The Oluwo of Iwoland, Oba Abdul-Rasheed Adewale Akanbi, Telu I, has faulted a claim by the Ohaneze Ndigbo that the progenitor of the Yoruba race, Oduduwa, was the last born of an Igbo prince.

The monarch, in a statement by his press secretary, Alli Ibrahim, also said that Yoruba and Igbo have nothing in common.

“We don’t have anything in common with Igbo. Our cultures, our ways of greeting, dressing and dancing are different. The ways we conduct marriage and do burial are different. Everything is different,” he said.

Oluwo was reacting to the Ohaneze Ndigbo’s counterclaim to a recent statement by the Ooni of Ife, Oba Enitan Adeyeye Ogunwusi, that the Igbo community originated from Ile-Ife.

Oluwo described the Ndigbo’s claim as unfounded, false and misleading to the stalwarts of history, challenging the Igbo to further their research on the adventure of their own Oduduwa rather than demean the status of the Yoruba’s rallying point.

“Yoruba nation was founded by Oduduwa. Oduduwa brought the first civilization which is the crown. Oduduwa demonstrated an unequalled leadership, shrewd, peculiar, unparalleled, unmatched, quintessential and different, served his people and became rallying point for his services to humanity. He gave us the best tradition, so respectful and obedience. Yoruba culture is rich, very beautiful and unblemished emanated from Oduduwa.

“History is rich, necessary and must always be objective because it is a foundation to the future. Worldwide, Yoruba land is the source of every natural crowns. Our crowns are spirit, divinely ordained and sacred. It was brought by Oduduwa. And we owe a duty as his progenitors to defend everything about him.

“The fact that ‘Odudunwa’ means last born in the Igbo language does not make anyone bearing similar name Igbo born. Ours was Oduduwa, meaning: “He came out black.” ‘O’ means He, ‘Dudu’ means black, ‘Wa’ means Came.

Oduduwa was an immortal symbol of merit. Oduduwa was never a subject to anybody in West Africa. Our own Oduduwa was one different from your own Odudunwa meaning last born. We have countless last born in Yoruba called “Abikanhin”. There may be many Odudunwa but only one Oduduwa.

“Oduduwa was the source of every natural crown worldwide. He has been in existence even before traditional governance was extended to the Igbos. How then can you be a prince to what you preceded?”