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‘I don’t serve any idol except God’ + How i have stopped rain from falling on different Occasions – Oluwo Of Iwo Land reveals
The Oluwo of Iwo land, Oba Abdulrasheed Akanbi holds his second year anniversary of his ascension to the stool and marks his 50th birthday on Saturday 7th of October. He spoke with PREMIUM TIMES on his aspirations for his people in Iwo and his novel approach to the traditional stool.
PT: You came on the throne facing a lot of opposition and challenges. How were you able to survive the crises you faced?
Oluwo: I don’t see challenges as anything. It was a situation where people did not know me. So I don’t hold it against anybody. Those who opposed me did not know that I came with a message and that I am a different kind of person who has brought a new kind of leadership. I brought a leadership that is committed to serving humanity.
When people cannot understand you, then there will be a challenge. Even myself, before I became the king, there were things I didn’t know. To be a king is about service, it is not about ruling over the people, but serving the people. The definition of kingship has been redefined in Iwo. It is the only seat and throne of God on earth, where there is no selfish, fetish or idolatry mixing with it. I mean not worship any lesser gods or idols.
PT: Some princes of the land attacked you and criticised your style of leadership. What is the situation right now?
Oluwo: Like I told you earlier, they did not know that a new dispensation had come. Even Jesus Christ, when he came, people stoned him and lied against him and rejected him. They lied against me and said I was a yahoo yahoo, even when no one ever said I defrauded him. So, the period of attack was the time when they did not know who I was really. They thought I was trying to smear or reduce the throne, but they did not know that I was helping the kingship to grow and to become independent and raise a great people.
The princes today have come back to me already. Even this morning, some came to me to say ‘we are sorry, we did not know that you meant well. You have been setting our history right, and the things we did not know before, you are making us to know them.’
In the history of Iwo land, this is the first time we will be connecting the Iwo stool with the Ooni of Ife, which means the Oluwo is a son of Oduduwa. We even have a ruling house there gazetted under the law which can produce a prince who can aspire to become the Ooni of Ife. That is a great eye opener, which God, through me, has brought to us in Iwo land. We have written the history, we have returned Iwo to the position it ought to be and I have made the people to know that the Oluwo is a natural ruler from inception in the whole of Yoruba land. Oluwo has never been relegated, he has never been a Baale before. The Iwo people did not know this until I became the king.
When I was saying it they said I was arrogant, but I am not arrogant. I know where I am coming from and that is what makes me to be strong for the future to know where I am going. Everyday the princes come here and say ‘Kabiesi, have you forgiven us? We went astray, we are your children.’ They even brought gifts. When they were doing all that over 90 per cent of the people of the land were with me when I stepped on the throne. Only a few of them who did not know, who were confused…because it was a new time and a new thing.
PT: Now that they have come to say they are sorry, have you really forgiven them?
Oluwo: Why would I not forgive them? They are my children. They are princes. I was a prince before I became the king. If I were still a prince and I see a king that is doing a thing different from what others had done in the past, I may also have criticised him, unless God gives me the wisdom to know what it was that the king was doing. I had to put myself in their shoes. So I may not have known the right from the wrong, so if that is the case, I should not now look down on people who at a point in time, did not know the right from the wrong. The thing was that they did not know.
PT: You said you have been involved in developmental projects in Iwo land. Would you tell us where you are getting the funds to do roads and other similar projects?
Oluwo: We thank God for giving us wisdom. Ideas rule the world. Money don’t rule. You may have money, but without ideas, nothing will happen. But when you have ideas, especially to lead, you will make progress.
For instance, if you go to your area and you see a very bad road leading to your house. You know the road is not a federal road, not a state road and not even a local government road. You know that the government will not come and help you to fix it and the road is very bad. If you just start in the morning and you start knocking on the doors of all the landlords of that area, and you give them the idea of how the road can be fixed, you that have the idea would be made the leader of the community and they will entrust you to lead in ensuring the road is fixed. With ideas you can do a lot of things. Where the money comes from, I myself don’t know. But funds are coming and I myself also give from my pocket. Because as an oba that is working and also an active oba, there is no way you won’t be reckoned with. I am a working Oba.
PT: As a revered Oba in the Yoruba land, what are you doing to bring peace among traditional stools in serious conflicts in the south west?
Oluwo: The truth is that past traditional rulers in Yoruba land ruled and they did not impact the lives of people. We no longer want it to be like that. What I am advocating is that kings should show the people not only tradition, tradition, tradition, which are of the old. I am not against tradition, our tradition and culture is the best. But we have to move from obscurity into light and to make our tradition to be more attractive. Using all this red oil, all this black soap and putting it at junction and roundabout, who wants to see that? That is dirty. We are killing human beings for rituals, is that a good culture? Our culture is good, but when you put some things that is not good, like fetish things and all that stuff, then it is not good. When a culture condones killing of people for rituals, then that is a wicked culture. Culture is not wicked, it is the things added to it. I tell all the obas, if you can tell me the deity that Oduduwa worshipped, if you can just give me one deity that he worshipped, I will leave my crown, I will walk out of the palace and not be king anymore. Everything that Oduduwa laid down was good and that is how he became the father of all Yoruba people. He was not the first Yoruba man, but Oduduwa served the people diligently. You see, we call Oduduwa the father of the Yorubas. Which king has emanated from Ife that we can call the father of Yorubaland?
I am asking you that question. Which king that has emanated from the south west that you can say he is the father of the Yorubas? They call us royal fathers, but Oduduwa became the father of all Yorubas because he served. Do you know that we would have had another father of the Yorubas in the 60s and 70s and the 80s but he was not a king, he was only a leader, and that was Awolowo. Because you can see that he became the Premier of Western Region and he remembered the people, the downtrodden, he gave them free education. Who is doing that now? All we are doing is to get money for ourselves.
Money that is meant for millions, one person is taking it. I have told people that any politician that is seeking election and does not have anticorruption as a pillar of their policies should not be voted for; because corruption is what is killing Nigeria. And if you don’t have good leadership, you cannot fight corruption in this country. There are no poor people in Kuwait, and Nigeria is richer than Kuwait. They say all fingers are not equal, all fingers are equal in United Arab Emirates . There is no one poor Dubai and Nigeria is richer than UAE, Nigeria is richer than Kuwait, in terms of its resources and oil. We have it, and Nigerians are still suffering.
When it comes to kings, I am telling them to change their ways. Go and serve the people, don’t just sit down in the palace, go to the people, go to the communities, visit your subjects in their houses. Old ways is not now. You see my own style, I go to the people. I have eaten with the President, with governors and highly placed persons. I still go down to the people. Sometimes you will see me, I will leave the palace and will go and visit the people and start greeting them in their houses. I am talking about the lowest places in the society. I will go there and visit them and say to them, hi, this is your king. I am a father to them, my children cannot see me then I am not their father. I am not a ruler.
PT: You recently visited the Olubadan in his palace. What is your take on the crisis between the Olubadan and the government of Oyo State?
Oluwo: You see, traditional rulership has been having dents for long. The problem started from kings themselves. It is a kind of ignorance. It is not that they deliberately did it, they did not know. It was because instead of being fathers to the people, kings were only ruling. What Oduduwa laid down, people did not follow it and that is why we have problems. There is no way kings in Yoruba land will not go down because of the way we are going. You can see kings in the north are more respected than kings in the south west. Do you why? They have moved from what is called the old, blind tradition to a very high traditional. They do durbar today and make fun. We obas, we are the fathers of the nation, but we lost it, especially in Yoruba land. A king should not worship lesser gods. A king that does not have and should not have ‘this is the alfa praying for me, this is the babalawo doing something for me or this is the pastor that is doing this for me.’ A king is the one that has authority and he will say, be, and it will be so. If you represent God.
PT: You haven’t responded to my question on the Olubadan issue….
Oluwo: Yes, I will speak on it, that is where I am coming to when I started by saying we have lost it. Let me tell you the truth, government is the one that gives the right to become a king; the king doesn’t give the government the right to become the government. We should know that the power of the government cannot be eroded, we cannot disrespect the law. What is there is that the traditional system which doesn’t have anything left, other than people just want to respect you. If they want to respect you…if they want chieftaincy title, they want other things, they will come to you, but other than that, the king has no more powers. Do you know that if the king wants to do traditional title, somebody can even go to court and stop the king. If a king wants to build a palace, somebody can say I am the owner of the land and he can go and get injunction from the court. There is no power any more. But there are values. And if people want to respect you it is at their own discretion.
If the governor comes to you as a kabiesi and says he wants us to do something, without politicising it, if the Oba refuses, the governor can invoke the relevant sections of the law against the oba. So what I have to say is that the power of the government should not be eroded, but the traditional institution should not be reduced to nonentity and should not be reduced to thrash. I believe that the governor has done that as I heard. I have made some move to bring peace, and I want to wade into it to actually tell them their limits. I have told the Olubadan and I am trying to reach the government as well. I was told he went somewhere and had just returned and so we have not been able to sit to talk about it. There should be a balance. I would not want the traditional institution to be disrespected and at the same time will not want the government power to be eroded because it will not be good for our democracy.
PT: You were reported to have stopped the rain from falling at an occasion, how did you come about stopping the rain?
Oluwo: I can command the rain to stop. I have done it more than once. An oba who doesn’t worship lesser gods, an oba that worships no other thing than God who does not sleep. If you have a pastor that sleeps that you are relying on, you are going to lose. If you have an Imam who has a wife and when he sleeps by his wife in the night, you call him and he can’t pick your call, you know you are a loser. If you have a babalawo as your backbone, your backbone will break. I have only God. it is not about Islam, it is not about Christianity, it is not about babalawo, it is about divinity. Many things about the Yoruba culture and traditions are divine. Any function that I am attending and there is no canopy and there is rain coming I will tell it to go away. Many people have witnessed it in many places. There was even one with thundering and lightning, I said I am outside here, go back. There was another one, I told that rain, go to Lekki. Yes, and it would never rain. I have the power to say that, with the power of God and the position I am sitting in. That is why when I pray to God, I can command sickness to leave the person it is affecting to come to me. If I want to take anything like sickness or poverty from the land, I have to give it back to God that owns it.
PT: How will Saturday’s second coronation anniversary and your 50thbirthday ceremony rub off on Iwo people?
Oluwo: I did not want to do this, it is my people who have insisted that it should be done. I wanted to go to the poor, visit the less privilege and give to the poor, but they say it has to be done. Left for me, this will not be. It is not just preparing Chinese rice, great food and fixing a hall when some people are actually hungry, I didn’t want it, but they said no, they want me to celebrate, they are the ones that wanted it. Left to me I will just visit the poor, less privilege and that is it.
Recapitalisation Without Transformation is a Risk Nigeria Cannot Afford
BY BLAISE UDUNZE
In barely two weeks, Nigeria’s banking sector will once again be at a historic turning point. As the deadline for the latest recapitalisation exercise approaches on March 31, 2026, with no fewer than 31 banks having met the new capital rule, leaving out two that are reportedly awaiting verification. As exercise progresses and draws to an end, policymakers are optimistic that stronger banks will anchor financial stability and support the country’s ambition of building a $1 trillion economy.
The reform, driven by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) under Governor Olayemi Cardoso, requires banks to significantly raise their capital thresholds, which are set at N500 billion for international banks, N200 billion for national banks, and N50 billion for regional lenders. According to the apex bank, 33 banks have already tapped the capital market through rights issues and public offerings; collectively, the total verified and approved capital raised by the banks amounts to N4.05 trillion.
No doubt, at first glance, the strategy definitely appears straightforward with the idea that bigger capital means stronger banks, and stronger banks should finance economic growth. But history offers a cautionary reminder that capital alone does not guarantee resilience, as it would be recalled that Nigeria has travelled this road before.
During the 2004-2005 consolidation led by former CBN Governor Charles Soludo, the number of banks in the country shrank dramatically from 89 to 25. The reform created larger institutions that were celebrated as national champions. The truth is that Nigeria has been here before because, despite all said and done, barely five years later, the banking system plunged into crisis, forcing regulatory intervention, bailouts, and the creation of the Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON) to absorb toxic assets.
The lesson from that experience is simple in the sense that recapitalisation without structural reform only postpones deeper problems.
Today, as banks race to meet the new capital thresholds, the real question is not how much capital has been raised but whether the reform will transform the fundamentals of Nigerian banking. The underlying fact is that if the exercise merely inflates balance sheets without addressing deeper vulnerabilities, Nigeria risks repeating a familiar cycle of apparent stability followed by systemic stress, as the resultant effect will be distressed banks less capable of bringing the economy out of the woods.
The real measure of success is far simpler. That is to say, stronger banks must stimulate economic productivity, stabilise the financial system, and expand access to credit for businesses and households. Anything less will amount to a missed opportunity.
One of the most critical issues surrounding the recapitalisation drive is the quality of the capital being raised.
Nigeria’s banking sector has reportedly secured more than N4.5 trillion in new capital commitments across different categories of banks. No doubt, on paper, these numbers may appear impressive. Going by the trends of events in Nigeria’s economy, numbers alone can be deceptive.
Past recapitalisation cycles revealed troubling practices, whereby funds raised through related-party transactions, borrowed money disguised as equity, or complex financial arrangements that recycled risks back into the banking system. If such practices resurface, recapitalisation becomes little more than an accounting exercise.
To avert a repeat of failure, the CBN must therefore ensure that every naira raised represents genuine, loss-absorbing capital. Transparency around capital sources, ownership structures, and funding arrangements must be non-negotiable. Without credible capital, balance sheet strength becomes an illusion that will make every recapitalization exercise futile.
In financial systems, credibility is itself a form of capital. If there is one recurring factor behind banking crises in Nigeria, it is corporate governance failure.
Many past collapses were not triggered by global shocks but by insider lending, weak board oversight, excessive executive power, and poor risk culture. Recapitalisation provides regulators with a rare opportunity to reset governance standards across the industry.
Boards must be independent not only in structure but also in substance. Risk committees must be empowered to challenge executive decisions. Insider lending rules must be enforced without compromise because, over the years, they have proven to be an anathema against the stability of the financial sector. The stakes are high.
When governance fails, fresh capital can quickly become fresh fuel for old excesses. Without governance reform, recapitalisation risks reinforcing the very weaknesses it seeks to eliminate.
Another structural vulnerability lies in Nigeria’s increasing amount of non-performing loans (NPLs), which recently caused the CBN to raise concerns, as Nigeria experiences a rise in bad loans threatening banking stability.
Industry data suggests that the banking sector’s NPL ratio has climbed above the prudential benchmark of 5 percent, reaching roughly 7 percent in recent assessments. Many of these troubled loans are concentrated in sectors such as oil and gas, power, and government-linked infrastructure projects, alongside other factors such as FX instability, high interest rates, and the withdrawal of Covid-era forbearance, which threaten bank stability.
While regulatory forbearance has helped maintain short-term stability, it has also obscured deeper asset-quality concerns. A credible recapitalisation process must confront this reality directly.
Loan classification standards must reflect economic truth rather than regulatory convenience. Banks should not carry impaired assets indefinitely while presenting healthy balance sheets to investors and depositors.
Transparency about asset quality strengthens trust. Concealment destroys it. Few forces have disrupted Nigerian bank balance sheets in recent years as severely as exchange-rate volatility.
Many banks still operate with significant foreign exchange mismatches, borrowing short-term in foreign currencies while lending long-term to clients earning revenues in naira. When the naira depreciates sharply, these mismatches can erode capital faster than any credit loss.
Recapitalisation must therefore be accompanied by stricter supervision of foreign exchange exposure, as this part calls for the regulator to heighten its supervision. Banks should be required to disclose currency risks more transparently and undergo rigorous stress testing at intervals that assume adverse currency scenarios rather than best-case outcomes. In a structurally import-dependent economy, ignoring FX risk is no longer an option.
Nigeria’s banking system has long been characterised by excessive concentration in a few sectors and corporate clients, which calls for adequate monitoring and the need to be addressed quickly for the recapitalization drive to yield maximum results.
Growth in most advanced economies comes from the small and medium-sized enterprises that are well-funded. Anything short of this undermines it, since the concentration of huge loans to large oil and gas companies, government-related entities, and major conglomerates absorbs a disproportionate share of bank lending. This has continued to pose a major threat to the system, as the case is with small and medium-sized enterprises, the backbone of job creation, which remain chronically underfinanced. This imbalance weakens the economy.
Recapitalisation should therefore be tied to policies that encourage credit diversification and risk-sharing mechanisms that allow banks to lend more confidently to productive sectors such as agriculture, manufacturing, and technology rather than investing their funds into the government’s securities. Bigger banks that remain narrowly exposed do not strengthen the economy. They amplify its fragilities.
Nigeria’s macroeconomic conditions, which are its broad economic settings, are defined by frequent and sometimes sharp changes or instability rather than stability.
Inflation shocks, interest-rate swings, fiscal pressures, and currency adjustments are not rare disruptions; but they have now become a normal part of the economic environment. Despite all these adverse factors, many banks still operate risk models that assume relative stability. Perhaps unbeknownst to the stakeholders, this disconnect is dangerous.
Owing to possible shocks, and when banks increase their capital (recapitalization), it is required that banks adopt more sophisticated risk-management frameworks capable of withstanding severe economic scenarios, with the expectation that stronger banks should also have stronger systems to manage risks and survive economic crises. In Nigeria today, every financial institution’s stress testing must be performed in the face of the economy facing severe shocks like currency depreciation, sovereign debt pressures, and sudden interest-rate spikes.
Risk management should evolve from a compliance obligation into a strategic discipline embedded in every lending decision.
Public confidence in the banking system depends heavily on credible financial reporting.
Investors, analysts, and depositors need to be able to understand banks’ true financial positions without navigating non-transparent disclosures or creative accounting practices, which means the industry must be liberated to an extent that gives room for access to information.
Recapitalisation provides an opportunity to strengthen the enforcement of international financial reporting standards, enhance audit quality, and require clearer disclosure of capital adequacy, asset quality, and related-party transactions. Transparency should not be feared. It is the foundation of trust.
One thing that must be corrected is that while recapitalisation often focuses on financial metrics, the banking sector ultimately runs on human capital.
Another fearful aspect of this exercise for the economy is that consolidation and mergers triggered by the reform could lead to workforce disruptions if not carefully managed. Job losses, casualisation, and declining staff morale can weaken institutional culture and productivity. Strong banks are built by strong people.
If recapitalisation strengthens balance sheets while destabilising the workforce that powers the system, the reform risks undermining its own economic objectives. Human capital stability must therefore form part of the broader reform strategy.
Doubtless, another emerging shift in Nigeria’s financial landscape is the rise of digital financial platforms that are increasingly changing how people access and use money in Nigeria.
Millions of Nigerians are increasingly relying on fintech platforms for payments, microloans, and everyday financial transactions. One of the advantages it offers, is that these services often deliver faster and more user-friendly experiences than traditional banks. While innovation is welcome, it raises important questions about the future structure of financial intermediation.
The point here is that the moment traditional banks retreat from retail banking while fintech platforms dominate customer interactions, systemic liquidity and regulatory oversight could become fragmented.
The CBN must see to it that the recapitalised banks must therefore invest aggressively in digital infrastructure, cybersecurity, and customer experience, while cutting down costs on all less critical areas in the industry.
Nigerians should feel the benefits of recapitalisation not only in stronger balance sheets but also in faster apps, reliable payment systems, and responsive customer service.
As banks grow larger through recapitalisation and consolidation, a new challenge emerges via systemic concentration.
Nigeria’s largest banks already control a significant share of industry assets. Further consolidation could deepen the divide between dominant institutions and smaller players. This creates the risk of “too-big-to-fail” banks whose collapse could threaten the entire financial system.
To address this risk, regulators must strengthen resolution frameworks that allow distressed banks to fail without triggering systemic panic, their collapse does not damage the whole financial system, and do not require taxpayer-funded bailouts to forestall similar mistakes that occurred with the liquidation of Heritage Bank. Market discipline depends on credible failure mechanisms.
It must be understood that Nigeria’s banking recapitalisation is not merely a financial exercise or, better still, increasing banks’ capital. It is a rare opportunity to rebuild trust, strengthen governance, and reposition the financial system as a true engine of economic development.
One fact is that if the reform focuses only on capital numbers, the country risks repeating a familiar pattern of churning out impressive balance sheets followed by another cycle of crisis.
But the actors in this exercise must ensure that the recapitalisation addresses governance failures, asset quality concerns, risk management weaknesses, and transparency gaps; and the moment this is done, the banking sector could emerge stronger and more resilient.
Nigeria does not simply need bigger banks. It needs better banks, institutions capable of financing innovation, supporting entrepreneurs, and building economic opportunity for millions of citizens.
The true capital of any banking system is not just money. It is trust. And whether this recapitalisation ultimately succeeds will depend on whether Nigerians see that trust reflected not only in financial statements but in the everyday experience of saving, borrowing, and investing in the economy. Only then will bigger banks translate into a stronger nation.
Blaise, a journalist and PR professional, writes from Lagos and can be reached via: [email protected]
FirstBank Makes Home Ownership Possible for Nigerians with Single-Digit Interest Rate Loan
For millions of Nigerians, homeownership has long felt like an ambition deferred. Squeezed by rising property prices, persistent double-digit inflation and high commercial lending rates, the dream of owning a home has remained just that – a dream.
But that narrative is quietly changing. Thanks to FirstBank.
The N1 Trillion Intervention Reshaping Access
In partnership with the Ministry of Finance Incorporated Real Estate Investment Fund (MREIF), FirstBank has unveiled a mortgage opportunity that could redefine access to housing finance in Nigeria.
Backed by the Federal Government’s N1trillion mortgage fund, the initiative is designed to empower Nigerians with affordable, long-term credit to own their homes.
9.75% Interest Rate in a 30% Lending Environment
MREIF is priced at 9.75% per annum, dramatically lower than prevailing commercial loan rates. Eligible Nigerians can access up to N100 million and repay within 20 years. This translates into significantly more manageable monthly repayments and greater long-term financial stability.
Built for Salary Earners, Entrepreneurs and the Diaspora
The MREIF mortgage facility has been structured to be inclusive. It is available to salary account holders, business owners and diaspora customers. Whether you are a young professional aiming to exit the rent cycle, an entrepreneur building generational stability, or you’re a Nigerian abroad looking to secure assets locally, the product opens a pathway that has historically been out of reach for many.
Taking the First Step
For those who have been waiting for the right time, this is definitely it. The question is no longer whether homeownership is possible. The real question is: will you act before the window narrows?
Visit https://www.firstbanknigeria.com/personal/loans/mreif-home-loan/ and in no time you could be the latest homeowner in town.
Alpha Morgan Bank Deepens Presence in Abuja with New Branch in Utako
Marking another milestone in its expansion drive, Alpha Morgan Bank has opened a new branch in Utako, Abuja, reinforcing its strategy of building closer institutional ties within key business communities and bringing its financial expertise closer to individuals, and enterprises driving the city’s growth.
The new branch, located at Plot 1121 Obafemi Awolowo Way, Utako, Abuja is strategically positioned to serve individuals, entrepreneurs, and corporate clients within Utako and surrounding districts.
The expansion follows the Bank’s recently concluded Economic Review Webinar held in February 2026, as the bank continues to position as a thought-leader in the financial services industry.
Speaking on the opening, Ade Buraimo, Managing Director of Alpha Morgan Bank, said the move underscores the Bank’s commitment to accessibility and service excellence.
“Proximity matters in banking. As communities grow and commercial activity expands, financial institutions also evolve to meet customers where they are. The Utako Branch allows us to deliver our services to people in that community efficiently while maintaining the high standards our customers expect,”
The Utako location will provide a full suite of retail and corporate banking services, including account opening, deposits, transfers, business banking solutions, and financial advisory support.
Customers and members of the public are invited to visit the new Utako Branch to experience the Bank’s approach to satisfying banking.
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