Next tomorrow will mark it exactly 72 years since Alfa Bisiriyu Apalara was murdered by Isese pagans.
The history of Islam in Yorubaland cannot be complete without mentioning the name of Alfa Bisiriyu Apalara, a fearless outspoken Muslim cleric who was murdered by Isese idol worshippers. The history of this outspoken Yoruba Muslim voice who gave his life spreading Islam. This history will serve as an inspiration to young Yoruba Muslims.
Apalara was born in Itoko, a town in the outskirts of Abeokuta, he had Quranic studies and elementary education before he went to Lagos to work as a carpenter. As a young man in Lagos and far away from home, Apalara joined Isese cult, which in Nigeria is often in connected with occult activities, pagan rituals and secret cults. In 1945, he was imprisoned on the charges of theft. While serving in Prison, Allah shone his light on the heart of Apalara.By 1950, Apalara had gone through a transformation, he started praying regularly and fasting. Once out of Prison, he experienced a religious epiphany and dedicated his life to preaching Islam and destroying the occult gangs which terrorized Lagos.
Once released, he garnered widespread attention, delivering relentless sermons against Isese pagan beliefs, Yoruba rituals, and criminal activities. He became famous for his polemics, and his success in drawing large numbers of converts to Islam. Despite being repeatedly threatened by Isese pagan cultists, and even suffering an assassination attempt, he continued with his mission undeterred.
In January, 1953, Apalara was invited to come and preach in Oko Baba, a neighborhood in Ebute Metta and a stronghold of Isese cultists. Apalara took the threats to his life seriously and paid for the services of a policeman for his crusade in Oko Baba. On January 3, 1953 during his sermon in Oko Baba, Apalara was abducted by a group of Isese cultists, the policeman and most of his congregation ran away. He was struck by an object and was initially dragged into a nearby house. The dragging of Apalara’s body to the house was the last time Apalara was seen by someone not connected to his murder.
In 1953, while preaching Islam in the Isese cultist stronghold Oko Baba neighbourhood of Lagos, Apalara was murdered by pagans, dying a mar :tyr for his faith and an inspiration for his fellow believers.
Decades later, another Yoruba Muslim leader, Shaykh Safwan Ibikunle Bello Akodo (d.2003), took up Apalara’s cause and met a similar end. A native of Epe, near Lagos, he preached against the participation of Yoruba Muslims in pagan cult practices, such as the Oro cult and the Egungun masquerade. He was famous for attacking the worship of the traditional Yoruba gods and goddesses in every Friday sermon. Like Apalara, he was threatened and saw his property vandalized. Finally, a group of cultists attacked him in the street with swords, beheading him and carving out his beating heart. This brutal ending marked him as a martyr against polytheism, reminiscent of the Companion Hamza ibn Abd al-Muttalib at the Battle of Badr.
The history of Islam in Yorubaland is a story of struggle, faith and resilience. through Islam’s history in Yorubaland, neither pagan kings, Christian missionaries, nor vigilante thugs have been able to arrest the slow and steady progress of Islam in this corner of Africa. While in the age of Oyo, Islam was a foreign and alien religion, today it is an integral fixture of life. Islam is irreversibly rooted in Yoruba culture; it is an accomplishment of centuries, built painstakingly through every mosque, institution, town, family, and individual soul.
Oppression against Yoruba Muslims did not start today. Yoruba Muslims, Freedom is coming soon Insha Allah.
Be patient, remain steadfast, have your faith in Allah and stand for your fundamental human right. We will be called extremists, terrorists, fundamentalists, fanatics but we won’t relent on our goal Insha Allah. Our Motivation is from Allah, and our inspiration from Alfa Bisiriyu Apalara and Sheikh Shaykh Safwan Ibikunle Bello Akodo (may Allah be pleased with them).
Author Unknown
