The Yoruba Nation Self-Determination Movement has strongly criticized the Sultan of Sokoto, Muhammad Sa’ad Abubakar III, over his recent call for the imposition of Sharia law in Yorubaland, describing it as “disrespectful.”
In a statement signed by its leader, Professor Banji Akintoye, the secessionist group rejected the notion that Yoruba Muslims must recognize the Sultan as their religious leader.
The group argued that no Islamic provisions mandate such allegiance, emphasizing that Yoruba Muslims have their own traditional and religious leadership structures.
The statement also dismissed the claim that Yoruba people were denying their Muslim population religious rights, calling it “falsehood.”
It further criticized what it described as the Fulani ruling class’s “born-to-rule mentality” and urged them to respect other ethnic groups in Nigeria.
“The Sultan’s spokesman, Imam Haroun Eze, framed the statement as though the Sultan were an overlord of the Yoruba people. We respect the Sultan as a traditional ruler, but Yoruba people have their own revered kings, including the Ooni of Ife and the Alaafin of Oyo,” the statement read.
The group also accused the Sultan of remaining silent amid alleged atrocities committed by Fulani elements against Yoruba Muslims, including killings, kidnappings, and destruction of farmland.
It argued that these incidents have further distanced Yoruba Muslims from any allegiance to the Sultan.
The Yoruba Nation Self-Determination Movement insisted that the Sultan’s position does not align with the realities of the Yoruba people and warned against any attempt to impose external religious authority onthe region.