The Kwara State chapter of the Oodua Peoples Congress (OPC) has advised the relocation of the state capital from Ilorin if Muslims continue to insist that Ilorin is an Islamic city, thereby prohibiting traditional religious worshippers (Isese) from practising their faith.
Bayo Fabiyi, the Kwara State Coordinator of the OPC New Era, made the appeal in a statement on Sunday.
“There are Muslims in other places cohabiting with others without crises or disturbances,” he said.
“Therefore, if Ilorin is the only place where isese becomes a challenge, the status of Ilorin as a state capital should be changed while the ancient town can be allowed to remain purely an Islamic place because of all towns in Kwara, only Ilorin is where Islamic extremism thrives,” he added.
Fabiyi, on the other hand, urged traditionalists to be patient and tolerable, adding they should not fight back.
Meanwhile, traditional worshippers in Ekiti State repeated their appeal on Sunday for the state government to establish August 20 as a national public holiday in honor of the Isese festival.
The traditional worshippers applauded the governments of Lagos, Osun, Oyo, and Ogun states for recognizing and declaring the day a holiday.
Dauda Lawal, the Awise (Speaker) of the National Council of Iseselagba in Ekiti State, spoke on behalf of the group and said, “We appeal to Governor Biodun Oyebanji, who is a people’s governor, to, like his counterparts in other South-West states, declare a public holiday for Isese so that we can have time to celebrate the yearly event.”
