A coalition of Yoruba groups has voiced its opposition to the proposed introduction of Sharia in Yoruba land, describing the plan as a conscious and tailor-made plot to destabilise the region through organised sponsorship of divisive, retrogressive and dangerous proposals with the aim of causing confusion, disunity and raise the spectre of intra-Yoruba conflict to the delight of the enemies of the Yoruba race.

The groups under the aegis of pan-Yoruba groups representing artisans, workers, students, community based groups, traders, professionals and self-determination groups across Yoruba territories in the country denounced the plot, arguing that ?the introduction of Sharia cannot improve the economic, political, social and cultural deficit in Yoruba land.

A statement signed by the leaders of the over 30 group-coalition, including Oodua Peoples Congress (OPC) (Reformed), Alliance for Yoruba Democratic Movements, (AYDM), South West Professional Forum, (SOWPROF), Federation for Yoruba Consciousness and Culture (FYCC), South West Women Congress, (SWWC), Lagos Progressives Development Front (LPDF), among several others, said that the introduction of Sharia in Yoruba land was not the panacea to solving the myriad of challenges confronting the Yoruba race.

The said: ?That Yoruba land, though seen as the most economically developed territory in West Africa, attained this feat not through theocracy, but by the hard work, commitment, determination of our forefathers who were both Muslims, Christians and Traditional worshipers.

?That the poverty, misery, lack of access to good health, increasing number of school dropouts, lack of access to economic and political powers by poor Yoruba people, are direct results of poor, visionless and irresponsible leadership which the introduction of Sharia cannot and will not curb.?

The statement noted that the 12 northern states where the penal code had been introduced are characterized by poverty, corruption, high mortality rate, terrorism, violence and unprecedented human misery.

?Zamfara State, for instance, has a 74 per cent poverty rate while 62 per cent live in poverty; Katsina has 74.1per cent poverty rate. In fact, Sokoto, the headquarters of the Caliphate, which also operates Sharia has the highest poverty rate in Nigeria at 79.9 per cent. While the Sharia states have the poorest of the poor, the political leaders that introduced Sharia in these states are some of the richest in the world.

?The Sharia states are currently theatres of war, strife, killings and kidnapping driven by crisis of faith while the Sharia states also have the highest rate of instability in Nigeria. This is the dream of the tiny clique that wishes to Talibanise Yoruba Nation; they often learn nothing from history, until their self-destruction is evident.

?The hypocritical aspect of Sharia in these states is the bias implementation of the law whereby the rich continue to exploit the poor, steal billions of Naira and go scot free, while the poor and the impoverished who steal fowl have their hands chopped off;

?We observe a conscious and tailor-made plot to destabilise Yoruba land through organised sponsorship of divisive, retrogressive and dangerous proposals that will end up causing confusion, disunity and raise the spectre of intra-Yoruba conflict to the delight of our eternal foes.

?We, the true representatives of Yoruba people hereby strongly oppose the introduction of Sharia in any part of Oduduwa land of Lagos, Ogun, Oyo, Osun, Ekiti, Delta, Kogi, Edo, Kwara and Ondo states,? the statement reads in part. (Sunday Sun)

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