In what looks like an unending supremacy battle, Muslims and Osun devotees again clashed in Ilorin penultimate weekend as Islamic cleric stormed Yemoja community in a bid to stop the traditional worshippers from performing their rites at a river in the community.

For the umpteenth time, a rowdy scene broke out when some Muslim clerics and Osun devotees clashed in the Yemoja area of Ilorin, Kwara State penultimate weekend. The latest clash occurred when some traditional worshippers performed some rites at Yemoja River, prompting the Muslims to confront the traditionalists at the river bank.

A group of Islamic clerics led by one Imam Baba Olokuta Agidi was said to have threatened to deal with the traditionalists if they did not desist from carrying out the rites at the river; a development that was said to have angered the traditionalists.

The cleric and some Muslim leaders had got wind of the activities of the Osun devotees through a video posted on social media, that they were making sacrifices at the river, but they did not know their exact location. Irked by the development, the Muslim leaders fruitlessly combed the town for three days to know the whereabouts of the Osun devotees.

Their search paid off penultimate Sunday when they were tipped off that the Osun devotees were visiting the river again. The Muslim clerics stormed the riverside and confronted the traditionalists.

A video obtained by our correspondent shows that a group of traditional religion worshippers also warned the Islamic clerics not to test their will.

“We are at the Iyemoja River, because we saw a footage posted on the social media wherein it was claimed that some people parading themselves as traditionalists came to this river to offer sacrifices and that they would be seriously dealt with. However, what amazes us is the fact that this river is called Yemoja River and not Zem Zem River (in Mecca, Saudi Arabia).

“As far as we are concerned the people behind the threat to poison the river with charms if we traditionalists come to carry out sacrifices here are just blabbing. They (Muslim clerics) should desist from issuing threats to us.

“Won’t passersby that drink from this Yemoja River die if the clerics make good their threat to poison this river just because we traditionalists come here to make appeasement?

“Do the Muslims intend to kill other people that drink from this Yemoja River? And what do Muslims want to do with this river by asking us not to come here and threatening to poison it?

“The Muslims are calling us idol worshippers, but we want to let them know that we are genuine indigenes of Ilorin. We are traditionalists and we can never be ashamed of our religion.

“Therefore, this Yemoja River we are standing beside, should any Muslim cleric come here to do evil to the water, such person would face calamity before he gets home.

“May water kill anyone that comes to this river to do evil. Anyone that attempts to poison this river because of us will be swept away alongside his children by the river.

“We traditional worshippers are peace loving people. Hence it is absurd to hear that some people have been threatening to kill those who come to carry out sacrifices here.

“We are warning you (Muslim clerics) to stop threatening us, because we also have charms that we inherited from our forebears and we might be forced to bring them out to liberate ourselves.

“As you can see, the water the Muslims said is laced with poisonous substance is what we are drinking now and nothing has happened to us.”

The traditionalists had barely finished their comments when a group of Muslim clerics stormed the scene and an altercation ensued. In the middle of the confrontation, the Muslim leaders led by Imam Baba Olokutaagidi again warned the traditionalists never to set their foot on the river again.

There was eruption of cacophony of voices as the Muslim leaders said they would resist any attempt by the traditionalist to use the river for sacrifices.

They said the Yemoja community where the river is located is not the name of the river. Rather, Imam Baba Olokutaagidi said the river is known as Odo (River) Oko Olowo.

Hear them: “We have come back to confront those idol worshippers at the Odo (River) Oko Olowo.

“This river is not where you idol worshippers can make sacrifices or appeasement at all.

“We will not tolerate that. We don’t want Osun river worshipping in Ilorin.”

When the confrontation subsided, Imam Baba Olokutaagidi reiterated that the traditional worshippers were not welcomed in the community.

He said: “The matter on ground does not call for altercation or fighting except you (traditionalists) want to fight, and we would advise you to bring it on because we are ready for you.

“The Mogaji (community leader) is here with us. He was duly turbaned by Ilorin monarch and he is a Muslim…”

In the course of the confrontation, one of the Muslim leaders at the scene interrupted Imam Baba Olokutaagidi declaring the traditional worshippers as persona non grata.

“We don’t want anything that has to do with do with idol worshipping at this river…we are also spiritually endowed but we chose to run away from trouble… I am not happy seeing you here and I do not want you to wait for too long here…

“We trailed you to this area and the presence of these clerics here means that the Emir of Ilorin is aware of their mission here…we have been seeing the sacrificial pots not far away from here, and a car crash just occurred this morning here (suggesting there is a link between the sacrifice and the accident).”

Continuing, Imam Baba Agba Olokutaagidi said that he was alerted to the activities of the traditional worshippers at the river three days earlier. Hence, he decided to trail them.

He said: “Three days ago, I was alerted that some idol worshippers were carrying out sacrifices at River (Yemoja) Oko Olowo. We tried in vain to locate the exact axis of the river until around 11pm when we saw a post on the social media which detailed how some idol worshippers robed in white apparel with heathen pots emerged from three commercial tricycles and went to this river to carry out sacrifices. Hence, I came to this river three days ago and threatened to lace the river with a poisonous substance.

“Any religious activity that is at variance with our religious beliefs in Ilorin that would make anyone to come and worship this river, such persons will end up leaving here with calamity.

“We brought some Tirah, which we intended to use to teach these idol worshippers a bitter lesson. Unfortunately, it started raining and we couldn’t bring out the Tirah as rain water could render it ineffective.

“We then promised that we shall return to confront the idol worshippers with our Tirah some other time when rain would not prevent us from bringing it out from the underneath of our dress to teach them a lesson. Hence we are here today.

“Although we are not your enemies, we would not accept anything that is ungodly from you. You cannot worship river goddess in Ilorin, the city of Alimi. We won’t accept it.

“What we know about Ilorin is that it is not a city of pagans. They cannot revive a culture of paganism that has long been eradicated in Ilorin.

“Prophet Muhammed (SWT) was instructed by Allah to eradicate paganism in Mecca and he did. So also paganism has long been cancelled here in Ilorin and cannot be revived again.

“We cannot ask those of you who are indigenes of Ilorin not to live here, but we cannot allow you people to give Ilorin a bad name.

“We don’t want to see anyone of you at this river anymore. If we hear that you idol worshippers carry out any sacrifice in any river anywhere in Ilorin, we will come for you and ensure that such persons become physically disabled when they get home.

“Although this community is called Yemoja, this river is not Yemoja River, and as such cannot be used as an excuse to worship it. The leaders of this community are here and you people should behave yourselves. We don’t want any celebration of Isese festival in Ilorin.”

The traditional ruler of Yemoja community, Alhaji Mogaji, explained that he tried in vain to prevent the traditionalists from carrying out sacrifices at the river.

“We learnt that they (Osun devotees) were at the river and that others were coming to this river in three commercial tricycles, and I asked my people to block the path to the river with logs of wood.

“When they eventually arrived, we denied them access to the river. However, their colleagues who had finished their propitiations and were coming from the riverside threatened that we would be swept away by the river if we tried to stop them and other Osun devotees from using the river, and we were upset by their comments.

“I was born and raised here in Yemoja Village and my forebears never offered sacrifices to this river. We are all Muslims in this community.”

However, the traditional worshippers vowed to resist any further attack or intimidation from Muslims who they claimed were fond of stopping them from freely practising their religion.

“The Muslim clerics said they had poisoned the river and that is why we went to the river and drank from it and nothing has happened to us as we speak.

“We traditional worshippers will never be afraid of Muslims. The fight has just begun and we will stand by our members in any part of Kwara State.

“Despite the attempts to stop us from using the river, we are also taking some steps on that matter and we will never be afraid of the Muslims.”

The latest clash trails a recent warning issued by a Muslim group to an Osun priestess not to go ahead with her plan to celebrate Isese (traditional) festival in Ilorin in her own interest.

The priestess, Yeye Adesikemi Olokun Omolara Olatunji, had reportedly released fliers on the social media announcing a three-day festival aimed at celebrating some Yoruba deities.

Members of the Muslim group Majlisu Shabab li Ulamahu Society had stormed the residence of the priestess Yeye to stop her from hosting the event and imposed a ban on any form of Isese traditional religion festivals in five local governments in Kwara State.

The four local governments are Ilorin West, Ilorin East, Ilorin South and Asa.

Members of the group, in a viral video posted on Facebook a few weeks ago by one Arowolo Abdulfatai, said the visit followed reports of an imminent traditional festival known as Isese, which was to be hosted by the priestess.

The development has since been generating mixed reactions across the country with people speaking for or against the attempt to stop traditional worshippers from freely practising their religion.

Nobel laureate Prof Wole Soyinka, in an open letter to the Emir of Ilorin recently, condemned the development, saying: “It is sad to see the ancient city of Ilorin, a confluence of faiths and ethnic varieties, reduced to this level of bigotry and intolerance, manifested in the role of a presiding monarch.

“Your Royal Highness, it is conduct like this that has bred Boko Haram, ISIS, ISWAP and other religious malformations that currently plague this nation, spreading grief and outrage across a once peaceful landscape, degrading my and your existence with their virulent brand of Islam,” he said.

“It is conduct like this that has turned, before our very eyes, a once ecumenical city like Kaduna into a blood-stained mockery of cohabitation. It is conduct like this that makes it possible for a young student, Deborah, to be lynched in the very presence of armed police, on mere allegation of having belittled the image of a revered prophet.

OSun river

“It is action of this nature, perpetrated in obscure as well as prominent outlets of the nation that turns a young generation into mindless monsters, ever ready to swarm out and kill, kill, kill. Simply kill for the thrill of it, but under presumption of religious immunity.

“It is conduct like this that then nerves one extremist to wake up one day in a Scandinavian country, publicly announce his intention, and proceed to make a bonfire of copies of the Qur’an.

“Reprisals followed, equally mindless, trapping humanity in an ever-ascending spiral of costly but gleeful violence.”

He added: “…rein in those agents of division, of triumphalist intolerance, such as the Majlisu Shabab Ulamahu Society. There is a thin line between power and piety.”

“Call Yeye Ajasikemi OIokun Omolara to your side, make peace with her and make restitution whichever way you can for this grievous insult to our race. We know the history of Ilorin and the trajectory of your dynasty – but these are not the issues.

“The issue is peaceful cohabitation, respect for other worldviews, their celebrations, their values and humanity. The issue is the acceptance of the multiple facets of human enlightenment.”