MY CANDID OPINION & RESPONSE to the utterances of the person who calls himself the Chief Imam of “Yoruba General”

By Administrators On May 10, 2018

By LUKMAN IMAM

1. Apart from the very valid point of the dominance of the Fulanis in some areas which originally belonged to the Yorubas, his utterances are false and mischievously misleading. Am not aware of, and certainly, there is NO person in Ilorin or Kwara State known as the Chief Imam of Yorubas. Neither in Ilorin nor in any part of Kwara State there is any particular mosque for the Yorubas and any other mosque (s) for non – Yorubas.

2. On the dominance of the Fulanis, there is little or nothing anybody can do about it. Sheikh Alimi came with Islam and the entire Ilorin indigenes (made up of Yorubas, Nupes, Kannikes, Barubas, Gobiris and Fulanis) accepted the religion. Though, there are 6 ethnic groups in Ilorin, Islam remains the unifying factor and they are ALL always ready to defend the ILORIN EMIRATE which they see as a symbol of Islam. That is why it has always been extremely difficult to sell the idea of an “Oba” in place of the Emir to an average Ilorin man. Contrary to his false claim, there is the position of Amir امير in Islam. Amir means leader. It is pronounced as “Emir” in this part of the world. In Saudi Arabia, the over all head is called “King”, while the head of each city is known as “Amir”. For example, Amir Mecca. The over all head of Oman, an Arab nation, is called Amir. The leader of Brunel, a very rich Muslim nation, is called Sultan. The popular Sultan of Brunel. The self acclaimed Chief Imam is an ignoramus, publicly celebrating his ignorance.

3. The progenitor of the Yorubas in Ilorin, Afonja, an Oyo native, betrayed his master, Alaafin, who appointed him to govern Ilorin. He became power drunk and wanted to be autonomous. He sought the assistance of the Fulanis and defeated the Oyo army. He later went into war with the Fulanis over political control of Ilorin, but he was defeated. For about 210 years now, the Fulanis have been in control and asking them to go now is an almost impossible task. It is like asking the white citizens of South Africa to leave after about 190 years of existence in the country. So, the Yorubas should blame their father, Afonja, for his treacherous act against his land, Oyo.

4. The man who claims to be the Chief Imam of Yoruba land is a miseducated and mischievous ignoramus. Contrary to his claims, his utterances are obvious signs that he is not well grounded in Arabic Language. His Arabic utterances in the video contain some unpardonable grammatical irregularities. 9 years in Saudi Arabia indeed !!!

5. His mischievous interpretations of names like Hajara, Muftau, Wasila and Mistura further exhibit his shallow knowledge of Arabic Language and little understanding of Islam. A self acclaimed “Chief Imam” who does not know proper meanings of common Muslim names.

6. Hajar literarily means stone. However, in Islam a person is named Hajar in honour of Hajar Alaswad, the precious black stone at Ka’abah, the holy building of Islam in Mecca. So, it is not an ordinary stone.

7. Muftau means key. In Islam, a person is named Muftau which is the short form of مفتاح النور Muftau Noor meaning, the key to light, or مفتاح الهدى Muftau Lihuda meaning, the key to guidance, or مفتاح الجنة Muftau Lijannat meaning, the key to paradise, all of which are some of the attributes and names of Prophet Muhammad (SAW).

8. Waseelat وسيلة gramatically means a means or medium to get to one’s destination, the way or the path to get to or attain one’s goal or ambition. In Islam, a person is named Waseelat which is the short form of Waseelat Likhair meaning, the way to goodness or the means to success. Yorubas call it Wosila just as they call Gabriel, Gebu and Samuel, Saamu. The self acclaimed “Chief Imam” has mischievously interpreted the name Waseelat to mean ladder because it is also a means to get to a particular place.

9. Mistura مسطرة means ruler, scale, measurement etc. In Islam, a person is named Mistura meaning the straight path just like ruler which is equally straight. The miseducated fellow has mischievously interpreted the name Mistura to mean an ordinary ruler which students use to draw lines.

10. Apata, which ordinarily means rock, is a popular family name in Yoruba land. It will be mischievous of anybody to state that a Yoruba man names his child “stone or rock”, because the intended meaning is “as solid and reliable as rock”.

11. Ekun, which means tiger, is a famous family name in Ibadan, while Kekere-Ekun, which means small tiger, is a famous family name in Lagos. When a person is referred to or called Ekun, tiger, it means he is brave, audacious and adventurous. It will be mischievous of me to call that person an animal, because Ekun is an animal.

12. Some people bear the name Okin, peacock, as a result of beauty. Should they be called birds ?!! Most Ijebus and Egbas have surnames like Soyinka, Sholarin, Shotimehin, Soleye. In Yoruba Language, Osho means a wizard (a male witch). But among the Ijebus and Egbas, Osho is regarded as a brave warrior. Erinfolami is the surnames of some families in Yoruba land. One of my family’s praises is ” Omo Erin” which means “the child of elephant”. It doesn’t mean an elephant gave birth to me. Elephant symbolizes strength, courage, ruggedness and invincibility. It means, that person can not be easily conquered, over powered or dominated. The elephant is the logo of First Bank…Big, Strong and Reliable.

13. The surname of my English Language teacher in Secondary School, an Indian, is Kwarjah, which means lion in his native Hindi language. Should we call him the son of an animal ??

14. As a student of Arabic Language, an Ilorin indigene and most importantly, as a Muslim, I have painstakingly taken my time to analyse the video in order to put the records straight and correct the wrong impressions the misleading utterances of the mischievous self acclaimed “scholar” might have created, particularly concerning some Muslim names.

15. Finally, two things are certain:

i) He is an ignorant fellow

ii) He is being sponsored or he is deliberately being mischievous in order to cause anarchy and civil disturbances.

Whatever his devilish intention, I have nothing to say, except :

ومكروا ومكر الله والله خير الماكرين