The Oluwo of Iwoland Oba Abdulrasheed Adewale Akanbi has described himself as a different kind of king. “I am a king who has come to restore the old glory of our traditional institution and restore Obaship back to our esteemed position. We must clean up our Culture and Tradition.We have to make Tourism work. Why it is not working is because we keep on doing the same thing and expecting a different kind of result. We keep on repeating the same mistakes .We are static”,he explained.
“Many don’t know I am inquisitive by nature. I am some body that likes to challenge the status quo.Why you may ask? It’s because I want to make a change.lf what I met is good enough I won’t challenge it. It is because what I met is not good so we have to challenge it.When you see what is supposed to be sweet as bitter then you know something is wrong. Then you challenge it.
“It is the same thing with our Culture and Tourism. It is supposed to be sweet. But it is not sweet. It is not making money. So what do we do.We need to change it. We need to upgrade and update. We the custodians of Culture & Tradition need to do something. We have to act fast especially among the Yoruba race.So you have to dig deep as a Philosopher, look at History and then you start to challenge the status quo. That is the origin of my problems.”
“I can’t keep quiet.What I have discovered is that we lack a deep knowledge of our past heroes.We call them deities. We repeat all the negative stories that happened then.How can we sell those stories to white people.How can a white guy believe and embrace Sango or Ogun when everything they know about them is negative, about killings.What we relate our deities or heroes to in Yoruba land is about killings.”
“Let us admit it most of our Culture is about Rituals.Look at my palace how beautiful it looks.Why would I go and put a deity here and be worshipping it? What I am saying is we need to upgrade our Culture and Tradition from the fetish, diabolical bad ways.”
“Do you know that we the Obas are the real deities who have in our mouth the power to pray for people and it will become true as said. But No we have lost that pre eminent position. “
“It is because the Obas are seen to be fetish and have been relegated to the background. So when you go to an occasion today they will never call an Oba to come and pray.They will call Pastors.”
“All that must change.We have to change that image,that perception that Obas are fetish.We are no longer in those days when Obas are seen as fetish and when Obas used to scare people What I am campaigning for is for all Obas to use that swearing powers and authority to pray for people not to curse them. “
“That is better.That is the better way to go.That is what I stand for. I stand for Light as opposed to darkness. I am changing the Style of Leadership. For me kingship is about service to the people not about cursing,threatening, or killing people. It is to bring succour to the people. That is why in many ways I am different from others.”
“Many people don’t know me or what i stand for. They just sit down and say anything they like.People just judge you on social media without asking questions or ever seeing you or knowing you.So why do you want me to pay attention to what they say. I can’t pay attention to what many people say ignorantly. I don’t listen to rumours.i don’t entertain rumours.”
“This is one of the rules of leadership. A good leader should not listen to rumours. Anybody who wants to be a leader should not listen to rumours, things you can’t confirm. Many peope who judge me on Social media don’t know the kind of person I am.
That is why when people talk about me anyhow, I just smile. Father forgive them for they don’t know what they are talking about. When I read all the rubbish they say on social media I just smile because that’s not me.l am the direct opposite of who they say I am on social media. I represent Change and a shift away from continuing in our old ways.”
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