The Oluwo of Iwo, Oba Abdulrosheed Akanbi, has rejected the long-standing belief that Ile-Ife is the cradle of the Yoruba race, insisting that the popular narrative is historically inaccurate.
The monarch made the claim in a video shared on his Facebook page on Tuesday while conferring a chieftaincy title on one of his subjects. Surrounded by his chiefs, Oba Akanbi declared:
“Ife is not the origin of the Yoruba race. Those people don’t speak our language. Their language is different. They refer to God as Eledumare, and there is nothing like Eledumare in the Yoruba language. What we have is Olodumare. Ile-Ife has no Yoruba culture.”
He argued that Ile-Ife already had its own inhabitants before the arrival of Oduduwa, whom he said conquered the city, adding that the language originally spoken there was distinct from Yoruba.
“Ife people will always say Olofin, and if you ask them what the meaning is, they will tell you it means the owner of the palace. What that means in Yoruba is Alaafin,” the monarch explained.
Oba Akanbi further described himself as the Arole Olodumare (custodian of the divine mandate), stressing his mission to restore what he called the true history of the Yoruba race.
“Iwo is where you can get the real history that was not even documented. Whatever I am telling you now, you must keep it because death can come anytime. I am not scared of death because it is inevitable,” he added.