Once again, Ogbomoso, the city of Ogunmola is in the news. Apart from its preeminent position as one of the most peaceful zones in the state, it is also home to religious harmony – at least until now, religious acrimony is probably unheard of in the ancient town — in recent times.
Like the rest of Yorubaland, the city has over time consistently managed and monitored its various religious impulses and fervor paving the way for harmonious co-existence among people of all faiths. In June 2024 when the Grand Chief Imam, Dr. Teliat Yunus Ayilara returned from Hajj Pilgrimage, he was received amid fanfare by towns and gowns.
In his first sermon after his sojourn to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, he told congregants that worshippers at the Oke-Elerin Baptist church and a string of traditional worshippers welcomed him with open arms. He said the display of camaraderie by the people of all faiths showed their love for him. Sadly, once a city of peace, harmony, and tranquility, Ogbomoso seems to have fallen hard, dancing on the precipice of religious conflagration. In a way, the surprising installation of one Sheikh Habeeb Ayilara as the Imam of Soun Palace is yet another testament that there is more to meet the eyes as this royal and religious rumble take another dangerous turns and twists.
A careful and cursory look at the various events that preceded this latest episode, right from the contention around Dr. Teliat’s installation as the Grand Chief Imam by Oba Jimoh Oyewumi to the coronation and Oba Ghandi Olaoye Afolabi in late 2023, one thing has remained crystal clear: failure of genuine peace-building initiative and reconciliatory efforts.
While the state Commissioner of Police, Ayodele Shonubi did make reconciliatory and fence-mending efforts between the king and the religious leader after public outcry of the Oyo state Muslim community, the upside down of things showed the danger of a cosmetic approach to a deeply troubling, intricate and delicate community crisis.
‘Can there be two Chief Imams in a community’?
Yesterday, 30th August, 2024 Oba Ghandi provided some personal context to the lingering feud between him and the Grand Chief Imam. Hear him: “Let me clear this, the event of today is not the bus stop, we are yet to reach our destination, the bus only stopped to pick someone. I have refused to remove him (the incumbent Chief Imam Teliat) despite him taking me to court. but I told him you can’t take me to court and be leading me in prayer, we don’t go to court and become friends.
You that took me to court your intention is to win, to win against the Oba, and you call yourself an indigene of this town. Such prayer can’t be answered I believe. I am a pastor, if I take my member to court will I lead in prayer and such member will say amen”.
‘The Police is your friend banter”
Prior to the installation of the Palace Imam by the name Alfa Habeeb Ayilara, a cousin to the Grand Chief Imam, the state commissioner of Police, Ayodele Shonubi had waded into the protracted fiasco to end the crisis once and for all. That was July 5, 2024. For close observers, that commissioner’s peace initiative renewed hope in the capacity of the government to return Ogbomoso to its glory days of peace, religious tolerance, and harmonious co-existence. “You know CP Shonubi is a man of peace and is desirous of maintaining peace in the town in particular and the state in general”, an informed source close to the reconciliation effort told newsmen.
“So, he invited the Soun, Oba Olaoye, and the Chief Imam, Ayilara, for the peace parley. The issue has finally been resolved. The two parties also resolved to maintain peace”. The source added that the meeting asked the Chief Imam to apologize to the Soun for failing to observe a section of his oath of office, which mandates him to inform the palace before traveling from base or appointing a surrogate. He was also mandated to withdraw all cases he instituted/
‘Not a traditional title’
Upon returning from the Hajj Pilgrimage in June, the Grand Imam, Dr. Teliat Ayilara was fired a query letter by the Soun of Ogbomoso for traveling without the express permission of the King, and particularly, for appointing a surrogate without the consent of the Palace. The query stirred hot button controversy with many wondering where the King gets his authority from. Firing through a strongly worded response, the Grand Chief Imam told the King that he has no power to query him stating that the office of the Chief Imam is not a traditional title. “My case against Your Majesty is still in court. And I strongly believe that when a matter is in court, the parties in the case must respect the authority of the court by abstaining from anything that may affect the case in court”.
‘The inheritor of the good and the bad’
Oba Ghandi inherited an intra-religious crisis that was well managed by his predecessor partly because Oba Oyewumi was a Muslim. Perhaps, it was one reason the spat didn’t blow over. But the death of Oba Oyewumi provided an opportunity for the warring faction to seek shelter somewhere else. With the installation and coronation of Oba Ghandi, a redeem Christian church pastor for 32 years, in December 2023, it was clear a dangerous twist had been added to the mix. Fresh on the throne, both the Imam and his adversaries engaged in a calcified lobby and palace intrigues that eventually elbowed the Imam out of the equation.
The intensity of that lobby swiftly shut the Palace door to the Grand Imam leading to the complete breakdown of communication between the two leaders. The crisis reached a boiling point when the Imam concluded his doctorate at the University of Ibadan with no congratulatory message from the king. Tired of the standoff, the Imam mounted the Mimbar one Friday and laid it bare. The tone of the message and the content revealed a multilayer dimension to the brewing crisis but the legal tussle had changed the trajectory of the crisis.
While this latest episode only provides a window for what’s to come, it is interesting to know that both the king and the imam are praying to court for victory. Meanwhile, two grand imams can actually co-exist in the same community, similar to the existence of two Emirs in Kano.
OYO101 is Muftau Gbadegesin’s opinion about issues affecting the Oyo state and is published every Saturday. He can be reached via @GbadeTheGreat on X, [email protected], and 09065176850.
