Bola Afolabi
Foremost scholar and historian, Professor Toyin Falola, has advised the new Alaafin of Oyo, Oba Akeem Owoade, against placing Islamic culture above Yoruba tradition.
He said he should see himself as the king of the people generally first before being thet of Muslims.
Falola said this apparently against the backdrop of a campaign by the Oluwo of Iwo, Oba Abdurasheed Akanbi, which seems to promote Islam at the expense of Yoruba culture, especially Isese traditional religion.
In an article titled ‘Alaafin Owoade and Yoruba Renaissance’, in which Falola also advised Owoade against openly kneeling before pastors, he noted: “As he rebuilds Pan-Yorubana, one of the most critical assignments for every Alaafin is to galvanize his royal authority to reinvigorate the consciousness of the Yorùbá people, generally both at home and abroad. For illustration, being the second-in-command to the supernatural forces, tradition dictates that no first-class Yorùbá Oba should bow for anyone, not even their biological parents, for the action of genuflecting by people of such authority means submission, not only of themselves but also the collective Yorùbá irrespective of their sub-nations. Alaafin Owoade is not part of the Sokoto Caliphate. No one has given him a flag! Yes, he is a Muslim, but he must see himself first as a Yoruba before being a Muslim. He is not the king of Muslims but the king of the Yoruba people. He must not be associated with the expansion of the Sharia. He is an Alaafin, a cultural Yoruba leader, not an Amir al-Mu’minin, the Commander of the Faithful. The day he gets drawn into political Islam, that day his rule is over.”
