An Islamic human rights organization, the Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC) has asked the monarch to build a befitting mosque in the palace for the newly appointed Palace Imam,since there appeared to be none at present. The group argued that the palace Imam will remain idle for a long time if there is no sign of a mosque within the palace.
The 28th Soun of Ogbomoso, Oba Ghandi Afolabi Olaoye, appointed a ‘Chief Imam’ for his palace on Friday 30th August, 2024.
MURIC made the request on Wednesday, 4th September, 2024 in a statement issued by its Executive Director, Professor Ishaq Akintola.
The statement read in full;
“The last may not have been heard from us on the controversial appointment of a ‘chief Imam’ of the palace made by the traditional ruler of Ogbomoso, Oba Ghandi Olaoye. It will be recalled that the king appointed Habib Ayilara as the palace Imam on Friday, 30th September, 2024.
“But feelers reaching our headquarters indicate that there may be no mosque within the palace. It is either there is no mosque capable of holding a Friday congregation for Jumu’ah prayer or there is no mosque at all inside the palace. If this is true, on what basis has the Soun appointed a ‘palace Imam’? How can a whole king appoint a palace Imam without a mosque? How logical is it for a man who has no garden at all to employ a gardener?
*”Nullity upon nullity is nullity. It is a settled law that anything based on nothing is a nullity and has no legal validity. Also, it can confer no right or impose any obligation on anybody. If this is so, the office of palace Imam may end up a nullity, a sham, a pipe dream.*
“But we want to save the Soun from this apparent cul de sac. The way out, his saving grace, is to build a mosque within the palace, not a small one but a gigantic edifice befitting the status of his revered throne. That is the agenda we want to give His Majesty because the question on the lips of many people is: can there be a palace chief Imam where there is no befitting palace mosque?
“Soun is on a mission to bastardize Islam and that is the cassu belli for all his intrusions into Islamdom. He wants to break the ranks of the Muslims in the land. He is being ably aided and abetted by the governor of Oyo State, Seyi Makinde whose main mission is to fill all the traditional stools in the state with Christians. That is the only reason he has delayed the installation of the Muslim candidate chosen by the rightful kingmakers of Oyo for the Alaafin stool.
*“Many are wondering if the Soun will queue behind the newly appointed palace Imam. Will a pastor king pray behind an Imam? Is this pastor converting to Islam? That is where the intrigue becomes very clear. It is sheer hocus-pocus.*
“Again, the uninitiated ask why did the monarch pick his palace Imam from the same family that the embattled chief Imam came from? Besides, why did he pick the same Islamic scholar who contested the position of Chief Imam with the current Chief Imam, Talhat Yunus Ayilara?
*“Is the king planning a nomenclatural abracadabra? Otherwise how can one explain Chief Imam Ayilara in the Central mosque and another ‘Chief Imam’ Ayilara in the ‘yet-to-be-built’(?) palace mosque? It sounds panbolanbolic. Kabiyesi is confusing Nigerians. We need clarifications.*
“On the other hand, the appointment of a palace Imam by a pastor who became the Soun may be a blessing in disguise for Ogbomoso Muslims if the traditional ruler eventually erects a befitting mosque in the palace. Afterall there can be no palace Imam without a palace mosque. It seems the palace Imam will remain idle for a long time if there is no sign of a mosque within the palace.
“We may be wrong, of course. There may be a palace mosque in place already, perhaps in some underground or another hidden place within the palace. All we need is to be directed to the location within the mosque. We are itching to pray there behind the palace Imam, Habib Ayilara. He is not our enemy. He is our Muslim brother. We can pray behind him. Just show us his mosque within the palace.
*“Therefore, all we are saying is Wanted: palace Mosque for palace Imam. Go ahead, Your Majesty, Oba Ghandi Afolabi Olaoye, Orumogege III, the employer, appointer and turbanner of Imams. We shake, shiver and tremble before your throne. Just give us a befitting palace mosque to legitimise your palace Imam misadventure”.
