One of the Mogaji (family heads) in Ibadan, Mogaji Asimiyu Ariori, has been denounced by several Christian leaders in Ibadan for what they see as an attack on Christianity.
On Tuesday in Ibadan, Christian leaders told reporters that Ariori’s outburst could spark a religious war in the historic city.
According to our correspondent on the ground in Ibadan on Tuesday morning, Ariori was a guest on the live radio show Bembe Oro, hosted by Saheed Alatise and Salawat Lukman on Noble 107.1 FM.
Ariori responded that he has 25 wives when asked how many he has, claiming that he is not a Christian and hence does not have the standard one wife and several concubines setup.
During the MISMOB -monitored program, Ariori explained that he made the conscious decision to abstain from fornication. This is in contrast to Christians, who often have only one wife but still commit adultery.
“Do you realize what Christianity has caused to our society? It restricts a man to having only one legal wife. One of them might have 30 concubines in addition to his one wife. I have 25. “I’m not a Christian who’s going to have one wife and a houseful of mistresses,” he declared.
When asked for their reaction, some Ibadan-based Christian clergy members criticized Ariori’s comments as potentially inciting a theological crisis. They recommended that the Mogaji apologize and beg forgiveness from the local Christians.
As a response, Mr. Olu Olugbenga, a Christian leader in the Ibadan South West Local Government Area, said that Ariori’s comments were offensive to the area’s Christian community.
His words, he said, “are provocative. It’s really not very good. I thought he’d stop at 25 wives when they asked how many he had, but he kept going. That Christians should only have one wife and 30 concubines is inflammatory and could spark a religious war.
During his speech, Elder Joseph Akande of the Ibadan North Local Government Area called on Ariori to apologize to the Christians in Nigeria.
A Mogaji, that man is. I don’t think he’d say something like that. It’s hateful and offensive because it targets Christians. I anticipate an apology on his part. “The Mogaji is not one of those people who meddles in market leadership issues,” he remarked.
Pa Kola Olaosebikan, another Christian leader from Oluyole, urged the Mogaji to publicly apologize in four media outlets within seven days.
It’s unfortunate that he said that. Within seven days, we expect an apology from him; else, we would urge the Olubadan and his family to remove him from office. That guy is a Mogaji. I have no doubt that he comes from a diverse family that includes Muslims, Christians, and even traditionalists. To what end, then, is he making such a claim?
Mr. James Ishola, the pastor of a church in Ido, once observed that a wise leader never shows favoritism toward any particular faith.
“A good leader does not express such a statement. A competent leader doesn’t hold anyone’s religious beliefs above anyone else’s. It’s tragic that the patriarch of a family that includes people of many faiths would say anything like that. Ishola cautioned that “he should apologize to us and desist from uttering such statements in the future.”
Mismob Media