The Yoruba One Voice (YOV), a prominent self-determination group led by the Aare Onakakanfo of Yorubaland, Iba Gani Adams, has voiced strong opposition to any attempts to introduce Sharia law in parts of the South-West, warning it could destabilise the region and further strain Nigeria’s delicate unity.
This stance was outlined in a communiqué issued following an international virtual conference organised by YOV, themed: “Sharia Law in Yorubaland: Setting Things Straight Through Restructuring.”
Chaired by Adams, the event gathered key figures from the YOV Global Coordinating Council, its General Assembly, stakeholders, and Yoruba leaders from the diaspora. The group reaffirmed its support for regional autonomy and restructuring, asserting these remain the only realistic pathways to national peace and sustainable progress.
According to the communiqué, persistent resistance to restructuring by Nigeria’s political elite could force the Yoruba people to consider full political independence.
During the conference, Adams denounced moves to implement Sharia law in Yorubaland, calling it a political strategy disguised as religious reform.
“Sharia law will not solve our economic, political, or cultural challenges,” Adams said. “Instead, it threatens our peaceful coexistence and could incite violence among our youth, as seen in other regions.”
The meeting also issued recommendations, including urgent constitutional reforms to decentralise governance, empower local institutions, and manage resources at the grassroots level. It insisted that any religious court system must be voluntary, civil, and aligned with human rights principles.
In his keynote address, Prof. Oluwafemi Obayori acknowledged the historical presence of Islamic legal practices in areas like Ilorin, but warned that the current push for political Sharia in the South-West was more about cultural domination than religious expression. He expressed concern over rising marginalisation of indigenous Yoruba traditions and festivals, such as Isese, under the guise of religious expansion.
Prof. Kolawole Raheem, a technical adviser to YOV, echoed these concerns. While acknowledging the right of Yoruba Muslims to faith-based arbitration, he stressed such systems must operate within Nigeria’s secular constitutional framework and must not infringe on the rights of non-Muslims.
Raheem warned that the experience of systemic discrimination in some northern states with political Sharia must not be replicated in the South-West.
YOV Secretary General, Prince Adedokun Ademiluyi, called for partnerships with other regional groups advocating restructuring—particularly from the Middle Belt and South-South—to build a unified demand for federal reforms. He also emphasised the importance of strengthening regional security and community policing to counter extremist infiltration.
The conference concluded with a unified call for peaceful resistance against what it described as a “gradual encroachment of religious extremism” in a culturally diverse and constitutionally secular nation.
Notable attendees included Akogun Olakanye Franklin, Iyalode Abike Ade, Chief Mark Oyetunde, Ms Modupe Sodimu, Yeyeluwa Alice Eniola, Yeye Oge Tina Atinuke, Chief Gani Wahab, Prince Adedapo Adesanmi, and Princess Adenike Olotu, among others.
(Punch)
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