The Oodua Muslim Coalition has described as mischievous and self-serving claims that Muslims in Yorubaland are more than Christians and that Yoruba Muslims suffer deprivations.
The group in a statement signed by its Chairman, Mallam Lateef Adeyera, and General Secretary, Alhaji Ambali Olubodun Noibi, who are also the Vice Chairman and Deputy Organising Secretaries of the Oodua People’s Congress, said the statement by the Muslim Rights Concern represents a “new generation of agent provocateurs” who are being used to cause disaffection and hate among the Yoruba people.
The group said Yoruba nationalist movements have been holding series of meetings to wage an intensive campaign against those he described as “Fulani agents” masquerading as Muslim leaders in Yorubaland.
Adeyera and Noibi said: “The fact is that no census has been conducted in Yorubaland to indicate which religion has the lion share. The culture of Yoruba people is a source of inspiration to the international community and to people all over the world. There has and will never be divisions along religious lines in Yorubaland as MURIC wants.”
They described MURIC as a tiny “Taliban organization” manned by an egocentric, divisionist and self-centred dictator, who is bent on inflicting grievous injuries on the Yoruba nation.
The statement by OMC added: “This group represents evil of the highest order. The group wants to factionalise Yorubaland to benefit their sponsors from who they make a living. It is an organization founded on hate, avarice, lies and deliberate plot to Talibanise Yoruba nation. This group is too small to make an impact. It is a one man show committed to the destruction of Yorubaland.”
The statement said it is wrong to accuse the South West of marginaising Muslims when in reality, since 1999, the most dominant political figure in Yorubaland has been Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, who is a good Muslim and who calls the shot in Yorubaland.
The statement said: “We wonder where this man gets his statistics. Nigeria runs a capitalist regime where individual businesses dominate. Those who win election in Yorubaland never did through religion. Businesses and opportunities are purely private affairs in Nigeria. Even if his claims are true, we should ask him why the Hausa Fulani Muslims always attack Yorurba Muslims when ever there is crisis in the North.
“Till date, Hausa-Fulani do not believe Yoruba people are genuine Muslims. Yoruba Muslims like M.K.O Abiola was killed. Yoruba Muslims were targets of attacks during the riots in Kano. No fewer than 50 Yoruba Muslims in Kwara have been killed by Fulani Muslim herdsmen. How does this justify the false claims of MURIC that the Sultan of Sokoto is the Head of Nigerian Muslims including Yoruba Muslims?”
The OMC said what is paramount to Yoruba people is advancement in science, culture, democracy and human rights.
It said: “It is not in Yoruba interest to take the pathway of blood, killings, brutal and savage murders and never to end bloodletting that characterize the Middle East and North-East Nigeria. This is a primitive culture that MURIC wishes to promote in Yorubaland.”
According to the OMC, Yoruba leaders have always emerged out of consideration for quality leadership without recourse to religion or creed.
It said: “Lagos was ruled between 1999 to 2015 by Muslims and they brought glory to Yorubaland. Yorubaland was also ruled for a long time by Chief Obafemi Awolowo who was a Christian. The entire Yoruba people rose up and fought for the late Chief M.K.O. Abiola who was a Muslim. The idea of saying that one religion is marginalized in Yorubaland, which is an extension of a capitalist society where wealth is created by individuals and not the state, is not only silly but outrageous.
“MURIC is a tiny Taliban group with no mass base. The group does not hold elections and its structure is ran by one man since inception. MURIC is led by an obnoxious dictator who sustains his livelihood on crumbs from his Fulani masters. The beauty of the story is that MURIC exists only on the pages of newspapers. It is an extension of the Caliphate, a treacherous organization that is bent on promoting hate and avarice in the entire Yoruba nation.”
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