Alabi, one of Nigeria’s most respected gospel artists, told the crowd at the event that people who once kept their Ifa worship private are now bold about it, posting their beliefs openly online. She then urged Christians to be filled with the Holy Ghost in response.
That framing, according to Ifa worshippers who responded on TikTok, crossed a line. They said she had no standing to speak about traditional worship given the language found in some of her own songs. The phrase they pointed to was “Aboru Aboye.”
“Aboru Aboye,” a term mostly used by Ifa worshippers in reverence to the deity, has become a recurring flashpoint in debates about Alabi’s music. Critics noted the phrase appears in her catalogue and argued she cannot distance herself from traditional practice while publicly criticizing those who follow it. Several commenters pointed to specific tracks from her discography as evidence, saying the phrase was not incidental but woven deliberately into the lyrics.
In a previous controversy, the singer was seen singing in Yoruba using the phrase “Aboru Aboye,” a greeting common among traditionalists and Ifa initiates. That earlier incident did not fully resolve before this new one surfaced.
A Yoruba traditionalist who goes by the name Sam publicly confronted Alabi after her onstage remarks, alleging in a video shared on Instagram that the late cleric Iretiola Ajanaku, whom Alabi praised in songs, was secretly an Ifa worshipper.
Sam alleged that the late cleric privately worshipped Ifa, who was part of the traditionalist community, simply kept that aspect of his life hidden from the public. No evidence was presented to support the claim. The video nonetheless attracted tens of thousands of views within hours of being posted, drawing widespread commentary from both Christian and traditionalist communities across Nigeria.
Beyond Sam’s Instagram video, the confrontation moved to TikTok Live. During the session, Ifa worshippers warned Alabi directly to focus on her own Christianity and stop commenting on the choices of traditional worshippers. The session drew wide attention online.
The backlash centers on what critics described as a double standard. Ifa worshippers argued that Alabi used their sacred language in her music while simultaneously speaking against their growing public presence. That contradiction, they said, is what she needs to address.
Alabi has not responded publicly to the current round of criticism. Her position from a previous controversy offers some context. Breaking her silence during that earlier dispute, Alabi said during a ministration that “Aboru Aboye” is pure Yoruba language and is not solely used by traditionalists.
She said the term for acceptable is “Aboru” and the word for living sacrifice is “Aboye,” adding that her skillful use of language makes her unique as a gospel performer. Whether that defense carries weight in the current dispute remains to be seen.
Sam’s claims sparked heated debate among fans, with many divided over whether Alabi’s original comments were fair or misinformed. Supporters of the singer argued she was entitled to address her Christian audience without it being read as an attack on other faiths.
Critics pushed back on that reading. They said the specific framing, noting that Ifa worshippers are becoming bolder, was a deliberate signal rather than a neutral pastoral message. The TikTok community amplified that argument quickly, with several videos responding to the controversy accumulating hundreds of thousands of combined views within days.
Alabi had reportedly noted during the performance that traditionalists who once practiced in private are now boldly flaunting their faith online. That characterization, the word “flaunting,” is what many Ifa practitioners found most objectionable.
The dispute touches a broader tension in Nigerian religious life, where Yoruba cultural expression and Christian practice frequently overlap in music, language, and ceremony. Tope Alabi, whose work sits squarely at that intersection, now finds herself at the centre of that fault line again.
