Why I Named My Son Oduduwa, The Forbidden Name – Oluwo

Traditional ruler of Iwo, Osun State, Oba Abdulrosheed Adewale Akanbi, the Oluwo of Iwoland he named his son Oduduwa, a forbidden name to break the myth.

This was disclosed in an interview with The Nation where he shared his thoughts on kingship, religion and family.

When asked to reecho his thoughts on idol worshipping by quoting excerpts from his book, Our Origin and Religion, he said, “The truth is that monarchs are the ones to propagate the message of the Almighty God. Pastors and Imams are supposed to listen and pass the message across to the people. Monarchs are heirs, the representatives of Olodumare (the Almighty God). Pastors and Alfas are the messengers of God. Between the representatives of God and the messengers of God, who should know God better? The heir, of course.

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“That is why I do not agree with the belief in certain quarters that it was the orisas (deities) that created the monarchical institution. I don’t know of any deity that brought the institution of kingship. Kingship was ordained from heaven. Almighty God is the one who appoints kings. He is the king of kings, the creator. He is the real king. There is no one like God, deities are not God, and human beings are gods.

“Of all the creations of God, only one institution moves from the realm of ‘orisa’ (deity), and becomes vested with authorities (‘alase’). Before I became a king, I was an ‘orisa’ (deity), ‘eni ti orisa da’ (God’s chosen), but when you leave the realm of ‘orisa’, and you become a king, you become a person vested with authority (alase).

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“You are a servant to the person that created you. It was the Olodumare (Almighty God) that created the kingship institution. Kings are the heirs of the King of Kings, Olodumare. Unfortunately in Yorubaland, the monarchs have been intimidated and cowed. The traditional rulers are afraid of the chiefs who worship idols, who are not kings.

“If they had enslaved our forefathers, we should not enslave our children and we should do better than our forefathers — Oduduwa, Sango, etc. You don’t allow superstition to limit your life. Don’t allow fear to rule your life, the thinking that your children should not be greater than their forefathers. You know that Yoruba never allowed anybody to name his child Oduduwa, but I have broken that myth and I have named my child Oduduwa.”