Henceforth, the Oluwo of Iwo, Oba Abdulrasheed Akanbi (Itelu 1), a prominent king in Osun, would prefer to be addressed as Emperor.
Under this new identity, his domain also has been accorded a change as it would now be referred to as "Greater Iwo Empire".
The change of status was necessitated by the fact that according to the monarch, it takes between 10 & 15 kings to make an empire and in the Iwo kingdom there are not less than 27 ancient and powerful kings. He told Punch in a recent interview:
“Looking at what makes an empire, I realised it needs to have 10 to 15 kings. I have in the Greater Iwo Empire over 27 ancient and powerful kings. Some of them have been kings before some major kings in Yorubaland.
“Having an empire in this modern day is not about wars; it is about dreams, aspirations and how to drive towards the goals. Iwo is now ‘Greater Iwo Empire,’ so I am also attaining a new status, which is Emperor of Greater Iwo Empire and that is how I am being addressed now.
“It is a vision, but one that is divine, spiritual and godly. Many things have changed in Iwo now.
Akanbi urged the Osun State Governor, Mr. Rauf Aregbesola, to borrow more money to run the state. The Consultant to the Osun State Government on Information, Mr. Sunday Akere, recently put the amount borrowed by Aregbesola administration at N122bn.
