The call to Yoruba nationalism, just like other forms of nationalistic causes, be it Arab nationalism or Biafra nationalism, is a call to Jaahiliyyah which Islam came to obliterate.
The Messenger of Allaah - sallallahu alayhi wa sallam - said:
'ألا إنّ كلَّ شيÙØ¡ من أمر٠الجاهلية٠تØتَ قدمي موضوعٌ
'Every matter from the affairs of Jaahiliyyah is under my two feet blotted out...' (Saheeh Muslim (1218)
Ethnic jingoism and bigotry has no place in Islam. It is a matter from the culture of the Period of Ignorance.
The reality from the call to Yoruba nationalism is to return the Yorubas to their state of internecine wars before the advent of the British.
The Arabs too had such wars before Islam. Theirs was so silly that they would fight over cattle grazing on another clan's pasture. The war over that could go on for decades. But when Islam came, all of that became history. The civil war about forty years after the demise of the Prophet - sallallahu alayhi wa sallam - was brief and Islamically settled when one of the warring parties abdicated as was prophesied by the Prophet - sallallahu alayhi wa sallam.
It is a documented historical fact that the Yorubas fought bloody wars among themselves. It was a series of wars which all the Iseses combined could not resolve rather they fueled it because it was somewhat a battle of whose magic was greater than others. Though the magic failed all of them because the superior arms of the British sent jitters down the spines of the Baloguns of all the factions.
The Old Ọ̀yá»Ì Empire collapsed in 1836 via the infamous Afonja/Ilorin debacle.
After the collapse, the Ibadans sought to take charge of the rulership of the empire as far as Dahomey. This met a brickwall from other Yorubas like the Ijayes and the New Oyo rulers.
Kurumi of Ìjà yè, who was the Are Onakakanfo of the time, would not take that nonsense from the Ibadans. He said Aláà fin Atiba of New Oyo should take charge. Ibadan was recalcitrant, Balogun Latoosa (called Latoosa by Samuel Ajayi Crowther and some other Western historians) and the rest of Ibadan tested warriors (who had defeated the Ilorins at Oshogbo in 1840) felt they were better positioned for leadership.
So in 1861, Ibadan-Ìjà yè War broke out. The Ẹ̀gbas supported the Ijayes, later the Ijebus and the Ilorins. It was a brutal war between Yoruba brothers, and some foreigners (the Ilorins in this case).
Ibadan won the war in 1862 when the Remos and Ikorodus helped the British transport arms to the Ibadans at the battlefronts.
After the war, Ẹ̀gbas and Ijebus 'punished' the British by banning them from entering their territories, and sending the missionaries away. Henry Townsend's Ìwé Ìròyìn publishing house was burnt in Abeokuta. The British would later use force to conquer Ìjẹ̀bú and Ẹ̀gbá.
Ibadan, now poised to lord itself across the Yorùbáland, went southwards to bring the Ekitis and Ijeshas who had 'sececeded' from the central government but wanted a confederation.
So in 1877 the Kiriji War broke out. A larger war between the Yorubas. Ibadan on one side, Ekitis, Ijeshas, Àkókòs, Ilas, Ìgbómìnàs and the Ilorins on another side. That was the culmination of Ekiti Parapos where Fabunmi (of Imesi Ilé) and Ogedemgbe (of Ijesha) showcased their mastery of war.
It was a free flow of Iseses vs Iseses (magic versus magic). Interestingly some people who called themselves Muslims at the time and who found themselves on either side also showcased their 'Muslim' magic (this evil concept of 'Muslim' magic will be discussed later in the series, Inshaa Allaah). In fact there were some of the warriors from Ibadan side that had become 'Muslims' and were proud of their magic.
While Oyo speaking towns like Ikirun, Ede, Modakeke, Ọfà , etc, were allies of Ibadan in the war, Ẹ̀gbá, Ìjẹ̀bú, etc, were allies of the Ekiti Parapo.
The Ekitis had access to modern weapons via Ijebu - Ondo route which Ibadan did not. The Ẹ̀gbas and Ijebus had blocked Ibadan's access to the coast for trade and weapons.
The war raged on till 1886 when the British waded in. Several peace treaties were made until 'a final one' at Imesi Ilé on 23rd September, 1886.
The war ended but the wound lingered on. Since then the Yorubas had been suspicious of one another. The subtle fight for supremacy still persists. The so called common origin and heritage (if you like call it Isese) has not united them.
In a Yoruba nation there is bound to be a lot of crisis. Which city or sub-tribe will first produce the leader? Won't there be a fear of domination by one of the sub-tribes?
The events since the end of the Yoruba civil war has shown that the mutual suspicion still persists. All are Yorubas but some are more Yorubas than others (to borrow George Orwell's nuance from 'Animal Farm').
There has been persistent inter boundary crisis between some of the Yoruba communities. Ifon and Ilobu is an example. Ọfà and Erinle is another. Ise Ekiti and Emure Ekiti is also there. We can go on and on.
The crisis between Modakeke and Ifè can be dated back to the Kiriji War. ÃŒfáº¹Ì was in alliance with the Ekiti Parapo as against the Ibadan and its allies. The Fabunmis had to come and attack Modakeke and inflicted loses on them, afterwhich they stayed to spite Ibadan. So the renewed crises between Ifè and Modakeke (where Sunday Igboho of the infamous Yoruba Nation went and supported Modakeke as a 'Balogun from Ibadan') is not farfetched from the reverberations of the Kiriji War.
The wound is still everywhere.
Several Yoruba social, political and cultural organizations that have been formed give impetus to that.
The Oodua Peoples Congress is in factions. The Agbekoya is in factions. The recent Yoruba Nation noise has been factionalized. The Action Group/UPN and NCNC/NPN crisis of old led to a lot of bloodshed and loss of property, 'Operation Wetie' is an instance.
Some people will probably be seething in anger now. Relax Islam has taken away all that.
If not the spread of Islam, by Allaah, the wound would have become revealed the more. It is Islam making the people to forget the past. It is beyond what Christianity can do (remember it is a religion of many denominations), and it is now clear that Isese would only fuel it more.
Islam seeks to unite its followers under its umbrella. It shakes all forms of tribalism all of them. Ijebu Muslims can now freely marry Ibadan Muslims. Ekiti Muslims can now marry Ikirun Muslims. We all pray in the same manner, face the same direction (for those who ask why we face the Ka'abah not Ifè), fast same month, perform same pilgrimage.
There may be some infinitesimal conflicts among the Muslims but there is a self-cleansing means to always settle that. That is the Qur'aan and Sunnah.
So why are the Iseses at war with those that can really unite the people of different tribes and races?
Don't you have sense?
The series still continues Inshaa Allaah.
