Oluwo Versus Chief Ogundokun; Who Wins in The Battle Royale

The stage is set for an epic battle royale in Iwo, headquarters of Iwo Local Government Area of Osun State as the traditional monarch of the town, Oba Abdulrasheed Adewale Akanbi who has in recent times been involved in various controversies last Sunday announced the removal of 82-year old High Chief  Abiola Ogundokun of all his chieftaincy titles and the High Chief fired back describing the purported removal as a mere joke just as he vowed to see to the removal of the monarch from the throne.

Chief Abiola Ogundokun

High Chief Abiola Ogundokun, a multiple title-holder as the Basorun Musulumi and Otun Balogun of Iwoland, Ajagunla of the Source (Ile-Ife)), Jagun of Iba, Areago of Iwo-Oke, to mention just a few described the Oluwo of Iwoland, Oba Abdulrasheed Akanbi as a misfit monarch who is embarrassing and relegating the Oluwo’s stool in the Nigeria’s traditional institution.

Ogundokun said the Oluwo lacks competence to strip him of his religious and traditional chieftaincy titles, saying that the monarch was apparently consumed by emotions when he was making the directive.

According to him, the present Oluwo was not the one that appointed him into those chieftaincy positions in the first place. He does not possess the power to remove him verbally. He said, ‘I don’t know how old he was when I was made Otun Balogun of Iwoland forty ((40) years and Bashorun Musulumi of Iwoland eighteen (18) years ago. I was appointed with letters. I want him to come out in a round table challenge as I am prepared to expose many of his illicit activities. Is he a Muslim? Does he perform ablution?

Chief Ogundokun who was the former National Publicity Secretary of the defunct National Party of Nigeria (NPN) in a press conference at the Correspondents’ Chapel of NUJ in Osogbo  on Monday night said that he is not surprised at the behavior of Oba Akanbi because his late father, Kola Akanbi who was his classmate in 1945 led the thugs that burnt 12 bungalows in Iwo in 1983. He accused the monarch of spending only two weeks out of three months in seclusion as required by the customs and traditions of Iwoland during his installation process as possible reason for his misbehavior.

He added that he consented to his been made the king due to the fact that Iwo has been without king for more than 11 years and there were pressures on him to approve his candidature by eminent Nigerians.

.He added further that he gave him (Oluwo) N200,000 on the day that he was brought to him (Ogundokun) in order to seek for his blessings. He said that he has since then been supporting the palace by buying and equipping the palace with furniture imported from Italy to give the palace a befitting taste. He disclosed that since then he has been paying salary to the monarch and fending for his social outings until he started misbehaving early this year.

Backed with documentary records from different Banks and made available to newsmen in Osogbo, Chief Ogundokun narrated how he has been funding the monarch with hard earned money,

He also narrated efforts made by prominent monarchs like Osolo of Isolo in Lagos, Olufon and Oba Iragberi to no avail. Chef Ogundokun said the height of intimidation by Oluwo was when he called a meeting of Iwo Board of Trustees and suddenly changed venue from the city hall to his palace and when he got there, the monarch was busy raining curses on him for insisting on following section 11 of the provision of the constitution and question unilateral choice of secretary by the monarch.

Ogundokun  in another separate document showed how the royal families petitioned the monarch, most especially on attempt to install the title of “Sooko” known as Ile-Ife title into Iwoland which was resisted.

He questioned the rationale in the letter written by Oluwo Akanbi in January, 2017 to him (Ogundokun)  trying to make him (Ogundokun) Obanla of Iwoland, akin to the title normally given by Owa of Ijesaland, which started from Ogendengbe in appreciation of his military prowess for Ijesaland.

Oba Akanbi had on Sunday said “As the ruler and custodian of all Traditional, Cultural religious and social clubs in Iwoland, I hereby relief him of all his traditional and social titles ranging from Basorun Muslim of Iwoland, member of Iwo Board of Trustees (IBOT) , Otun Balogun of Iwoland and other proposed titles that may be accorded to him from Iwo. A Chief is appointed to favour the town. Any Chief, either traditional or religious treasonable should be dealt with accordingly.

“Ogundokun is one of them. I removed him after due consultation with Chiefs, religious leaders, stakeholders and opinion leaders in the interest of Iwo.”

But Ogundokun while reacting to the Oluwo’s statement said: “Oluwo is not fit to occupy that stool, he is heartless, ungrateful, destructive and a money monger. He does not have respect for the traditional institution at all. He is very deceptive.

“How can a reasonable monarch be abusing the Ooni of Ife, the Olubadan, the Alaafin and other traditional rulers, he attempted to punch me in the presence of Governor Rauf Aregbesola. Let him denied that. He said I stepped on his leg at a programme on Friday, that is a lie. I never move closer to where his legs are.

“When he is drunk, he acts abnormally. He does not listen to advice. I always advised him against his disgraceful acts; that is where he began to see me as his enemy. I told him not to be collecting money from all the people fighting from chieftaincy titles. If 10 people are fighting for a chieftaincy title, Oluwo will collect money from everyone of them.

“He collected N1million from me when my brother wanted to be the Babaloja of Iwoland, and did same to other people. He is very violent. He does not behave like a king.

“I was installed the Basorun Musulumi of Iwoland 18 and half years ago by the Chief Imam and Muslim Communities of Ayedire, Iwo and Olaoluwa Local Governments, how can the Oluwo said he stripped me of the religious titles? He is not competent to do that.

“I was installed Otun Balogun of Iwo land by late Oba S.O Abimbola, the first educated Oba in Iwoland in 1979. How can this Oluwo said he stripped me of that title? He himself conferred on me a kingship title of Obanla of Iwoland in recognition of my contributions and supports to him and Iwo community. Oluwo himself had said he only needs two Ogundokuns in Iwo for him to be okay financially.

“For Oluwo to say I am rude to him; that my action is counterproductive to Iwo development is absurd. I give him money regularly, I maintain him, I renovated his palace, I built a secretariat for Iwo-East local government and name him after the Oluwo. How did my actions inimical to Iwo progress?

“I challenge him to give me a letter to the effect of my purported dethronement. He cannot do that because he does not have the power to stripe me of the titles. Oluwo is a drunkard.

He has no any tangible job that he was doing when he was in Canada. When he had a case instituted against him by Oluwo Oke,  I rallied round him. I ran to Chief Olusegun Obasanjo to come to his aid, and it took the intervention of Chief Obasanjo and Governor Rauf Aregbesola before the case could be finally struck out. We called him to a meeting with Oluwo Oke, he refused to attend and refused to sign the agreement for the truce. If he is not a criminal, why was he running away from the court instead of defending himself? Was it not true he damaged Oluwo Oke’s properties?
After the case was struck out, Chief Obasanjo warned me and the lawyer that I hired during his court case travail to always caution him or otherwise we shall be held responsible for his actions.”

He added that Oba Akanbi have a belligerent attitude towards not only to top monarchs but prominent Iwo indigenes like Prof. Oladipo and Pastor Ayodeji. He attempted to hijack the Central mosque from the Chief Imam but failed. He instructed the Chief Imam to stripe me of the title of Bashorun Muslim but he refused saying I have not committed any offence to merit such treatment. He planned to implicate Imam Ibrahim Adio in a frame up but failed.