In a heated response to the Soun of Ogbomoso’s recent actions, the Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC) has called out Oba Afolabi Ghandi Olaoye for issuing a query to the town’s Chief Imam, Yunus Olusina Ayilara.
The controversy arose after the Chief Imam embarked on his Hajj pilgrimage to Saudi Arabia without notifying the monarch.
MURIC’s Executive Director, Professor Ishaq Akintola, condemned the king’s demand, likening it to an unreasonable expectation that the Chief Imam should seek daily permission for prayers.
Akintola emphasized that such demands infringe on fundamental human rights and violate the Nigerian Constitution, which guarantees freedom of worship.
Highlighting the significance of Hajj in Islam, Akintola criticized the king’s command for the Chief Imam to return immediately from Saudi Arabia, interpreting it as a disrespect to both the Imam and the Muslim faith.
Akintola further challenged the Soun to provide evidence of similar demands made to Christian leaders in Ogbomoso. He called for the withdrawal of the query, warning that it has caused significant distress within the Muslim community and strained interfaith relations in Nigeria.
In his statement, Akintola urged the Soun to avoid actions that could incite religious tension, reminding him of the equal respect and consideration that should be accorded to all religious leaders.
“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),” Akintola said.
He said the “most annoying” part of the query was where the king commanded the Chief Imam to immediately return to Ogbomoso from faraway Saudi Arabia.
He said such implied that Oba Olaoye commanded the Chief Imam to abandon the worship of Allah in order to come and pay homage to him in his palace.
“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,” Akintola said.
He said, “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 as much 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.
“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.
“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,” Akintola said.
