I have not sold a plot of land since I became King – Oluwo declares

..as Yoruba Council of Elders visits Iwo

TUNDE  ADELEKE, Osogbo

The Oluwo of Iwoland, Oba Abdulrasheed Akanbi, has reaffirmed his commitment to the protection of Yoruba land, culture, and values, declaring that he has not sold a single plot of land since ascending the throne.

The monarch made this known on Wednesday during a courtesy visit by delegates of the Yoruba Council of Elders (YCE) to his palace in Iwo.

They expressed concern over the gradual loss of Yoruba land to non-indigenes, urging traditional rulers to be more protective of ancestral territories.

According to him, I appreciate and commend the leadership of the Yoruba Council Of Elders (YCE) for their visitation and love-rooted interest for the sovereignty of Yorubaland and cohesion amongst Yoruba Traditional Rulers and Yoruba race by extension.

“I will always protect my subjects and their properties, including land. I never sold a plot of land since my enthronement as the Oluwo of Iwoland.

“You have acted holistically. I love discussing solutions, which is what they came for. I’m a cleaner. As a cleaner, you have to clean your house. I’m ready to work with them to clean the Yoruba race.

Yorubas are great people with excellent culture. I’m proud of the Yoruba Council of Elders thoughtfulness in visiting and deliberating. This is a great move and foretells a good future for the Yorubas.

“Equally, I want YCE leadership to deliberate on my monarchical teachings, most especially the freedom of Yoruba sons and daughters from mental slavery and the upgrade of Yoruba culture by separating religion from culture and traditions.

“I call on Yoruba traditional rulers to re-engineer the spirit of love to entrench the institution as a fatherly position and not the usual fear tactics introduced to the throne by certain religions.”

In his remarks, the National President, YCE, Chief Oyekan said “I don’t know Oluwo this much. His majesty is open. I neither know him this close nor this much. He has opened up for Yoruba unity and integrity which YCE stands for. What he likes, he has told us. What he dislikes, he has also told us. Even culture is dynamic. That is what Oluwo is telling us.”

“We are for peace and the unity of Yorubaland. Yoruba should be in one accord. We have listened to Kabiesi, he hosted us. We were here for almost 5 hours.”

“We want other traditional rulers to also be dynamic, to be open to change. Not a crazy change but a good change. There were many things our fathers did in the past, no more of such. We want our monarchs to hold our culture and ensure they are dynamic to meet modern reality and promote tourism.

It’s only when we upgrade that it can be attrac
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