Reno Omokri has stated that from his wide travels and interaction, Yorùbá people are best at managing diversity.
“He stated this on his Twitter handle on Wednesday.
He stated: “One of the things I cherish most about Muslims in the Southwest of Nigeria is their behaviour during Sallah. In fact, Yorùbá Muslims don’t even call it Sallah, or Eid al Kabir. They coined their own word for the celebration. They refer to it as Ileya, which is short for Ile ti ya, loosely meaning it is time to go home, or the house is ready. And no people, nation? or ethnicity on planet Earth knows how to party like Yorùbás. If you lived in the Southwest or Kwara, you must love Ileya, whether or not you are a Muslim. Because your Muslim neighbours will spoil you with all kinds of goodies, from stewed ram to iyan and delicious soup, with chin-chin and other delicacies, washed down with every delectable non alcoholic beverage known to man. Oh, the days!You will never find more tolerant and accommodating Muslims ANYWHERE on Earth as you would in Nigeria’s Southwest. And on this Eid al-Adha, I wish Muslims worldwide a prosperous and peaceful celebration. Just as God blessed prophet Ibrahim for his willingness to sacrifice his son, Isḥāq (Isiaka, Isyaku), may God bless all Muslims for their willingness to live in peace and harmony with people of different faiths around the world. And to people of all religions globally, I urge you to visit the Southwest of Nigeria to learn the true meaning of peaceful religious coexistence. Eid Mubarak!”
He further stated in a reply to a twitter handle which commented:
“Dear Alhaji,
Haba! There is absolutely no basis for comparing South-West Muslims to Kano Muslims. It is like comparing night and day. Mutanen Kano are not known for religious tolerance by any stretch of the imagination. Please let sleeping dogs lie. I’ve lived in Sokoto, Kano and Potiskum. Believe it or not, even with the recent incidents in Sokoto, mutanen Sakkwato are far more tolerant than Kanawa!
“I have preached openly in crusades in Northern Nigeria. To the best of my knowledge, if I were to pick the most tolerant part of Northern Nigeria (outside Kwara) for Muslims and Christians, it would be Gashaka Gumpti and Nguroje both in Taraba. But even there, I hear things have changed, since I last visited in 2000.
“I suspect you may know how widely travelled I am. Courtesy of my parents, I have been touring the world since age nine, and I am yet to see a body of people anywhere on Earth who know how to manage diversity like the Yorùbá”, he stated.
