By Sola Ebiseni

THE pursuit of truth is the overriding claim of society and those who influence the thoughts and actions of humankind in every ramification, including philosophy and religion. Ironically, adherents of every religion who claim theirs as the truth are themselves all fractious in denominations, so much so that worship and public spaces are dominated more by quarrels amongst adherents of the same religion about what constitutes the truth than interfaith differences. The earlier mankind comes to terms with the reality that debates over the true religion is an exercise in futility, the better for the peace of the world. 

In Nigeria Christianity, Islam, and the traditional religions and their respective denominations exist in equal proportions. In Yorubaland, more than in other parts of Nigeria, religious plurality and tolerance are so prevalent that even husband and wife need not be of the same religion or denomination, while the children may not be bothered by either. The mantra is Olorun ló mo enit o sin ohun (only God knows His true worshipper). The concept and acknowledgement of the supremacy of Olodumare are incompatible with the thought of the necessity of His defence by mere mortals whose lives and existence entirely depend on God. It is akin to what Joash told the people who wanted his son, Gideon, killed for breaking down the altar of Baal and cutting down the Asherah beside it. Joash, in the book of Judges in the Bible, had asked these killers for Baal: “Will you contend for Baal, or will you save him? If he is a god, let him contend for himself because his altar has been broken”.

Religious tolerance in Yorubaland is so confounding to outsiders that either on their own accord or in cahoots with some self-righteous indigenes, they seek to sow seeds of discord among the Yoruba in the name of religion. It is such that El-Rufai, in an undisguised lobby for political patronage and in the pretence of addressing some imams on religious matters after the elections, sought rather to insult our sensibilities by saying that it was one Professor Akintola who led a South-West Muslims delegation to him to rescue Islamic faithful in the region from alleged political marginalisation by ensuring that Ahmed Tinubu emerged the candidate of the APC because otherwise he would not get the party ticket.

It is such that a simple one-line lyric of aboru, aboye, emi l’aboru, emi l’aboye by Tope Alabi amusingly drew the ire of misguided Christians and Muslims that the delectable and extremely talented Christian female gospel singer had adopted sèse religion, which they ignorantly considered idolatrous incantations. Ironically, some unschooled sèse faithfuls felt Tope Alabi had left her Christian realm by dabbling into their own exclusive corner because of their ignorance of the meaning of àbor and àboyè, which in Ifa simply means the acceptance of one’s sacrifice, prayer, or supplication by the Almighty. 

The same is applicable to some youths in Ilorin, led by one Sola Ayodeji, who descended on a private building vibrating in unmistakable Oyo Yoruba tongue and, in the name of defending Islam, threatened those they identified as sèse adherents to leave the city of Ilorin for them within seven days and threatened that in default: “If we meet you here in seven days’ time, we shall know whether this city is owned by us or you”. 

For effect, the misguided extremists warned the Alaran family landlord of unspoken consequences should they not evict their guests and tenants, adding that the State Commissioner of Police was not unaware of their illegal acts, obviously lacking in deterrence capacity. Obviously a victim of the state, which denied him education, when told that his hostages were using the shops for the sale of electronics, Ayodeji sparked back into disagreement, wondering ignorantly if it was possible for women to trade in televisions. 

Ayodeji and his ilks are only victims, symptoms, and innocent agents for the execution of an orchestrated but impossible plan to erase and deny Ilorin of its Yoruba origin and identity, the best weapon of which is its deliberate alienation from the rest of the Yoruba by capturing the minds of the overwhelming majority of the Yoruba population through religion. In this connection, it is apt to recall the vituperations of Olanrewaju Kawu, who, aligning with the present emir of Ilorin, who removed his well-known ‘Kolapo’ Yoruba name from his identity on inauguration, also jettisoned Olanrewaju as he was known from his youth. 

Reacting to one of Dare Babarinsa’s articles where he insisted Ilorin was and remains a Yoruba city, Kawu Modibo Ishaq, as Lanre now prefers to be identified, went literally to war, insisting that the dialectics of developments made Ilorin the strong military, political, cultural, and social force that it evolved into, all through the various phases of warfare against different combinations of pagan Yoruba groups, until the eve of the British colonisation of our home in February 1897. The truth, Dare Babarinsa, is that our fate in Ilorin will never be determined by Ijebu, Egba, Ondo, and Ekiti Christian members of the Ogboni Fraternity, the way they dominate the Muslim majority of the South-West”. 

That is the fear of particularly non-Yoruba Ilorin residents, for whom Islam is the ready opium for the likes of the uneducated but pitiable Sola Ayodeji. The truth, according to Heraclitus, is that “only change is constant”. Nothing, even the natural, not to mention the artificial, endures eternally. But sese is not all about religion, but who we are and the totality of our ways of life. Akin Osuntokun, my brother and friend, certified as an Ifa expert by none other than Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, former Nigerian President, has recently further exposed me to the reality of Ifa as an incomparable compendium of wisdom of human existence. 

Together, we frequently explore the beauty and even mystery of several aspects of Yoruba realities that are too numerous for time and space but include the ládunwo masquerade of his Oke-Mesi and the power to seize or divert the rains during its festival; the bolojo dance of the anago Yoruba in Ogun State through to the Republic of Benin; the special dance steps of biripo among the Ilaje, Ikale, and Apoi people of the old Okitipupa Division of Ondo State; and the completely Yoruba Ajagunmale festival in Brazil. 

The launch of sèse and approval of its annual holiday by the South- West Governors are already resonating with the Yoruba, like the Amotekun security outfit, which has come to stay and effectively so. It is not a threat to any religion, including the sèse religions, many of whose aspects need sustainable reforms to bring them in tandem with the advancement of humanity. Every other religion is susceptible to and has undergone such changes, whether deliberately or by force, including Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, which share a common Abrahamic origin. Yoruba Renaissance does not make me less of a Christian, and indeed, the Chancellor of our Diocese of Ilaje, Church of Nigeria Anglican Communion, part of which itself is a product of Protestantism Renaissance down the line. 

Sèse simply means that which had been, the genesis of which is beyond human memory. It will ensure, for instance, that no preacher of any religion needs to dress like they do in Europe or Arabia to win souls for the Almighty. As said by Winston Churchill, the enigmatic British soldier, statesman, and former Prime Minister: “Truth is incontrovertible. Malice may attack it, ignorance may deride it, but in the end, there it is”. Nigeria, we hail you.

Ebiseni  is the Secretary General, Afenifere and South West Coordinator OBIDATTI Campaigns.