By Mustapha Aleem
Alawusa, Ogunmakinde Ande and Adegunodo ruling houses in Iwo have petitioned the Oluwo of Iwo land, Oba Abdulrasheed Akanbi, over an alleged relegation of the princes on matters concerning the town.
In a petition jointly signed by the aforementioned ruling houses, the princes accused Oluwo of shouting them down in the presence of visitors and friends whenever they attempted to advise the monarch on issues bothering the town.
The petition read in part, “We write this letter to you for and on behalf of all the princes from three out the four ruling houses in Iwo to wit: Alawusa, Ogunmakinde Ande and Adegunodo. Gbase ruling house is deliberately left out as you are a member of same and you are both therefore entitled to be intimidated of our complaints.
“Traditionally, a king gives a lot of respect to princes through, at least Mogajis of all ruling houses and respects their opinions in every step taken in governance. Sir, in your own case, reverse is the case. The reason being that you have never turned to them for discuss of any issue since you have been on the throne and even when they (princes) want to advise you on any issue, you do shout them down, embarrass and disrespect them, mostly in the presence of your friends and folks who always visit you at the palace. An instance is the removal of “Ogun Shrine” in front of the palace without consulting opinions of the princes, knowing that same belongs to us all.”
They also, alleged that the monarch, as against the ethic of the land, allowed the Olori (queen) to go about with crown when she was only entitled to wearing head gears alone, emphasizing the act was against the custom of anywhere within the Yoruba nation.
They also expressed dissatisfaction over what they alleged as crowning of lesser chiefs and Baales by the Oluwo, warning of an imminent disintegration of the land as a result of such.
They said, ”As you know that the throne belongs to all of us while you are representing us thereon, it is our duty to guide and protect you and the throne from any form of embarrassment, displeasure and disrespect, we therefore call on you to change your attitudes towards the princes to better and improve on the way you use the office as same will appease and make them always happy as against continuous disregarding the princes and misuse of office as explained above will not be tolerated by us any longer. Your highness, it will be our pleasure that you give us some explanations on all the issues raised in this letter within 14 days from service to this letter on your office.”
However, in what seem to be a crack in the relationship of the princes and the Oluwo, the Divisional Police Officer in charge of Iwo Division, C S P Abiola Akano, subsequently convened a peace meeting between the king and the ruling houses, urging them to embrace peace.
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