Gani Adams, others dismiss South-West Sharia panels

A Yoruba self-determination group, Yoruba One Voice, led by the Aare Onakakanfo of Yorubaland, Iba Gani Adams, has discounted the push to introduce Sharia law in parts of the South-West, sternly warned that such development has capacity to destabilise the region and threaten Nigeria’s already tenuous pluralism.

This was the position articulated in a communique issued at the end of YOV’s international virtual conference with the theme “Sharia Law in Yorubaland: Setting Things Straight through Restructuring.”

The virtual conference presided over by Adams, who is YOV Convener, brought together members of the YOV Global Coordinating Council, the General Assembly, critical stakeholders, and prominent Yoruba sons and daughters across the diaspora.

The communique emphasized that regional autonomy and restructuring are the only viable pathways to engendering peaceful coexistence and sustainable development in Nigeria.

Participants stressed that if the political class continued to resist calls for true federalism, the Yoruba people may be left with no option but to pursue complete political independence.

Speaking at the event, Adams frowned at efforts to implement Sharia law in Yoruba territory, describing them as a strategy to “weaponise religion” for political purposes.

He warned that such moves could ignite unrest and foster extremist tendencies in the region.

“Introducing Sharia law will not improve our economic, political, or cultural fortunes,” Adams said. “It could shatter the peace of our land, force our youth into violence, and spark crises similar to what is happening in other parts of the country.”

The conference also issued several key recommendations, including a call for comprehensive constitutional amendments to decentralise control of local government and economic resources, reduce the federal burden, and empower grassroots governance.

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It emphasized that any religious court system must remain voluntary, civil in nature, and operate within the bounds of human rights laws.

Delivering the keynote lecture, Prof. Oluwafemi Obayori acknowledged the historical presence of Islamic law in parts of Yorubaland, such as Ilorin, but warned that recent attempts to institutionalise political Sharia in the region represented a “cultural offensive” rather than a spiritual revival.

He cautioned that the unregulated spread of Sharia panels, suppression of traditional religious practices, and marginalisation of indigenous festivals like Isese posed significant risks to cultural identity and national unity.

Echoing this view, Prof. Kolawole Raheem, a technical adviser to YOV, noted that while Yoruba Muslims deserved faith-based dispute resolution mechanisms, such systems must not override Nigeria’s secular legal framework or infringe on others’ rights.

Raheem further argued that in northern states where political Sharia has taken root since 1999, non-Muslims have often faced systemic discrimination — a scenario that must not be replicated in the South-West.

Also speaking, YOV Secretary General, Prince Adedokun Ademiluyi, called for alliances with other ethnic nationalities pushing for restructuring, particularly those in the Middle Belt and South-South, to create a united front for regional autonomy and constitutional reforms.

He also stressed the need to strengthen regional security architecture and community policing efforts to guard against infiltration under the guise of religious enforcement.

The conference concluded with a renewed call for peaceful resistance against what it termed the creeping encroachment of religious extremism in a culturally pluralistic and constitutionally secular society.

Notable attendees at the event 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.

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