Aare Ona Kakanfo of Yoruba land, Iba Gani Adams, has called for religious harmony and tolerance among the people of the race and further urged them to shun religious fanaticism to avoid crisis in the land.
The Yoruba generalissimo made this call on Monday in Lagos while speaking at this year’s Ramadan Lecture, even as he charged the people on the need to return to immediate past era when both Muslims and Christians lived together in peace and celebrate and shared during festive periods.
This was just as Iba Adams pointedly said that Oodua People’s Congress (OPC) is not a religious organisation, disclosing that he remained a Muslim and is currently fasting in the spirit of the holy month, adding that only one member of the body’s exco, who is also a Muslim, was not observing the fast on health grounds.
The Yoruba generalissimo, while calling for harmony, decried what he termed commercialisation of religions by the new generation clerics and evangelists and the recent religious crisis in Ile- Ife, even as he said there was need for the government to partner with Muslim and Christian clerics in fervent prayers for the land.
He, however, noted that despite that there abound both Muslim and Christian clerics in the country who were God-sent, individual leaders engaged them for their selfish end, instead of the general well-being of Yoruba land.
“There should be religious harmony in Yoruba land. The government should accommodate the religious clerics, keep them in a place, give them special packages, take care of their children’s education so that their minds would not be distracted, but concentrate on praying for Yoruba land.
“But instead, the leaders are only engaging the clerics for their own selfish end. There is work for us to do in Yoruba land,” Iba Adams said.
“What we are doing here today is observing the holy month of Ramadan which is also meant for prayer.
“What we are doing now is Ramadan Lecture, we started 10 years ago,” he added.
In his sermon, Sheik Jamiu Ajadi Sanusi (Amin Olorun), urged Muslim faithful to move nearer to God in worship, saying that they should not allow selfish interests to override them “to abandon God’s commandments”.
Besides, Sheik Sanusi, who urged Muslim faithful to stay clear of what Allah forbids, also urged them not to be ashamed to speak the truth always as commanded by Allah.
Speaking further, the man of God stated that though the OPC members were believed to be pagans and non-believers, maintained that the Ramadan lecture is an attempt to change the negative narratives, adding that members of the Yoruba group under the leadership of Oba Adams had shown commitment to the ideals of the organization.
“It is until we improve in our faith that we can be called faithful members of the Islamic world. I appeal to all members of the OPC to remain steadfast in their beliefs,” he said.
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