Oluwo Of Iwo Says Yoruba People Didn't Originate From Ife

The Oluwo of Iwo, Oba Abdulrosheed Akanbi has stated that the long-held claim that Ile-Ife is the cradle of the Yoruba race is untrue.
He stated this in a video shared on his Facebook page on Tuesday September 23, 2025..

While conferring a chieftaincy title on one of his subjects, the monarch insisted that the Yoruba people did not originate from Ife, contrary to popular belief.

Flanked by his chiefs, the controversial monarch declared: “Ife is not the origin of the Yoruba race. Those people don’t speak our language. Their language is different.
They refer to God as Eledumare, and there is nothing like Eledumare in the Yoruba language. What we have is Olodumare. Ile-Ife has no Yoruba culture.”

The Iwo monarch argued that Ife already had inhabitants before Oduduwa arrived and conquered the city, adding that the language spoken in ancient Ife was distinct from Yoruba.

“Ife people will always say Olofin, and if you ask them what the meaning is, they will tell you it means the owner of the palace. What that means in Yoruba is Alaafin,” he said.
Oba Akanbi described himself as the Arole Olodumare (custodian of the divine mandate), stressing his mission to restore what he called the true history of the Yoruba race.
“Iwo is where you can get the real history that was not even documented. Whatever I am telling you now, you must keep it because death can come anytime. I am not scared of death because it is inevitable,” he added.