Don’t allow religion to divide our state, expose and shun those plotting such, he adds
By Jeph Ajobaju, Chief Copy Editor
Oyo Governor Seyi Makinde has counselled Muslim community leaders in the state not to yield to any suggestion by individuals or groups to divide the people along religious lines.
Makinde made the appeal when he hosted some Muslim leaders in his office in Agodi, Ibadan on the backdrop of a plan by Oyo branch of the Supreme Council for Shariah in Nigeria (SCSN) to establish a Shariah Court in the state on 11 January 2025, a proposal now shelved upon public outcry against it.
He reiterated to the Islamic clerics that there are individuals who would profit from religious division and urged those inclined to do so change their mind.
He commended the Muslim community in the state for their “immense support” for his administration.
On the food stampede that occurred last week at Islamic High School, Bashorun, Ibadan and cost lives, Makinde gave an assurance to the public that the law would take its due course to prevent future occurrence.
His words: “I will keep saying it: if people want to divide us along religious or political lines, we as leaders must resist that attempt and expose them.
“So, I want to say that it is our state; some have come and gone, and I will go too. Whatever we do for our state is what the successor will meet and continue from there.
“I am begging you that we should resist their attempts because there are people who will profit from our division. But if we don’t allow division, they will go elsewhere.
“So, I want to use this opportunity to say that if there are certain people using the issue to play politics, they should have a rethink and constantly stay on the side of the law.”
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