And the reason is because it connotes “idolatry” in a context that is supposedly known for Islamic religious purity. The Fulani dynasty that was enforced on Ilorin met a Yoruba cultural heritage that it successfully subordinated and eventually supplanted. And yet, that did not thoroughly eradicate the remnant of that Yoruba culture from surviving and multiplying within the crevices of the Ilorin Islamic “purity”. And I concede the virulent role that Christianity—especially in its Pentecostal mode—has played in undermining and negating African rich cultural heritage. It is this openness to others that the Ilorin religious elites must relearn as part of their genuine understanding of what religious sensibility demands in a plural society.

Source: Nigerian Tribune July 24, 2023 17:19 UTC