An Islamic scholar and Chief Imam of Al-Hikmah University, Kwara State, Dr Sanusi Lafiagi, shares his thoughts with AYOOLA OLASUPO on the controversy surrounding veteran Fuji musician, Wasiu Ayinde’s remark against some Islamic clerics who visited his house over his mother’s death
A controversy has been raging about fuji musician Wasiu Ayinde’s alleged derogatory remark against some Alfas who visited him after he lost his mum. Do clerics need invitations to see a bereaved family?
There is something called ta’ziah in Islamic jurisprudence, which means a condolence visit. When a Muslim dies, we do not need to receive any invitation as a community before we can pay ta’ziah to the bereaved. This is a standard practice in Islam. The moment the death of a person is announced, the Muslim community owes both the deceased and the bereaved person certain responsibilities. So, it’s part of our responsibilities to visit the bereaved, to console and pray for him or her, and the soul of the deceased. I think the alfas did what was right by visiting him even if it was unannounced as long as he’s a Muslim and the departed soul was also a Muslim. Even if the departed soul was not a Muslim, we still owe our Muslim brother a condolence visit. In fact, in a society where we have no Muslim neighbours, and a pastor, for instance, who is not a bigot and doesn’t fight us in matters of our religion, loses his wife or a child, we still owe him the duty of good neighbourliness to pay him a condolence visit and pray for him and give him patience. It’s a normal thing that the Alfas did.
Many Alfas are aggrieved that Wasiu Ayinde said “awon alfa ga’nu sibi” which is now interpreted to mean the clerics thronged his house for handouts. What is your view on the matter?
My view is that the speaker knows who he is referring to and why he refers to them in such a derogatory manner. There is no evidence that he insulted the entire League of Alfas or scholars in the region. He specifically knew why he said that, and that was why when he was asked to make an apology, he refused because he didn’t see anything wrong in what he said.
I think there are two ways you can interpret the context of that statement. Remember that it was a private discussion between the veteran musician and his friend. So, there are two ways you can look at it. The first way is that he was narrating to his friend the schedule of the programme leading to the Firdaus prayer for his late mum. So, he was saying that the alfas would not go to his father’s house, that they had no business going to his mother’s house, and that it was in his house that they would converge. So, I want to understand ‘ga enu si’ in that context to mean where they would converge. Wasiu Ayinde is a ‘street person’ so he was probably speaking the street slang, which in a different context would mean an insult but within the context he had used it, I want to believe that he was just saying, this is where they will converge. But being a street person, that was just slang that he used.
In a different context of those who are insulting him, he probably was saying that the alfas went to neither his father nor mother’s house to commiserate with his relatives there but what they did was converge on his house probably waiting for a handout from him.
So, in whichever way you look at it, his refusal to give an apology even when he was asked to do so definitely implies that he was not insulting the entire body of Muslim scholars. If he were to term it as an insult, he was specifically referring to a group of people whose actions perhaps he finds not so endearing to him.
What might have prompted Wasiu Ayinde to make such a statement?
I don’t want to believe that it was related to his mood and that it was because his mother just died. Suppose we were to take the statement out of the context of him explaining to his friend the schedule of the programme, which had not happened. In that case, my first interpretation is what I believe because at the end of that scene, you’d hear him saying, ‘ti oba di ijo jimo ama wa ko eye lo si ibe’, which means that his house was where the alfas would converge for the prayer, after which they would go to his mother’s place where he said the other musicians who would play to entertain his guests had already started mounting their instruments. So, if we understand it within that context, he probably was just saying that this is where the alfas would converge. They had not even converged yet and he was talking about a futuristic event to happen probably two or three days after the video was made. Ijebu dialect is completely different from the normal Yoruba, so I want to believe that his mood didn’t warrant such remarks. It was just him being who he is. We should remember that Wasiu Ayinde is somebody who expresses his mind freely and that is probably why he even has issues with some of the younger musicians because he talks freely and doesn’t hold back when he talks.
He refused to apologise for the statement when urged to do so. Was that a good idea?
Well, there are two ways I look at the issue. Apology is tendered when you have done something wrong but when you feel that you have not done anything wrong, then why should you apologise for what you feel is not wrong? Again, I look at it from another angle sometimes, you don’t apologise because you have done what is wrong but out of diplomacy to quench the raging anger. If I were him, I would have said, ‘You, the Islamic scholars are my father. I agree with you and would never have insulted you in any way. This was what I meant. I didn’t mean to disrespect anyone. It was just street slang and a personal discussion and ‘ganu si’ in that context doesn’t mean an insult. This was what I intended.’ So, I would have wanted him to take the opportunity to clear the air and remove all the controversy surrounding the issue. Unfortunately, he thought differently. He felt maybe an apology would diminish his status or probably criminalise him that he has done what is wrong. I believe that he should have used that opportunity to exonerate himself and just let the issue subside.
If you were Wasiu Ayinde’s spiritual father, would you advise him to apologise to the alfas who are currently angry with him?
I would want him to just clear the air on what he intended. Obviously, Wasiu Ayinde has stated clearly that he did not insult them and there is no basis for an apology so what he should do is probably just talk for one or two minutes to clear the air on what he intended with his statement so that everyone can go back to their businesses because when you look at the social media now, that statement has become content for alfas themselves and comedians. Skit makers are using that opportunity to create skits. Wasiu Ayinde should just come out and clear the air on what he intended. I saw a video where he was donating money to the alfas and it was a cheerful moment. It was in that same programme he was donating money to them, so if he had actually intended to insult them, I don’t think that even after refusing to tender an apology, he would still be so cheerful to play with them. He was even giving them dollars as part of his charity.
Many are of the view that with his status, he shouldn’t have made such a statement. How does that make you feel personally?
Honestly, I don’t feel anything because as far as I’m concerned, a man should be held responsible for what he has done wrong but I don’t feel as if he has done anything wrong in this regard. If indeed he felt that some alfas were at his house instead of paying condolence to his relatives but because of some handouts that they expected from him, they came to ga’nu si at his house, then it is right because that actually showed their greed that they were after his money. If on the other hand, it was planned to imply that this is where the alfas would converge on Friday to make supplications for the soul of his departed mum, then it’s all well and good. Personally, I don’t feel belittled, or insulted and I don’t have anything against that statement because I have a good thought with a fellow Muslim. When a Muslim makes a statement, you should interpret it in the best of ways unless there is no other interpretation that you can give to it, then you should have a good thought about your brother until he states otherwise.
Do you think Wasiu Ayinde’s statement will affect his relationship with the league of Islamic clerics?
Definitely, it will affect his relationship with them. I watched a video of one of the leaders of the Muslim communities. I can’t remember his name now but he’s an elderly person. I saw his video where he said that the entire money that he raised that day was N8m, and if not because he was held back, he was ready to return the money to Wasiu Ayinde and would personally donate N10m to the alfas to share. So, definitely it will affect the way alfas view him and his relationship with them. I want to believe that a clarification from him would go a long way in quenching this raging fire. He should just clarify in one or two minutes what he said that he didn’t insult anybody, and if it was a slip of the tongue, then let him just say it and apologise. I think that will go a long way in mending the fence between him and the League of Alfas.
What other things do you think he can do to reconcile with the Muslim clerics?
I think there could be follow-up visits to some of the leaders of the Muslim organisations, especially those who were represented at the prayer just to say thank you for coming for his mum’s burial, and to explain that his statement was misconstrued and what he meant. By the time he does this visitation to probably a couple of them and the videos come out on the internet, it will calm some strain.
If Ayinde Wasiu maintains his stance not to apologise, what decisions would be taken based on the Quran injunction?
It’s a free world. If I said something and someone said he feels insulted and I said I didn’t insult him what can anybody do? Wasiu Ayinde is a veteran Fuji musician and he has no business with the alfas except to invite them to any programme that relates to Islam. The alfas, except a few of them who are also fans of the musicians and would invite them to their occasions, also have no business with him. Personally, for instance, I doubt if any occasion will bring us together because we are serving different paths. But, of course, there is nothing anybody can do if he feels he has not done anything wrong, nobody can penalise him. Would they ask him not to play for his fans again? Would they ask people not to listen to him or buy his album? I think at the end of the day, time will just overtake whatever noise is coming out now. People will forget about it because this is Nigeria. After one or two weeks, people will forget about it and move on. People are already moving on. Just two days after this ganu si issue happened, Tuface announced his separation from Annie Idibia and that has caused another internet buzz for now so people will move on from all of these shenanigans. It’s just a matter of time. We’ve had similar things in the past and people moved on from them, so I believe there is no single measure you can take against anybody. It’s a fundamental human rights affair.
What is your advice to prominent Nigerians who disregard authorities through their utterances?
It is important to respect people, especially people of high religious and moral standing in society. Every human being deserves respect even the lowly, the downtrodden, and the young deserve respect. But when people take positions of authority be it spiritual, political, or even traditional institutions, they ought to be respected in the way we address them. You could be older than an Emir or the Oba but you don’t address him with ‘iwo’ in public. That could be a private discussion even if you are friends or older than him since he wears the regalia of authority. The same thing applies to the alfas who are the spiritual leaders of the community, representing the dawah of the messengers of Allah. So, in our discussions with them either in our communications or while addressing them in public or a private discussion, we should hold them in high esteem. We should respect them and make sure that our choice of words does not soil their reputation or deride their status.
Credit: PUNCH
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