Get Guardian on GoogleYou can’t sack me, Oluwo dares Adeleke’s govt
The Osun State Government has cautioned the Oluwo of Iwo, Oba Abdulrasheed Akanbi, over what it described as inflammatory public statements capable of triggering religious and inter-town conflicts.
In a letter dated November but with no particular day stated and addressed to the monarch, the Ministry of Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs warned that the monarch’s alleged conduct could undermine communal peace and peaceful coexistence among people of different faiths.
The letter, signed by the ministry’s Permanent Secretary, Wale Alli¬yu, said the government had observed with “worries and anxieties” recent inflammatory statements and pronouncements attributed to the monarch.
MEANWHILE, the Oluwo’s Spokesperson, Alli Ibrahim, confirmed yesterday that the monarch had received the government’s letter.
Oba Abdulrosheed Adewale Akanbi, yesterday, declared that Governor Ademola Adeleke‘s administration could not sack him from his throne.
The Osun State government noted that pursuing a reform with the potential to create community violence and conflict is a development its administration will not tolerate.
It, therefore, outlined six directives to the monarch, including an instruction to stop any further attacks on people of other faiths and to refrain from making statements or engaging in conduct that could provoke confrontation with other traditional rulers, among others.
The ministry said it would monitor the monarch’s compliance with the directives, while the State Council of Obas was also directed to “watch and act on recent developments within Iwo land.”
Oluwo said nobody has the power to remove him for taking a stand on his aversion to traditional worship and other fetish activities.
However, in a video circulating on social media, Oluwo addressed a large crowd at his palace in Iwo, declaring that no one, including the governor, could remove him from the throne.
The video, sighted by The Guardian, showed the monarch removing his glasses, saying, “Look at my face; nobody can remove me as a king.”
