The Oluwo of Iwo, Oba Abdulrosheed Akanbi, has declared that he was divinely sent to guide the Yoruba people towards a more humane and responsible way of life, distancing himself from certain cultural practices he described as violations of human rights.
Speaking against the backdrop of some traditional festivals in Yorubaland, Oba Akanbi criticised customs that permit masquerades to flog passersby without consequence, describing such acts as brutality and a departure from the values of Yoruba forefathers. “You turned Yoruba to cow, and beat them at will. Are you Yoruba’s cow?” he asked rhetorically, to which his audience reportedly responded in the negative.
The monarch further denounced cultural restrictions placed on women and citizens during certain traditional events, questioning the legality and morality of such practices. “As a king, imagine I now instruct them to cut you with a machete. Am I a butcher?” he said. “Even the government cannot stop people from moving freely — not even President Bola Tinubu. It is not in our constitution that someone or a masquerade should not be seen by women because a king dies or for any other reason.”
Oba Akanbi urged for a reformation of traditions to align with modern human rights and constitutional freedoms.
