MURIC had earlier asked those agitating for the Oduduwa Republic to state what they have in stock for Muslim children and women in the South-West and their plan for hijab.
Olayomi Koiki, media aide to Yoruba freedom fighter, Sunday Adeyemo (Igboho), has said agitations for self-determination do not deter anyone from practising their religions, including Sharia if they so wish.
Speaking in an interview with SaharaReporters on Friday, Koiki said the Yoruba nation would respect the rights of adherents of the various religions.
The Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC) had earlier asked those agitating for the Oduduwa Republic to state what they have in stock for Muslim children and women in the South-West and their plan for hijab.
In a statement by the director of the group, Ishaq Akintola, MURIC, on Friday asked if the agitators have any provision for civil Sharia which "Yoruba Muslims have been demanding for ages."
The Islamic group said it was drawing the attention of the agitators of the Oduduwa Republic to the plight of Muslims in Yorubaland.
It stated that leaders of the groups agitating for breakaway must admit that there is a strain in Christian/Muslim relationship in the South-West and must proffer solutions to address it.
But reacting, Koiki said the call for self-determination does not stop anyone from practising their religion.
He drew an analogy about the United Kingdom, where adherents of various religions live in peace without any religious sentiments.
"I have lived in the United Kingdom for the past 22 years and we have Hindus; we have all kinds of religions living in peace doing similar things, operating in that country with no fight, without insulting or disrespecting each other. So our call for self-determination does not affect anyone's religion. Everyone will be allowed to practise their religion; whether you want to practise Sharia, it's entirely up to you.
"But look at Nigeria; if I want to live in Kano, I am not allowed to sell pork. People are being forced to fast in Kano, and we call this country a secular country. This is to show that Sharia law is being forced on people, irrespective of their religion. Even Saudi Arabia does not practise their religion the way it is being practised here in this country, where people are maimed and killed for the sake of religion.
"In 2018, Christians were killed in Benue because the people who killed them believe they own the land. If you look at the Southern part of the country, even as a Muslim, your religion seems different from that of someone from the North because the Northern Muslims believe you must adhere to a particular dress code.
"If I wanted to live with my wife in Kano and insist she must wear a jean, that is not tolerated in Kano. Yet, they will accept money accrued from sales of alcohol and use it to develop Kano. These are areas we have looked at to say we are much better to split the country. If in the nearest future I decide to live in Kano, I will obey their laws but at the moment, Kano does not respect me as a Yoruba man to live there and decide what kind of business I want to do."
When asked about specific dates for the one-million march the Yoruba group had planned before now, he said, "We follow the directions from our leader, so if our leader decides that we will hold the 1 million march, we will."