Colonial Nigeria Saw Systematic Persecution of Olorisa Adherents, Historian Documents

Historian Ibrahim Anoba has shed light on the systematic persecution faced by adherents of the traditional Yoruba religion, known as Olorisa, during Nigeria's colonial period. His research details how laws, court actions, and property confiscations were used to suppress these indigenous practices, forcing many followers to abandon their faith.

Anoba's doctoral dissertation, "Olórìṣà: Alternative Decolonisation, Spiritual Identities, and Recasting the African Postcolony," contends that colonial authorities and local collaborators employed legal and administrative measures to diminish the appeal of traditional religious practices. This challenges the common narrative that the Yoruba people readily embraced Christianity and Islam.

In an interview, Anoba described the treatment of Olorisa practitioners as one of Nigeria's most significant historical religious injustices. He noted that discussions of religious persecution in Nigeria often overlook the experiences of traditional worshippers, focusing instead on violence against Christians and Muslims. "I think you can include this as one of, if not the greatest injustice ever done to particular people in Nigeria, has been to the practitioners of indigenous religion," he stated.

Anoba's research methodology involved a multi-faceted historical approach, combining archival research, oral histories, court records, newspapers, memoirs, and anthropological sources. He examined colonial-era records and interviewed descendants of Olorisa practitioners across several Yoruba communities, accessing materials from archives in Nigeria and the United Kingdom, as well as institutions in the United States.

Beyond his dissertation, Anoba intends to transform his findings into a book manuscript. His work focuses not just on the Olorisa religion as a system of belief but on the Olorisa people themselves, exploring how they came to be identified as such and the profound impact of colonial suppression on their spiritual identities and cultural continuity.

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I think you can include this as one of, if not the greatest injustice ever done to particular people in Nigeria, has been to the practitioners of indigenous religion. Today, we still have Christians in great numbers, we still have Muslims in great numbers. But imagine the intensity of the same violence committed against a religious people. So much so that they almost disappear today.