Trouble, yanga and religious palavers in Osun

Trouble, yanga and religious palavers in Osun

AMONG Nigeria’s ethnic regions and nationalities, the ecumenical spirit is arguably most at work in the Yoruba West. Unlike Eastern and Northern Nigeria that are respectively dominated by followers of Christianity and Islam, Western Nigeria presents a far more diverse and fluid picture of religion with Christians, Muslims and Ifa worshippers cohabiting and cooperating in relative harmony.

It is not unusual to find followers of the different faiths in the same household, sharing and participating in the religious ceremonies of their various members. That peaceful religious atmosphere is on the verge of being shattered in certain parts of the region with the infusion of religious politics into the everyday activities of the people. The situation is nowhere helped by the rumoured/reported infiltration of some Yoruba communities by suspected fundamentalist sects from the north of Nigeria.

In the case of Osun State, the status of religion is somehow being determined by people who feel they can no longer trust the government or, specifically, the governor to be impartial in the matter. Things took a ridiculous turn this past week when students of Baptist High School in Iwo decided to appear in school in the apparels of their different religions.

While some showed up in school covered in Islamic veils, others were garbed as choristers and yet others as traditional religionists. Some reports indeed had it that masqueraders were summoned from their underworld abode into the school premises to register their presence as well as their displeasure with the state government in its school reclassification programme.

Among other things, the reclassification demanded the merger of schools, the imposed use of a common uniform throughout government-owned primary and secondary schools in the State. The most controversial aspect of the reclassification involves the merger of schools owned by diverse faith-based institutions. This step meant that Muslim students were merged with students from Christian and traditional backgrounds, as is the case in Baptist High School, Iwo where Muslims were sent and the girls among them were given the permission to wear the veil (hijab).

This decision by the state has not gone down well with either the Muslims or their Christian counterparts. There had been skirmishes here and there: students have set upon one another and on their teachers while principals have been attacked and brutalised allegedly for not complying fully with the directives of the State government on the reclassification of schools. While Muslims are bent on retaining the original status of their schools, Christians are not eager to share their schools with non-Christians either.

But is it really true that followers of these two religions are opposed to members of the other faiths attending their schools? Or are they just being awoken to the reality of that intolerance unknown among the Yoruba that forbids contact with people of other faiths? How did the State government get itself into the bog of this self-inflicted wound that its opponents are cashing in on to paint it in unfavourable colours at this time?

It seems highly probable that the sartorial tastes of students of Baptist High School, Iwo, this past week were influenced by forces outside the school. We must not forget that 2014 is the year of another governorship election in Osun. By November this year, the Aregbesola Administration would have clocked four in office. But before that there would be the election which is being planned even by INEC which has just released a timetable on it like a war. It’s inevitable then that there will be people who see in the school reclassification agenda of the State government an opportunity to give the government some headache especially since the State Governor unwittingly fell into the religious trap.

He was driven by a vision to transform Osun State along a Marxist/socialist line even if he did not say so. But this was apparent in his policy pronouncements including the establishment of the Osun Youth Empowerment Scheme(OYES) which displays the trappings of youth cadres in socialist societies and the plan to establish farm settlements for farmers. Of course, these were carry-over practices from the old Awolowo-led Unity Party of Nigeria and before that the Action Group.

In a definite sense, Aregbesola clearly sees  himself as a follower of Obafemi Awolowo. And more than those who call themselves Awoists, he makes a conscious attempt to model a number of his policies on the political principles of Chief Awolowo. The difference is in the manner and speed he tends to express his religious preferences after he reclaimed governorship of the State which many found quite alienating if not off-putting.

Ogbeni Aregbesola tried to  make too many changes in very critical aspects of the State at a time when he was still new on the saddle. First, he introduced a new logo for the State and gave it an anthem based on the old UPN anthem. Unlike others who governed the State before him, he appeared keen on his religion and was never shy to demonstrate his devotion, often chanting verses from the Quoran for minutes at a time at public functions.

This didn’t go down well with followers of other faiths, especially Christians who thought the Governor was out to promote his religion at the expense of others. Once or twice public servants have observed holidays connected with Islam that were before then not on the state calendar. Even more worrisome for many, was the idea that the Governor was trying to introduce so-called pagan practices to people of the State. Rather than assuaging the fears of those who saw the Governor as elevating Islam above Christianity or, indeed, seeing it as a demonstration of his ecumenical spirit, they criticise him for his pagan ways.

All said, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola has dabbled rather too freely in matters of religion than he ought to, although without the kind of malice or ill-will that some have often read into it. His is a clear case of unwitting involvement in a potentially volatile and disruptive issue that is best left in the private realm. The challenge for him now is how best to control the damage that has been done.

His recent meeting with the General Overseer of the RCCG, Pastor E.A. Adeboye may be one such step aimed at reassuring worried Christians as were the street decorations that ushered in the Christmas and New Year festivities last year. But more than all this, the Governor will need to cut down on his public display of religiosity. He surely takes his religion seriously as do many Nigerians. But for a leader not to alienate his followers, he must make the effort to respect their sensitivities. Without realising it, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola might have woken the sleeping trouble of religious fanaticism with the yanga of his own devotion.