The Oluwo of Iwo, Oba Abdulrosheed Akanbi, has dismissed as false a viral report claiming he has changed citizenship to Saudi Arabia and that he does not believe in Yoruba culture.
In a statement by his Chief Press Secretary, Alli Ibraheem, the monarch described the story as confabulated and said it originated from confused bloggers who want to trend and make money from their monetised page.
He explained that the picture attached to the viral post was taken during a courtesy visit by graduating students of Al-Medinah International School, Osogbo, to the Oluwo’s palace, and not evidence of any citizenship change.
“There was no element of truth that His Majesty wished or preferred Oduduwa to have been born in Saudi Arabia,” the statement stated.
“If you check the story, you can never see it on any credible media outlet. It’s awful to see educated people believing such. I challenge any of the peddlers to release the video of where Oluwo said so,” it added.
The statement further said the purveyors of the rumour are pained because “all their clandestine plans against Oluwo have failed,” adding that the monarch has been a target of detractors for years.
“Interestingly, we cannot help the rumour mongers and their sponsors. They should continue wagging their tongues and hitting their phone buttons because of Oluwo. It’s the result of an answered prayer that they may not know peace should they fail to talk about Oluwo,” it said.
The monarch reaffirmed his commitment to Yoruba tradition, describing him as “the leading monarch dedicating his throne to the promotion of unadulterated Yoruba culture and traditions.”
“No Yorubaland monarchs wear a Yoruba traditional dress and appear traditional like him. He dances majestically, Yoruba-like and promotes the Yoruba Language like no other,” the statement added.
Olamilekan Adigun is a graduate of Mass Communication with years of experience in journalism embedded in uncovering human interest stories. He also prioritises accuracy and factual reportage of issues.
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