The Oluwo of Iwoland Oba Abdul-Rasheed Adewale Akanbi, Telu I and Ohanaeze Ndigbo had a fierce disagreement over the latter’s claim that Oduduwa, the progenitor of the Yoruba race, was the last born of an Igbo prince.
The Ohanaeze Ndigbo had said, “Odudunwa (last born), later called Oduduwa was an Igbo prince, who occupied Ile-Ife, but the Yoruba saw him as a god because he was very powerful and had magical powers”.
“The Yoruba learnt and spoke Igbo language then and that is the reason for the similarity between Igbo and Yoruba language,” the Igbo cultural group said.
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But Oba Akanbi described the claim as unfounded, false and misleading to “the stalwarts of history”.
He advised the Igbo people to further their research on the adventure of their “own Oduduwa”, instead of demeaning the status of the founder of the Yoruba race, “our own source and rallying point”.
Noting that the record must be set straight and controversies laid to rest, Oba Akanbi said: “Yoruba nation was founded by Oduduwa. Oduduwa brought the first civilisation, which is the crown. Oduduwa demonstrated an unequalled, peculiar, unparalleled, unmatched, quintessential and different leadership.
“He served his people and became a rallying point for his services to humanity. He gave us the best tradition, so respectful and obedience. Rich, very beautiful and unblemished Yoruba culture emanated from Oduduwa.”