Your choice of Asiwaju Musulumi of Osogbo not acceptable – Olori Alasaro tells Chief Imam

Hours after the appointment of Alhaji Muniru Adebayo Raji as the Asiwaju Musulumi of Osogboland by the Grand Imam of Osogbo, Sheikh Musa Animashaun, the head of Alasaro in Osogbo, Sheikh Sulaiman Ajao Akala, has led Muslim community to kicked against the choice of the Grand Imam.

Sheik Akala who made this known during a press briefing held on Wednesday in Osogbo on behalf of the Muslim community, described the appointment as a unilateral decision.
OsunReporters News earlier reported that Chief Imam Sheikh Musa Animashaun appointed Alhaji Muniru Adebayo Raji as the Asiwaju Musulumi of Osogboland on Tuesday, November 26, 2024.

However, Sheik Akala noted that the appointment was an attempt to create avoidable religious rise and disturb the peace enjoyed by the Osogbo Muslim community.

According to him, “This unilateral decision of the Chief Imam is not only disappointing to the whole Muslim Community but also much unwholesome thus, it is best considered as an attempt to create avoidable religious crises in an otherwise peaceful Osogbo muslim community.

“Islam is a religion of peace which has a complete set of standard principles in virtually all facets of life. Ascendency of Sheik Musa Animashaun to the position of the Chief Imam of Osogboland too is one of the proofs of existence of this set of principles.

“That the Sheik Musa Animashaun suddenly shunned all these Islamic values and norms in his desperate quest to promote a particularly individual for reasons best known to the Imam reveals a lot about the intent which obviously does not include respect, honour and deference Islam accords the leaders among the Ummah.

“Thus, the alleged appointment of Alhaji Muniru Adebayo Raji as the Asiwaju Musulumi of Osogboland is not only unacceptable but also very much demeaning to the collective religious sensibilities of the Muslim Ummah.”

While revealing that the appointee of the Chief Imam of Osogbo land, Alhaji Raji allegedly played a role behind the crisis at the Osogbo Eid Ground on June 28, 2023, Sheik Akala added that it was also reported that he had employed many divisive statement during the last political campaigns.

He stated further; “While we do not want to be seen as stating that being a politician is a crime, Alhaji Muniru Adebayo Raji is garrulous and such a carefree politician who is felt by the public not to be sensitive to the native intelligence of the people of Osogbo.

“One of the instances of this low quality has led him into a legal crisis where he is currently standing trial in Charge No. FHC/OS/60C/2024 Between Inspector General of Police v. Munirudeen Adebayo Raji pending at the Federal High Court, Osogbo.

“We, as an Ummah, find it difficult to relate being what Alhaji Munirudeen Raji is with the roles expected from such a privileged position in Osogbo Muslim Community.

“The Muslim Ummah in Osogbo is a congregation of all the Muslims and not a personal property of any individual therefore decision to appoint a leader for such a community must always be acceptable to all.”