Religion and Royalty: Addressing Concerns on the New Soun of Ogbomosoland|By Adejare Ibrahim

OPEN LETTER TO HIS EXCELLENCY ENGR. SEYI MAKINDE ON THE APPROVAL OF SELECTION OF PRINCE PASTOR GHANDI OLAOYE AS THE NEW SOUN OF OGBOMOSOLAND.

Your Excellency, Engineer Seyi Makinde, the Executive Governor of Oyo State, I wish to congratulate you for the proactive steps you took on the approval of the selection of Prince Pastor Ghandi Afolabi Olaoye as the new Soun of Ogbomoso by the Ogbomoso kingmakers.

This is another watershed in the enviable traditional history of the great people of Ogbomosoland. May his reign as the paramount ruler of Ogbomosoland be replete with unprecedented development, growth and peace. Amen.

Sir, I am sure you are aware of Pastor Ghandi’s religious inclination. However, for the purpose of reiteration, may I restate it here for public consumption and enlightenment.

Prince Afolabi Ghandi Olaoye is a pastor at the Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG) in Washington DC, USA. His wife, Pastor Omo, is in charge of the RCCG Jesus House, which is one of the largest Redeemed Churches in America. The church is located in Silver Spring, Maryland, an area known for its ethnic and racial diversity.

Pastor Ghandi Olaoye, also known as Pastor G, has been actively involved in pastoring since 1992. He has served in three RCCG churches in Nigeria, and also led an RCCG parish in Bonn, Germany, before moving to the United States.

In addition, Pastor Ghandi is currently the Coordinator-in-charge of Convention and Special Projects for RCCG North America. He works alongside his wife, Pastor Omo, who is the founder and pastor-in-charge of the Jesus Women Ministries.

Having said these, there is no doubt that, in the last thirty-one years, Prince Ghandi has been neck deep in evangelisation. It is a personal decision he took for his eternal salvation. His contributions to the body of Christ are immense, which deserve to be commended and respected.

Your Excellency, after your approval, some concerns have been raised, vis-a-vis the traditional procedures to be followed in the process of installation of Pastor Ghandi as the Soun of Ogbomosoland. I have the following suggestions to make, as regards the concerns raised, sir.

1. Your Excellency, we wish to bring this issue to the fore, as many people have started querying what will be the dispositions of Prince Ghandi to idol worshipping and occultic practices as he becomes the monarch of Ogbomosoland.
2. The Yorubas have rich traditional and cultural practices, which are diametrically alien to any polytheistic belief. Adhering to culture and traditions has nothing to do with occultic practices. I am sure you are aware of this, sir.
3. Furthermore, the Yorubas have been practising Islam and Christianity right from time immemorial. The two Abrahamic religions have been in practice, right from the time of the existence of the Yoruba race. The two religions are not alien to our traditional ways of life.
4. We; therefore, implore that, for the purpose of religious justice, equality and fairness, kings should be allowed to practise their creeds without any imposition or enforcement of any religious beliefs on them. There is nothing wrong in a pastor or an imam becoming a king. They should be at liberty to practice any religion they believe in.
5. The same thing should go for their internment and burial on the occasion of their demise. Kings and their family members should have the freedom to be to installed and interned in accordance to the dictates of their religions, which conform to the Yoruba traditional and cultural practices.
6. Your Excellency may wish to know that, on 10th January 2022, the Ogun State Governor signed into law a bill, titled ‘Obas, Chiefs, Council of Obas and Traditional Council law of Ogun State, Bill 2021’, which aims at respecting human dignity and promotion of modernity in the installation and burial of traditional rulers.
7. This bill, which was initiated and sponsored by His Royal Majesty, Oba Sikiru Adetona, the Awujale of Ijebuland, in June 2020, seeks to empower kings and their families on how they will be installed and buried respectively.
8. Sir, the Oyo State House of Assembly, under the speakership of Rt. Honourable Adebo Ogundoyin can toe this proactive path and bring all lingering controversies surrounding the process of installation and burial of kings in Oyo State to an amicable end.
9. As a mark of respect and honour for the religious belief of Prince Pastor Ghandi Afolabi Olaoye, the installation of the new Soun of Ogbomosoland should follow the Yoruba traditional and cultural practices without forcing him into any fetishistic or occultic practice.
10. In conclusion, Islam and Christianity are the two dominant religions in Yorubaland. While we will never enforce our religious beliefs on the traditional worshippers, Muslims and Christians, as well, should be at liberty to practise their religions without any interference, coercion or enforcement of the traditional worship on them.

Once again, may the reign of Oba Pastor Ghandi Afolabi Olaoye be peaceful. God bless the people of Ogbomosoland. God bless Oyo State. God bless Yorubaland.