We Yorubas are reputed to be some of the most religiously tolerant people in the world. Many understand how it came to be others don’t. however our religious harmony is currently endangered in this union we call Nigeria.
I remember some months ago when an Igbo Christian woman was killed in Kano. I felt so much anger because someone was killed for what I was, A Christian. My initial anger was directed at Islam itself which I believed was tormenting Christians all over the world and making life miserable for Christians.

As emotional as I was I found it hard not to let that frustration spill over to the muslims around me. But I remember that thinking about some of my Yoruba muslims friends who are some of the most loving people I knew simply melted my heart and that resentment calmly slipped away. I saw how wrong it was of me to blame an entire class of people for what some lunatics in Kano did. But after that entire episode I also wondered what Yoruba Muslims thought about the travel ban against Muslims in the USA and if they somehow attributed that policy to Christians in general.

This got me wondering on a larger scale how the Yoruba race ever became so tolerant in the past and how we could sustain it in this ever crazy world that is rife with stereotypes and discrimination. And the answer I could figure was this. As ironic as it is I believe one of the reason is that Yoruba religious tolerance is rooted in ignorance and illiteracy. Let me explain, in 2016 I went on a mission work to a religiously mixed rural community in IFALANSA, IBADAN, OYO STATE and the reception we got from Muslims in that community was remarkable and impeccable. What I saw in Ifanlasa is not obtainable in any Yoruba city to the degree of villages(even though Yorubas are tolerant in general)

The women listened to me very attentively as I seriously was struggling with preaching in pure undiluted Yoruba. The woman in question pointed out the objections she had and also the similarities between both religions. I went back to the camp that day thinking about the encounters I have had in other rural communities and it was now clear to me that these people find it easier to accommodate because for instance they really don’t know much about global events e.g they don't know about Trump’s travel ban, Southern Kaduna Killings, The Jos Crisis e.t.c hence it is impossible to give unnecessary religious connotations to events. These people don’t know the religion with the highest population nor the fastest growing one, therefore there is no unnecessary religious competition(Note: this particular community does not have TVs because the govt hasn’t connected the villages to the national grid)

I also discovered that Educated people are becoming less tolerant this days(not unique to Africa) and I believe it is rooted in too much knowledge. An educated Nigerian Christians would tell you about how Hagia sofia was stolen by muslims and how millions of Armenian Christians were slaughtered by Ottoman turks. The muslims would also talk about the Crusades, Injustices of Christians e.t.c. The Christians then learn about ISIS and try to equate it to mainstream Islamic ideology. The muslims respond by shoving dark practices practiced during the dark era of Catholicism right at the face of Christians to prove hypocricy of some sort. Atheist get in between the argument to also score point against both religions and some religious folks quickly attack them back using the oppression by Atheists like Mao, Stanlin, Kim Jong family or the Albanian Nation against religious communities in the past.

In all it is a painful cycle of stupidity. The internet in fact made things worse as it sometimes gives a voice to folly and stupidity unlike before, where discussions were made in person and everyone had to be accountable for his words but today the anonymity of forums and sites as made people confident enough to voice out the most vile things which then has a ripple effect on others. While debating in person your reservations would be expressed in a more civil and respectable form. However the internet and the knowledge is here and there is nothing we can do about it but find ways to live with it without consuming religious hate and bigotry that could emanate from it. As a people especially from the southwest we can’t afford to let the craze on the internet spill into our communities.

While other regions can survive a full blown religious turmoil, the South west cannot because of the peculiar demography. Hence we need to engrain religious tolerance on our people, in our kids and our religious institutions. We must (Christians and Muslims) reject any inciteful statement, if any from any Church or Mosque. We must resolve to live in peace despite our differences. We of course reserve our rights to advance our faith(through preaching) in an APOLITICAL way but must respect people’s NOs. I believe that with a conscious effort, the South west can continue to show the world what religious tolerance looks like.

The SW is tolerant because political power rests with Yoruba Muslims