There are narrations from two sides but who is to be believed in a democracy? Over the weekend on Sunday, the Ọọ̀ni of Ilè-Ifẹ̀, Oba Adeyeye Enitan Ogunwusi – the 51st king to occupy the throne – had alleged that his Osun State counterpart, the Islam-loving Oluwo of Iwo, Oba Abdulrasheed Akanbi, treated him terribly when he once visited the former at his palace on an unspecified date. It is a strong claim that has been raising eyebrows, so what could be the reason for it? 

In the Yoruba tribesphere, the Ọọ̀ni is considered the traditional and spiritual head of his people. He does this by performing rituals and participating in festivals that are meant to attract peaceful co-existence in a world of riches, but in Iwo, the king is having none of that because he regards the Muslim culture as the acceptable means to achieve what Oba Ogunwusi seeks to achieve through native interaction with the earth’s Creator.

This difference in views naturally thrives in a democracy. Under the restrictive Nigerian military rulers of the ’60s up to the late nineties, state-backed celebrations like Ìṣẹ̀ṣe Day were not available for discussion although some wanted it.

Via the video publishing app TikTok on Sunday, 20 October 2024, the Ọọ̀ni speaking in his mother tongue said: When I visited Oluwo, he chased me out like a child. And since that incident, I have always kept myself from getting close to him. Now that you people (guests attending an event) are imploring that I visit him again, what if he does what he likes to me?

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According to reports, when both monarchs in 2018 attended a ceremony graced by first-class kings in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, the Ọọ̀ni’s guards reportedly pushed the other out of the way. This is possibly one motivation for the hostile response at the Oluwo of Iwo’s palace but there could be one other explanation connecting with religious intolerance in a Yoruba nation.

Sightseeing around Iwo town, the signs of Oba Abdulrasheed Akanbi’s commitment to Islam practised by Muslims are obvious. In his domain, he does not permit worshipping entities that suggest reverence to an image or god, an attribute that traditional Yoruba religions fully back. 

The pushback isn’t peculiar to Iwo town alone. In Ilorin, Kwara State under an Emir, there is far stiffer resistance facing Ìṣẹ̀ṣe adherents. 2023 marked a milestone for traditional religion in Yoruba states because it was this year that governments in Oyo, Ogun, Osun, and Lagos states declared August 20 a public holiday for worshippers symbolising a positive move towards diversity.

Up to 24hours after the TikTok clip revealed just how much the king of Iwo wants to keep things sanitised around his Osun State territory. He employed a strong knowledge of local history to make his point shared on another social media platform Facebook. This post hinted that there would be a continuity of what his kingdom is known for in terms of the dominant religious practice, Islam.

Although there are Muslims and Christians on the other side in Ile-Ife, there are also traditional worshippers. It seems that as long as Oba Akanbi reigns, this latter group remains unwelcome. Writing on Facebook now, revealed that his predecessor of several centuries ago, Oba Ibirinade Abioye Adekanbi (Alawusa) brought Islam in 1600.

With Islam settling in, the monarch of the time reportedly evacuated idols and converted a place of worshipping deities to the Oluwo Central Mosque.  

Even though a school of thought countered his submission, the Iwo king declared that the referenced ancestor birthed the first Mosque in South Western Nigeria in 1600. 

Later in the late 1800s, says Oba Akanji, 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.

An event such as the sort which the incumbent described led to future Oluwos being turbaned during their enthronement. Upholding this element possibly led to the sacking of the revered Ọọ̀ni of Ilè-Ifẹ̀ from the Iwo palace although much clearer proof is still needed. 

Meiza Nigeria