yunus Olusina Ayilara, for failing to notify him before
embarking on his recent Hajj pilgrimage to Saudi Arabia.
The warning from the Islamic human rights
organization was contained in a statement issued on Friday, 28th June,
2024 by its Founder and Executive Director, Professor Ishaq Akintola.
The full statement reads:
"The Soun of Ogbomoso, Oba Afolabi Ghandi
Olaoye, has issued a query to the Chief Imam of Ogbomoso, Sheikh Dr. Taliat
Yunus Olusina Ayilara, for failing to notify him before embarking on his recent
Hajj pilgrimage to Saudi Arabia (https://dailytrust.com/soun-of-ogbomoso-queries-chief-imam-for-embarking-on-hajj-without-his-consent/).
"The concluding paragraph of the query dated
10th June, 2024 and captioned 'Query on Breach of Oath of Office and
Undertakings' reads inter alia: 'As the son of Ogbomosoland, I hereby
demand that you immediately return to Ogbomoso and rectify these violations
and desist from any further actions that violate the undertakings you signed on
the approval of your appointment as Chief Imam Agba of Ogbomosoland'. The query
was signed by Toyin Ajamu, the Palace Secretary, on behalf of Oba Ghandi
Olatoye Orumogege III.
"MURIC
strongly condemns this query. It is not only in bad taste but also in bad
faith. It portrays Oba Ghandi as a human king who wants to be worshipped before
we can be allowed to worship the Supreme Creator, Allah.
"The Soun of Ogbomoso wants the Chief Imam to
take permission before going on pilgrimage to Makkah. This is akin to asking
the Chief Imam to come to the palace every morning to take permission before
going for salat (prayer) because Muslims go to Makkah to worship Allah and they
also observe Salat for the same purpose.
"This is a clear infringement on Allah-given
fundamental human rights of the Chief Imam and a violation of Section 38(i)&(ii)
of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria which guarantees
freedom of worship. It should be noted that Hajj is the fifth pillar of Islam
and it is enshrined in the divine scripture of Islam, the Glorious Qur'an (22:27).
"The
most annoying part of the query is where the king commanded the Chief Imam 'to
immediately return to Ogbomoso' from faraway Saudi Arabia. It is ludicrous, odorous
and odoriferous. This implies very clearly that Oba Ghandi, a human being,
commanded the Chief Imam to abandon the worship of Allah in order to come and
pay homage to him in his palace. It is preposterous, sacrilegious and therefore
unacceptable.
“It is very strange that the Chief Imam was made
to sign an undertaking before his installation. We are deeply disturbed by this
because we have no doubt that it came up as a result of lack of mutual
understanding. The undertaking was signed as far back as 2021 before Ghandi
became king. He is now leveraging on it. MURIC is interested in this particular
document.
"Nobody is saying the Imam should disrespect
the king but at the same time it should be reciprocal. The post of Chief Imam
is an exalted office and Nigerian Muslims will not take kindly to its
desecration. By issuing this query to our Chief Imam, the Soun of Ogbomoso has
dragged our Chief Imam in the mud and shown complete disregard for his office
and faith. Oba Ghandi Olaoye has declared hostilities on the religion of Islam
and the Muslims themselves.
MURIC
objects to the idea of Imams or Chief Imams signing undertakings before any
king during oath of office. We reiterate our position on this issue in earlier
publications that Obas have no role to play in the appointment of Imams or
Chief Imams. We therefore remind Muslims in Yorubaland to stop subjecting
themselves and the Imam to the Obas. It is repugnant, despicable and
condescending.
“In like manner, we warn traditional rulers, particularly
those of Yoruba extraction, to leave our Imams alone. Any attempt by the king to
pocket or intimidate the Imam will attract the anger of his followers.
“Yet that
does not mean that we are saying Muslims should disobey their traditional
rulers. It only means that there are lines of demarcation here and there. The
power and influence of the king is in the secular, the Imam’s power is in the
spiritual. Neither should seek to cross the red line. No king should try with
the Imam what he dares not attempt with the bishop.
“MURIC wishes to seize this opportunity to seek the
understanding of traditional rulers throughout the country. The fact that we
try to curtail the power and influence of monarchs on our Imams does not mean
we hate the kings or that we do not wish them well. The reverse is the case.
“We hold the aristocracy in high esteem. They are
the symbols of our customs, values, norms and mores. They remind us of our past
and that past is important because people who forget their past cannot know how
to make progress. The same MURIC that is asking monarchs to leave the Imams
alone is the same organization that is canvassing for the independence of kings
from deposition by state governors. This is our character. We promote freedom
for all. We fight oppression and injustice.
"We are compelled to lay emphasis on the fact
that Oba Ghandi is provoking Nigerian Muslims. We demand the withdrawal of this
serpentine query unless he can show the world letters of permission written by
church General Overseers (G.Os), bishops and pastors in Ogbomosoland. He must
show the world applications submitted to past Souns by church leaders who
wanted to travel to Jerusalem and other countries as well as those submitted to
him since ascending the throne.
“In the same vein, we assure Ghandi that the
document he is brandishing all over the place is mere trash. That undertaking will
remain invalid until he can show the world similar undertakings signed for his
predecessors on the throne by the bishops and pastors of Ogbomoso.
“Apart from that, the undertaking merely stops the
Chief Imam from ‘officiating’ outside Ogbomoso and not from ‘going on hajj to
worship’. These are two different things. The undertaking did not say the Chief
Imam should take permission from the Soun before worshipping Allah or before
going for hajj to worship Him.
“Ghandi may want his Solicitor General to take a
second look at the document. If Ghandi knows how to gag Imams with frivolous undertakings,
there are Muslims who know how to decipher the codes.
“It is articulated
assault on Allah-given fundamental human rights of the Chief Imam to make him
sign such a luciferous undertaking while the bishops and pastors of Ogbomoso
are exempted. It is discriminatory. It is profiling and stereotyping. Besides,
it is highly unfair on Ogbomoso Muslims to keep their Chief Imam and leader in
chains while the bishop of Ogbomoso roams freely around the globe like the free
wind.
"We charge Oba Ghandi, a former pastor of the
Redeemed Church, to stop taking Muslims for granted. He has a blurred image of
Muslims as a bunch of timid, uneducated and easily intimidated subjects who do
not know their fundamental human rights. That is exactly how he sees Muslims.
But the tide has changed.
“The Muslims of today are enlightened, informed
and unputdownable. Only fake Muslims are found among boot-lickers and
palace-jesters. Although today's Muslims will still respect the king, they will
draw a line between respect for the king and their rights as free-born Muslims.
"Inasmuch as Soun will not expect
applications to travel out to Jerusalem from bishops and pastors, he should not
demand same from our Chief Imam Agba. This query from Soun has caused the
Muslim Community throughout Nigeria excruciating pain and created a wider gulf
between Muslims and Christians. We can no longer trust the Soun. He is not
acting like the king of Muslims, Christians and traditionalists. We now see the
Soun in the Redeemed Church cassock and vestment, a ‘fisher of men’!
"By the way, which law of Oyo State or of
Nigeria as a whole empowers the Soun to give permission to the Chief Imam
before he can go on Hajj? Which law makes the Chief Imam submissive to the Soun?
Without such laws, Ghandi's query is ultra vires, null, void and of no
consequences under the law.
"Soun is behaving as if Ogbomoso Muslims are
under the Redeemed Church. As a former pastor of the Redeemed Church, he should
know that he is not in the best position to escape suspicion from Muslims. That
is why he is expected to be more careful. Again, the Chief Imam is not a
traditional title holder at all. Neither is he one of the palace floor
sweepers. So where is this query coming from? This query lacks wisdom, tact and
caution. Soun should not set Ogbomoso on fire."
#Ogbomoso
#ObaGhandi
#LeaveTheImamAlone
Professor Ishaq Akintola,
Founder/Executive Director,
Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC).
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