In a recent development, some Christian leaders in Ibadan have expressed strong condemnation towards Mogaji Asimiyu Ariori following his controversial comments on Christianity, sparking fears of potential religious conflict within the ancient city.
The outcry comes after Ariori’s appearance on the live radio program, ‘Bembe Oro,’ hosted by Saheed Alatise and Salawat Lukman on Noble 107.1 FM in Ibadan on Tuesday.
During the program, Ariori reportedly asserted that he maintains 25 wives, justifying his stance by stating that he is not a Christian, who supposedly has only one wife alongside multiple concubines. He further argued that his decision to have multiple wives was to avoid engaging in fornication, indirectly implicating Christians for their alleged practice of adultery despite having only one wife.
“Do you know what Christianity has caused to our society? It only permits a man to marry one wife. Some of them will have one wife and 30 concubines. I have 25. I am not a Christian who will have one wife and 30 concubines,” he said.
Reacting to Ariori’s contentious remarks, several Christian leaders in Ibadan deemed his statement as deeply regrettable and potentially instigating a religious crisis. They have advised the Mogaji to issue an apology and seek forgiveness from the Christian community.
Expressing his disapproval, Mr. Olu Olugbenga, a prominent Christian leader from Ibadan South West Local Government Area, characterized Ariori’s comments as derogatory and offensive to the Christian population.
He said,
“His statement is inciting. It is not good at all. When they asked him to mention the number of his wives, I expected him to stop when he mentioned 25 wives. The statement that Christians marry one wife and 30 concubines is inciting and can cause a religious crisis.”
Elder Joseph Akande, speaking from Ibadan North Local Government Area, called upon Ariori to publicly apologize to the Christian community.
“His statement is unfortunate. We expect him to tender an apology within seven days, and failure to do this, we will ask the Olubadan and his family to remove him from the position. He is a Mogaji. I am sure he will have Muslims, Christians, and even traditionalists in his family. So why is he uttering such a statement?”
According to Mr. James Ishola, a church leader from Ido, a true leader should not show bias based on religious differences.
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“A good leader does not utter such a statement. A good leader does not discriminate on the basis of religion. It is very unfortunate that a family head who has adherents of different religions in his family is uttering such a statement. He should apologize to us and he should desist from uttering such statements in the future,” Ishola warned.
