Yorubas are not originally from Ile-Ife — Oluwo of Iwo insists
By Jeleel Olawale
The Oluwo of Iwoland, Oba Abdulrasheed Adewale Akanbi, has insisted that Yorubas are not originally from Ile-Ife, saying Oduduwa came from somewhere before he settled in Ile-Ife.
The ancestral home is beyond Ile-Ife, he said, as he urged historians working on the study of the Yoruba ancestral home to be objective in their research and documentation.
In a statement made available by his media aide, Alli Ibraheem, in Osogbo on Monday, Oba Akanbi opined that limiting research work to Ile-Ife is putting a limitation on Yoruba’s far-reaching historical greatness and accomplishments.
While maintaining that the Yoruba are synonymous with distinction, excellence, and greatness, the monarch claimed that the first man created was Yoruba.
He stated that Oduduwa migrated to Ile-Ife and launched the traditional system of governance with the crown as the symbol of authority.
Oba Akanbi challenged professors of Yoruba to dig further into the origin and originality of Oduduwa as a descendant of Ola Mu Iru Dudu Yi, shortened to Lamurudu.
“Yorubas are naturally [born of] greatness. Humanity started with us. We are the descendants of Lamurudu, the first mightiest man to build the tallest house. Our history goes beyond Oduduwa and Ile-Ife. Limiting our history to the duo is tantamount to restraint our ancestors from great accomplishments and achievements of the past.
“I challenge professors of Yoruba to research the origin and originality of Oduduwa. We have to objectively trace his lineage and origin. He came from somewhere before he settled at Ile-Ife. This implies that Yorubas are not originally from Ile-Ife.
“In documenting the history of the Yorubas, all ancient crowns and stakeholders with genuine interest must be incorporated. We are victors, great, and rich. Hence, we must establish our origin to be greater and richer than our forbearers,” he submitted.
He said further: “I’m a descendant of Oduduwa. Empirically, the origin of humanity points to the Yoruba. The first man created, Adamo, was a Yoruba. I’ve researched, in books and beyond, on the coinage of Adamo.
“I’ve extended my findings to the Yoruba religion¯which is worshipping, [with] direct access to Olodumare without intermediaries, Judaism, Christianity, Buddhism, Hinduism, etc¯to know the meaning of Adamo.
“I’ve been vindicated by many revelations. In the dictionary, Adamo means ‘created from the red earth’ meaning ‘Eni ti a da ninu amo.’ I’m throwing it open for further academic investigation by Yoruba professors.”
