From Yinka Oludayisi Fabowale
IRKED by the protracted feud between the Oluwo of Iwoland, Oba Abdulrasheed Adewale Akanbi and prominent politician, Chief Abiola Ogundokun, youths in the community have sued for peace for the sake of the progress of the Osun State community.
They particularly noted that the feud, which has degenerated into a media war, has smeared the image of the town and should be ended forthwith.
The Osun monarch has been in a war of words with his estranged subject for sometime now with both accusing each other of sundry misdeeds.
But reacting to the latest media altercation between the duo in the last edition of Saturday Sun, a youth group in the town, the Reformer Vanguard, Iwo, has called for ceasefire, even as it urged Ogundokun against disrespecting the Oluwo stool on account of the young age of its occupant.
But Ogundokun has dismissed the call, saying it was coming from a handful of the Oluwo’s supporters in the town.
“Chief Ogundokun is our father and a respected elder in Iwoland, but a king remains a king no matter his age and deserves to be respected. Our position as youths is for him to go back and apologise to the king and stop tarnishing the image of our community in the media,” the Secretary General of the group told Sunday Sun.
He said that youths of the town were not concerned about the differences between the two parties, but were unhappy at the ridiculing of the revered institution of Obaship, warning that they may be forced to revolt against Ogundokun if he fails to heed their call.
“We may be forced to revolt against the indignity. We had wanted to do that when he first went on air to say uncomplimentary things about the Oluwo about a month ago, but the security agencies appealed to us not to proceed with the plan,” he added.
The group’s publicity secretary, Comrade Ola Ariyo, said the youthful monarch, who is also the Vice Chairman of the Osun State Council of Obas and Chiefs, deserved respect and should be allowed to continue his peace and development agenda for Iwoland.
He debunked the claim that the Oba was unpopular, saying: “The majority of Iwoland stands by the Oluwo. Iwo was already a forgotten city before the emergence of this Oba. But since he came, we have bounced back. We love the Oluwo, everybody — Babaloja, Iyaloja, IBOT and the youths of the town.”
Ogundokun has, however, challenged those accusing him of disrespecting the Oba to prove their allegation. “How did I disrespect him? How did I wash his dirty linen? Someone who did not respect the governor and wanted to box me before the governor?” he queried.
Reacting to claims that it was the Oluwo that rehabilitated him and restored him to public relevance, he retorted: “How did he rehabilitate me when he was praising me and calling me his father for all I was doing for him?”