The Oluwo of Iwoland, Oba Abdulrasheed Akanbi, says Ile-Ife is not the origin of the Yoruba race.
Akanbi’s views were immediately contested by the palace of the Ooni of Ife on Tuesday, dismissing him and his submissions as unworthy of attention.
Moses Olafare, spokesman of the Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Enitan Ogunwusi, dismissed the statement, saying, “No reasonable person will react to Oluwo’s comments.”
The monarch made his statement in a video obtained from his Facebook page while conferring a chieftaincy title on one of his subjects.
Surrounded by chiefs and subjects, Oluwo said the ancient Ife lacked Yoruba culture, with its language different from the one spoken by “real” Yorubas.
He said, “Ife is not the origin of the Yoruba race. Those don’t speak our language. Their language is different. They referred to God as Eledumare and there is nothing like Eledumare in Yoruba language. What we have is ‘Olodumare’
“Ife people will always say ‘Olofin’, and if you ask them what the meaning is, they will tell you it means the owner of the palace, and what that means in Yoruba is ‘Alaafin’. “Ile-Ife has no Yoruba culture.
“I am the ‘Arole Olodumare’ because I am here to tell you the true history. Iwo is where you can get the real history that was not even documented.
“Whatever I’m telling you now, you must keep it because I may say I will live long and die early. I’m not scared of death because it is inevitable.”
Both monarchs have always enjoyed a love-lost relationship.
In October 2024, the Ooni of Ife, Oba Enitan Ogunwusi, said he was chased out when he visited the Oluwo of Iwo, Oba Abdulrasheed Akanbi.
In a video that trended at the time, Ogunwusi reported, “When I visited Oluwo, he chased me out like a child, since that incident, I have always maintained myself going close to him. Now that you people (attendees) are imploring that I visit him again, what if he does what he likes to me?
“But I have to contain his excesses as an elder, although I am a young person sitting on the throne of the elders. Oluwo, I greet you.”
Although Ogunwunsi neither revealed the location where it happened nor spoke on any feud between him and Oluwo of Iwo in the viral video, findings revealed that the Oluwo had not been pleased with the Ooni’s relationship and activities with the traditionalists or “idols worshippers.”
