*Photo: Prof Abideen Olaiya*
Having read the published article of Lasisi Olagunju, PhD, with the caption “Are Yoruba Muslims Truly Marginalized ? published in Today’s Nigerian Tribune ( 3rd February 2025 ), I find it necessary to make this rejoinder :
I found it curious to note that Dr. Olagunju only became concerned about marginalization or otherwise of Yoruba Muslims after the release of the Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs over the needless outcry against the establishment of Independent Sharia panels in various towns.
It is an open secret to those of us active Muslims on the field in the past four decades that Yoruba Muslims are suffering marginalization in almost all public sector ranging from education, health, civil/public service, politics to judiciary. I can write or mention on my fingertips what can occupy twenty pages of paper on several marginalization or denials of fundamental human rights cases of Muslims in the South west within the last few years.
The most unfortunate line of thought is the castigation of the Supreme leader of Muslims in Nigeria as a meddlesome interloper on affairs of south west Muslims, no Muslim in the right frame of mind would write such. Sultan is the leader of Muslims in Nigeria and not just the Sokoto monarch nor the Fulani leader. Gone are the days where people were fooled to interpret Islam which is a universal religious pathway to be religion of the Arabs or Hausafulani and any attempt by any ignoramus to rewrite history shall be met with outright rejection.
Failure of State governors in South West Nigeria to formally establish Sharia courts of appeal actually led to the setting up of independent Sharia panels across various Muslim Communities. This does not violate any law rather it helps to resolve many disputes that could have to queue at our already congested, unaffordable and strenuous time consuming bureaucratic process of conventional court processes.
All the examples of happenings in the South west in the past was as a result of tolerance of the Yoruba Muslims who have Sharia laws replaced with Christian law dubiously called common law by the colonial masters and local politicians that took over from them, conversion of innocent Muslim youths in the name of seeking western education and allowing interreligious marriages with its attendant loss of members or children to Christianity. The domination of political terrain in South West Nigeria by non Muslims was due to religious sensitivity to corrupt and immoral practices that always characterise the political circle, it was this apathy that usually led to the situation pictured by Dr. Olagunju where Christians found it easy to become Governors in Muslims dominating states of Oyo, Osun, Lagos and Ogun states whereas Muslims have never find it easy to become governor in Ondo and Ekiti where Christians are the majority.
Finally, the genuine Yoruba Muslims want Sharia courts to adjudicate on their disputes and welcome the intervention of all men of conscience including Sultan and Eze, we see Sharia courts as complementary to Christian courts as well as Customary courts which is the position of law and constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, anything contrary does not represent the opinion of Yoruba Muslims.
*Prof Olaiya is a member of Secretariat Advisory Committee of MUSWEN, the Secretary General of the Concerned Yoruba Muslim Scholars/South West Zone of Supreme Council for Sharia in Nigeria.