Some Christian leaders in Ibadan have condemned one of the Mogaji (household heads) of Ibadan, Mogaji Asimiyu Ariori, for what they described as an attack on Christianity.
Christian leaders, who spoke to journalists on Tuesday in Ibadan, described Ariori’s outburst as likely to provoke a religious war in the ancient city.
Our correspondent reports that Ariori appeared on a live radio show, Bembe Oro, hosted by duo Saheed Alatise and Salawat Lukman on Noble 107.1 FM in Ibadan on Tuesday morning.
When asked how many wives he had, Ariori claimed he had 25 because he was not a Christian, who usually has only one wife with many concubines.
Ariori, during the broadcast monitored by DAILY POST, said he made the decision to avoid fornication, unlike Christians who usually have only one wife but still commit adultery.
“Do you know what Christianity has done to our society? It only allows a man to marry one woman. Some of them will have a wife and 30 concubines. I have 25. I am not a Christian who will have a wife and 30 concubines,” he said.
Some Christian leaders in Ibadan, while reacting, described the statement made by Ariori as unfortunate and likely to provoke a religious crisis. They advised the Mogaji to apologize and seek forgiveness from the Christian community.
A Christian leader in Ibadan South West Local Government Area, Mr. Olu Olugbenga, described Ariori’s statement as derogatory to the Christian population.
He said: “His statement is inspiring. It’s not good at all. When he was asked to mention the number of his wives, I expected him to stop when he mentioned 25 wives. The claim that Christians marry only one wife and 30 concubines is inciting and can cause a religious crisis.
Elder Joseph Akande of Ibadan North Local Government Area, while speaking, urged Ariori to tender a public apology to the Christian community.
“It’s a Mogaji. I expect him not to say that sort of thing. It is inciting and discriminatory against Christians. I expect him to issue a public apology. I don’t expect Mogaji to get involved in market leadership issues because he is not one of them,” he said.
Another Christian leader from Oluyole, Pa Kola Olaosebikan, advised the Mogaji to apologize within seven days before four media outlets.
“His statement is unfortunate. We expect him to apologize within seven days, and failing that, we will ask the Olubadan and his family to remove him from office. It’s a Mogaji. I’m sure he will have Muslims, Christians and even traditionalists in his family. So why is he making such a statement?
A leader of the Ido Church, Mr. James Ishola, said a good leader does not discriminate on the basis of religion.
“A good leader does not utter such a statement. A good leader does not discriminate based on religion. It is very unfortunate that a head of a family who has followers of different religions in his family should make such a statement. He should apologize to us and stop making such statements in future,” Ishola warned.
