The Oluwo of Iwo, Oba Abdulrasheed Akanbi, says he is against idol worship in the palace in the present day because culture is dynamic and no longer supports the practice.
Oba Akanbi, who ascended the throne in November 2015, stated this in an interview published by Sunday Punch while revealing the first major decision he took as king.
“The first major decision was to combat idolatry in kingship. Idol and deity worshipping should not be in the palace. If anybody has idols or deities, they should keep them where priceless things are kept― museums,” the monarch said.
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The 16th Oluwo faulted those who say that as a custodian of Yoruba culture, he should not frown at idol and deity worship.
“Culture is dynamic and it has to be consistent. When time is moving, we should move with it. Our fathers did not wear shoes; should we also now reject shoes?
“The umbrella they cover kings with when they are going out were not used by our fathers. Back then, they didn’t have clothes to wear.
“We are the only tribe that prostrates and kneel to greet people. We also own the talking drum. I call all that culture. It is the deities that are spoiling our culture and adding nothing good to our tradition.
“Idol worshipping is a religion; it is not culture or tradition. You cannot use an idol to identify Yoruba because other tribes worship those idols too.
“Man grows to know religion; it should not be part of customs and tradition. Do you know how many good Yoruba men that are supposed to be kings, but their parents warned them not to, because they equate kingship with being fetish?
“Now, we are cleaning the house of God on earth. The real house of God is the palace, before churches and mosques were ever made,” the traditional ruler stated.