Iwo Princes Reject Alaafin Title, Accuse Oluwo Of Monetising Royal Family Traditional Titles
Princes from the royal families in Iwo, Osun State, on Sunday, rejected a call by Oba Abdulrasheed Akanbi to be referred to as the “Alaafin of Iwo.”
They also accused the monarch of demanding N5 million for every traditional title meant for the royal families.
OSUN DEFENDER reports that Oba Akanbi, during the courtesy visit of Alaafin of Oyo, Oba Abimbola Owoade, at his palace in Iwo on Tuesday, June 03, said, “Henceforth, I will also want to be called Alafin of Iwo, and we will inform the government about it.”
But the princes, while addressing journalists in Iwo on Sunday, rejected, in totality, the move to change their title to Alaafin.
Speaking on their behalf,
Prince Adedoja Osunwo said every title attached to a king has a story behind it, adding that Oba Akanbi should leave Iwo if he so wished to be called Alaafin.
According to him, “Oba Akanbi has been calling himself different names like – Emperor, Emir, and others, and we didn’t say anything. The one that made us come out is him saying he is the ‘Alaafin of Iwo’.
“Before Alaafin is called Alaafin, there is a story behind it. Before Owa becomes Owa, there is a story, like other monarchs. Our own title – Oluwo also has a story behind it. Oluwo is what joined us together. We have 46 ruling houses in Iwo land. So, how will one person change the name our forefathers gave us?
“Only the Alaafin of Oyo installs Aare Ona Kakanfo in Yorubaland. Will Iwo also be installing Aare Ona Kakanfo now, and are we going to replace our chief titles with Oyo Mesi? So we are saying here that we, the ruling houses, are not interested in being called Alaafin Iwo; we want to be called Oluwo of Iwo’, and that is what we will called till eternity.
“So, if he wants to change our name, he should go to another place to bear that name not in Iwo land.”
Osunnwo added that the royal families won’t hesitate to take the monarch to court if he doesn’t change his ways, urging the state governor, Senator Ademola Adeleke, to prevail on Oba Akanbi.
“We’ve reported the monarch to the Muslim and Christian communities in Iwo, the Iwo Board of Trustees, and the Iwo Council of Obas without any changes.
“After this, if we don’t get a positive response, we won’t hesitate to take the monarch to court. We are urging the state governor, Ademola Adeleke to look into this issue. It is because the governor did not show interest in the issue that led us to this situation,” he added.
The prince also said Oba Akanbi has been embarrassing Iwo town through his utterances.
On the issue of asking them to pay money for traditional titles meant for princes and princesses in Iwo, Osunnwo said efforts to make Oba Akanbi change his stands proved abortive.
“If our monarch says anything now and it gets online, go and check the comment section; if 100 people comment, 80 will abuse Iwo land. Some of the people commenting will even abuse the prince and kingmakers in Iwo land for choosing Oba Abdulrasheed as the king.
“The latest is that the king has now decided that the traditional titles meant for Iwo princes and princesses will now be monetized.
“The family heads and the youths went to him to let him see the reason why his decision was not good, but he insisted that he would be collecting money for the traditional titles meant for Iwo Prince.
“We went there again four times and the situation was the same. On the fifth time, he said he didn’t want to see us in the palace again. Now, if we have a concern and Oluwo says he doesn’t want to see us again, where will we go? It shows our monarch is not ready to listen to the people,” he noted.
When contacted by a journalist, the Oluwo Of Iwo, Oba Abdulrosheed Akanbi declined comment on the whole accusations.
Speaking through his Press Secretary, Alli Ibrahim in a telephone conversation, the monarch said, he had no comment on the issues.
Olamilekan Adigun is a graduate of Mass Communication with years of experience in journalism embedded in uncovering human interest stories. He also prioritises accuracy and factual reportage of issues.
