In the late sixties and early seventies, before Higher School Certificate (HSC) was canceled, Iwo Baptists High School was a school of choice along with greats like Muslim college, Ijebu-ode, Christ School, Ado Ekiti, Ondo Boys High School among others.
Later they had Covenant University, one of the earliest private universities in Nigeria. And then, that chart-buster by Fuji legend, Barrister for Morilewa where Ayinde sang praises of Iwo to high heavens. Barrister called them ‘Omo olowo abe awo’. (those with cash under the praying mat). Iwo ti o oni lekun, ti oni kokoro, eru wewe ni won fi dele ti won. ‘Iwo, without doors and keys employed young slaves to guard their houses’.
Those are in the past now as their short-man-devil king has been doing and still doing all within his might to rubbish these achievements and the glorious past of this historic town. It is doubtful if there is an Iwo elite who would openly identify with this cantankerous bole-Kaja of a king.
That is what you get when you jettison tradition, That is the kind of oba you get when you listen to money and political connections at the expense of culture and traditions. For, I am so sure, the Iwo people could not have offended the gods so much as to have given then this king if Ifa oracle had been consulted.
The first thing we had about this king was that he is a Yahoo-Yahoo, guy-guy man. We were ready to give him the benefit of doubt, but he didn’t take long to behave true to type.
I am not a friend of Chief Abiola Ogundokun, but the moment he started to rubbish this foremost Iwo man whom we heard facilitated his ascension to the throne, I knew he would soon blow it. Not that Ogundoyin is a saint or he earns my respect as such, but in Yoruba land, ingrates always end up badly and here we are now.
The sweat from the scuffle with Chief Ogundoyin had not dried up when this rancorous king opened another war front with Oluwo of Iwo Oke, Oba Kadiri Adeoye. Oba Adeoye who does not suffer fools gladly quickly filed a suit against him in a magistrate court in Oshogbo which led to a warrant of arrest being issued against him. That was in December 2016, barely a year after his accession to the throne. Thanks to Ebora Owu and political connections, perhaps the king would have been in Ilesha white house eating beans.
Before he divorced (were they legally married or arrange marriage ) his wife in controversial circumstances which we heard were not decent to the ear, this Oluwo went somewhere in Arewa land where he was given a second-hand tokunbo turban. Nothing bad about that, you are free to put on a turban as long as you do not desecrate the throne.
But not this yellow-boy. As soon as he sat on the throne on return from his Arewa sojourn, he called a press conference and changed the title of the throne to Emir of Iwo in contrast to Oluwo Of Iwo which respected kings before him as Oba Tadeshe answered. Iwo people must be asking themselves which of the gods they offended.
With all these fracases around him, he still found time to be disrespectful to top-of-the shelves kings in Yoruba land. Here is the list-Ooni of Ife, Alaafin of Oyo, Alake of Egba land. Whoever does that and gets away with it.
This haughty attitude to these revered kings have earned him the 6 months suspension announced last week by the council of Obas, but what really sealed his fate was the beating he gave Agbowu of Ogbagba, Dhikrulahi Akinropo, over a disagreement during a peace meeting convened by the Assistant Inspector-General of Police in Oshogbo. What an irony, a boxing match in a peace meeting.
This guy had done all he could to disabuse the minds of right-thinking persons on this. He claimed Ogbagba was trying to poke his staff of office at his face and had to defend himself. At a stage, he denied ever hitting the monarch but he needs not to bother. Without a word from Oba Akinropo, we know what to believe. We know the aggressor.
In his characteristic buffoonery, he thinks he is on par with Ooni and Alaafin. Hear him after beating up Oba Akinropo. ’Can any Oba do that to Ooni or Alaafin’ He once boasted that Iwo will soon produce an Alaafin and Ooni as they all came from his kingdom. Royal Balderdash
Unknown to many people, he also claimed that Iwo extends to as far as Ali Iwo area in Ibadan. Promptly, Ibadan Council Of Elders sent a message to him not to pass through Ibadan as his safety could not be guaranteed on Ibadan land which made him ran to Olubadan and begged with his belly on the ground. Why dragging royalty in the mud?
Before we forget, our one month-one scandal monarch sacked the kingdom Sheik because the man of God would not allow the king to ride his wife. What an abomination.
Recently, I watched footage of the oba lambasting a perceived enemy in his palace. You need to hear the inelegant and rough-neck language coming out of the mouth of this king. You would think it was a first-class graduate of Oshodi school of thuggery talking. And who were his listeners-the dredges of Iwo. Not even one person of substance.
The question you ask is, how did he manage to garner so many scandals around him within just five years on the throne. How many scandals will he be battling with after 10, 15, 20 years on this throne? Unimaginable.
So what next? Let him go. This man is too crude, irascible and grouchy to be a chief let alone sitting on the historic and prestigious throne Of Oluwo of Iwo. He is a disaster to Obaship and culture in Yoruba land. He is bereft of any Omuluabi instincts the Yorubas are known for.
This past week, one of the best Hotels in Abuja rolled the carpet for Oonirisa, Oba Adeyeye Enitan Ogunwusi. They went to meet him at the Nnamdi Azikiwe airport where some of their workers, traversing all the tribes in Nigeria prostrated for him. That is the kind of cool-headed person the Iwos need on the throne, not this rabble-rouser who no starless hotel at Alekuso would want to identify with.
One less charitable fellow said M.C. Oluomo would have served Iwos better on that throne. It’s as bad as that.
