By Sanusi Lafiagi
The blasphemous and sacrilegious statement credited to Afenifere, a Yoruba socio-cultural group, (and published by Sahara Reporters) comparing the plight of Sunday Igboho to that suffered by the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ is a great insult to Islām and Muslims all over the world. It behoves every Muslim, especially of Yoruba extraction to publicly condemn this blatant disrespect to our religion and demand an unreserved apology from them. The ignorance exhibited by the group about the Prophet ﷺ shows how lowly the so-called Yoruba nation agitators think of Muslims. Why did the group deem it fit to travel far into the 7th century to find a comparison for a thug when I could have simply compared him to Afonja?
Sunday Igboho is NOTHING compared to Prophet Muhammad ﷺ for the following reasons:
1. Muhammad ﷺ was a Prophet and Messenger of Allāh. He was divinely anointed and heavenly guided. Sunday Igboho, by his own admission, is a political thug and hire-for-pay warlord whose conscience is sold to the highest bidder.
2. Muhammad ﷺ spent 13 years in the hostile plains of Makkah preaching Unity of Allāh and devotion to His worship. In spite of the persecution (including summary execution) that he and his followers faced, it is NOT on record that he instigated them against the system or called for secession. Sunday Igboho on the other hand resorted to self-help and terrorised innocent northerners (remember that only a court of competent jurisdiction can declare anyone guilty of crimes brought against them), leading to deaths and destruction of invaluable properties. He instigated a violent insurrection against the system.
3. Muhammad ﷺ advanced the cause of humanity and was vehemently opposed to tribal bigotry and jingoism. He abolished the class system and preached the equality of mankind before Allāh. Sunday Igboho on the other hand is a tribal bigot who advanced ethnic cause and preached the superiority of Yoruba to the Hausa and Fulani ethnic groups. He described the latter as parasites and cancer, who are feeding fat on the fortunes of the Yorubas.
4. Muhammad ﷺ belonged to all who professed faith in Allāh and submitted to His worship. Despite that, he treated even his worst enemies with fairness and justice. He never at any time supported the corrupt system that operated in Makkah.
Sunday Igboho on the other hand (by his own admission) is a bonafide member of PDP who participated actively in election malpractices that foisted insecurity and corruption in society. His last political outing with the current governor of Oyo State, Engineer Seyi Makinde, was in Kogi state, during the election that earned governor Yahya Bello for the second term in office. This, it is not far-fetched to say that Igboho’s agitation, just like his counterpart’s, Nnamdi Kanu of IPOB is LARGELY (to put it mildly) political!
5. Muhammad ﷺ migrated to Madīnah to establish an Islamic state where members will be able to live freely and practise Islām without fear of torture and persecution. As a precursor to this flight, he had earlier sent his followers in groups first to Abyssinia, and later to Madīnah to take refuge while he stayed back. Neither did he leave his followers behind, nor fly to hide from the powers that be. Muhammad ﷺ wasn’t a coward. Sunday Igboho, like Ojukwu and his mentee, Nnamdi Kanu, fled the scene after causing trouble (leading to the death and arrest of some of his followers) to enjoy the warmth of his wife and kids. He’s a coward and rabble-rouser who has no balls!
6. Muhammad ﷺ fought the Makkans ONLY after he had settled in Madīnah and established an Islamic state with all its political and administrative apparatuses. The first battle, Badr, came about a year after his settlement in Madīnah. At the time, the majority of his followers had fled Makkah. Thus, he was able to provide maximum protection and support for them in the friendly and serene terrains of Madīnah. Sunday Igboho on the other hand wants to cause an uprising that will not only destroy the lives of millions of Yorubas living across the country but will also ground the nation’s fragile economy and heap more difficulty on innocent people.
7. Muhammad ﷺ was severally persecuted and harassed on the street of Makkah, yet he remained undeterred in his mission. He didn’t run away or stockpile arms to force liberation. There were days that he was attached even while observing Salāt. Sunday Igboho on the other hand is an oppressor and lout who publicly harassed first class Obas of Yorubaland and threatened violence. He’s on tape to have threatened to kill the Ooni of Ife and Bola Ahmed Tinubu, attack the palaces of some prominent Obas, mocked pastor Adeboye over the death of his son, and traded insults with Gani Adams.
8. Muhammad ﷺ was NOT a magician. He didn’t practice magic or boast of diabolical powers. Sunday Igboho, as it turns out is a jester, a lousy idiot, a comic actor and an empty shell of nothingness. One would expect that by now, given his incessant JuJu braggadocio, the security forces that invaded his house would have turned into fowls or that he wouldn’t need to go through an airport to disappear into thin air. Alas! The acclaimed warrior of Ife-Modakeke communal clash disappointed his cheerleaders and fans by not living up to expectations!!!
Therefore, comparing the noble Prophet of Islām to a nuisance like Igboho is a great disservice to humanity and an insult to the sensibilities of Muslims all over the world. It should be retracted immediately and an apology tendered.
Sanusi Lafiagi is a lecturer of Islamic Studies at the Al-Hikmah University, Ilorin, Kwara State.
