The Emir of Ilorin, Ibrahim Sulu Gambari, has explained that the Isese festival, a cultural ceremony scheduled in the town, was cancelled to prevent crisis.
The religious leader described the decision as proactive, saying it was necessary to sustain peaceful co-existence in the society.
Gambari stated this while responding to an open letter addressed to him by Wole Soyinka, the Nobel laureate.
ANN recalls that dispute started when Yeye Ajesikemi Omolara, a priestess, announced the commencement of this year’s Isese festival from July 22 to 24.
But members of the Majilisu Shabab li Ulamahu Muslim group, in a video, warned the priestess against holding the event.
The group had claimed the order came from the emir.
Reacting to the development, Soyinka described the decision to cancel the festival as “a crime against the cultural heritage of all humanity” and “an assault on civilised conduct”, noting that Nigeria’s constitution guarantees freedom of belief, adding that the cancellation will undermine the country’s progress.
In response to the Nobel laureate, Gambari said the decision was taken to avert situations that might lead to reprisal attacks by sympathisers or promoters of such belief (Isese) in other parts of the country.
He added that the priestess had lived harmoniously in the town for years “until she decided to go beyond her boundaries”.
“In order to set records straight, Professor Wole Soyinka tends to be economical with facts, forgetting that war is nobody’s want,” Gambari said in a statement by his aide, AbdulAzeez Arowona on Friday.
