The Oluwo of Iwo, Oba Abdulrasheed Akanbi has been cautioned by traditional leaders in Ibadanland over his recent comments describing the esteemed Oloolu masquerade as “criminal and “unconstitutional.”
The traditional leaders include the Association of Ibadan Mogajis, Baales, and the Ibadan Compound Peace Initiative (ICPI).
Oba Akanbi was seen in a viral video condemning the Oloolu masquerade tradition, declaring that “any masquerade that denies women access or instills fear should be sent to the forest.”
LEADERSHIP reports that the dreaded masquerade, which women are forbidden from seeing commenced its annual parade on Monday, moving round some designated locations in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital and will end on Thursday.
Due to the peculiarity of the tradition surrounding the event, Oyo State Government had issued advisory, warning all women to avoid the routes to be used by the Oloolu.
Reacting to Oba Akanbi’s comment, the President of Association of Ibadan Mogajis, Mogaji Asimiyu Ariori, and the Coordinator of the Ibadan Compound Peace Initiative (ICPI), Mogaji Nurudeen Akinade, in a joint statement, demanded immediate retraction of the statements from the Oluwo, with warning to stop meddling in Ibadan’s customs.
“If Oluwo does not understand the beauty of our culture and tradition, and he is not ready to respect the culture in which he was enthroned as a king, the tradition through which he was crowned, he should minimise his rascality to Iwo and Osun State, and not extend it to Ibadanland,” the statement read.
They described the monarch’s outburst as “unprovoked, irresponsible and unbecoming of a traditional ruler,” warning that continued attacks on Ibadan’s heritage would not be tolerated.
“He grew up in Ibadan, we know his antecedents. He has always been a man of questionable character. If he persists, we may be forced to expose more about his past,” the traditional leaders threatened.
The statement further called on the Osun State Governor, Senator Ademola Adeleke to urgently call the first-class traditional ruler to order.
“We don’t understand why the Osun State Government has tolerated such a misfit for this long. If this continues, Ibadan people will have no choice but to permanently restrict him.
“What he said about Oloolu is an insult to the Olubadan, all traditional institutions in Ibadanland, and indeed the Yoruba cultural heritage,” the statement added.
They also accused the monarch of trying to “create an everlasting crisis in Yorubaland,” stressing that Ibadan has historically maintained peaceful coexistence among diverse religions and traditions.
“Oluwo has shown himself to be irrational, visionless, and an embarrassment to the stool he occupies. We are calling on Yoruba elders to caution him before he plunges the region into unnecessary conflict,” the leaders said.
They gave Oba Akanbi a few days to issue a formal retraction and apology, warning that failure to do so would provoke further actions from the people of Ibadan.
“We shall not fold our arms while Oluwo abuses our Oloolu. What is his connection to our sacred tradition? He should keep his useless thoughts away from Ibadanland,” the statement added.
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