Morakinyo Akinosun

COLLAGE: Ooni of Ife and Oluwo of Iwo

Prominent Yoruba monarch, the Ooni of Ife, Oba Enitan Ogunwusi, Ojaja II has revealed that he was chased out when he visited one Oluwo of Iwo, Oba Abdulrasheed Akanbi, a muslim monarch in Nigeria’s southwestern Osun State, who preaches against Ìṣẹ̀ṣe.

The Ooni of Ife made this known in a trending video posted on TikTok on Sunday.

Ìṣẹ̀ṣe comprises the traditional religious and spiritual concepts and practice of the Yoruba people.

Its homeland is in present-day Southwestern Nigeria, which comprises Oyo, Ogun, Osun, Ondo, Ekiti, Kwara and Lagos states, as well as parts of Kogi State and the adjoining parts of Benin and Togo, commonly known as Yorubaland (Yoruba: Ilẹ̀ Káàárọ̀-Oòjíire).

However, the Ooni of Ife said in the video that: “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.”

The Ooni of Ife did not revealed the location where the drama happened. He didn’t spoke on any feud between him and Oluwo of Iwo as well.

Findings revealed that Oluwo has not been pleased with Ooni’s relationship and activities with traditionalists he described as ‘idols worshippers’.

The muslim monarch had appeared in a video, telling the people of Iwo to detest traditional practices warning that anybody indulging in it should do so in their respective homes.

He said: “My work as a monarch is to stand for God and preach about him alone while challenging those worshipping things other than Him. I don’t do Ogun or any idol festival. Although, I have previously celebrated the Egungun festival with the worshippers but I will never do that again. Except that they don’t call it idol worshipping. I don’t support their activities, that’s why their dealings don’t thrive here.

“And you cannot even perform sacrifices in Iwo here. Anyone who does that will eat it. Better still, litter your house with the sacrifices. Environmental sanitation has been exercised here to curb things like that. What anyone would need to be successful is to challenge the idols and their worshippers. That alone would make you a soldier of God.”

The Oluwo said in a Facebook post on Monday that Iwo used to be ruled by a traditional monarch but has ceased being that since the emergence of Oba Memudu Ayinla Lamuye in 1800 who spread Islam in the town as the monarch converted people to muslim.

He wrote: “Oba Ibirinade Abioye Adekanbi (Alawusa) brought Islam in 1600. He evacuated idols and converted a place of worshipping deities to the Oluwo Central Mosque. Precisely, he birthed the first Mosque in South Western Nigeria in 1600. Later in the late 1800, another Oluwo, Oba Memudu Ayinla Lamuye (pictured above) spread Islam and converted the whole Iwo people to Islam and that’s why in Iwo, every compound has a Mosque and there is no Iwo indigene that does not have a Muslim name including recent convertees when the missionaries came.

“Oba Ibirinade Adekanbi was also called Alawusa because he was hospitable. He accommodated Malians who people tagged Hausa then they came to settle in Iwo. Oluwo was turbaned. New Oluwo used to be enthroned with a beaded crown before 1600. After 1600, turbanning used to come first before wearing the beaded crown. Oba Muhammad Ayinla Lamuye spent 90 years on the throne. Exactly 100 years after, the reigning Oluwo, was enthroned to complete the good work of the past monarchs.”

Local newspaper The Punch recalled a 2018 report where Oluwo alleged that Ooni ordered his bodyguard to push the muslim monarch out of the way during a meeting of traditional rulers in Port Harcourt, Rivers State in the south-south region of the West African country.

The Oluwo claimed that the incident happened at Hotel Presidential in the Rivers State capital.

He said it happened just as the Ooni was called to the podium to give a vote of thanks.

“The bodyguard of the Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Enitan Ogunwusi, in what seemed to be an errand message, pushed Oluwo at the public gathering of the first-class paramount rulers held at the Presidential Hotel, Port Harcourt, the capital of Rivers State last Tuesday,” the muslim monarch said in a statement that year.

Meanwhile, the Ooni dismissed the allegation in a statement via the director of public affairs at his palace, Moses Olafare, issued on his behalf.
The Ooni of Ife described the claims of the Oluwo as untrue, saying, “There was no altercation between Oluwo and anybody at that venue at all.”

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