Headline

OPINION: How Oluwo Of Iwo Was Jailed In The US

Published

2 years ago

June 7, 2024

Tunde Odesola

Nestling aboard an incoming Delta Airline flight from Atlanta, Georgia on May 10, 2024, the window-seat view of the landscape and skyscape of Ikeja cityscape was gloomy. The giant American bird called Boeing glided through the clouds before swooping down intently like a hawk in hunt. There were no trees, no greenery in sight from my skyview as Lagos spread out like a ghetto cast in concrete, iron, rubble and filth.

“Where are all the trees the Babatunde Fashola administration planted,” I asked myself. I answered myself, “Felled by the Godfather and his mafia who were happy to throw the baby out with the bathwater.” Like the Champions League is to Real Madrid, Lagos has become a political trophy belonging to the MD – Master Dribbler – who has dribbled his way to the Centre, and Nigeria now lies unconsciously at his feet.

The plane touched down around 10 a.m. Welcome to Nigeria! After about eight years, it felt good to be back home. A national anthem war would soon rage between ‘nationalists’ and ‘colonialists’, amid chants of ‘Arise, O Compatriots’ and shouts of ‘Nigeria, we hail thee’. The national anthem war was avoidable if leadership had a meaning in Nigeria. But leisurely, Captain Bourdillon draws hard on his cigar, steering the wheel of the sinking Nigerian ship back into slavery waters. The controversial descriptions of Nigeria as Fatherland and Motherland in the two national anthems show that Nigeria urgently needs a DNA test to confirm its legitimacy.

As passengers disgorged from the belly of the bird, I caught a whiff of the perennial Nigerian virus when a dirty-looking lady in mufti, whose wrinkled skin betrays bleaching cream overuse, held a ‘gentleman’ in suit by the hand, and led him from the back of the queue towards the front. Ironically, the queue was fast-moving.

MORE FROM THE AUTHOR: OPINION: Abacha Protests In Heaven, Begs To Return

I raised my voice in protest. “Una no even allow the plane land before una begin una madness! You, yeye man, you fit jump queue for US? You, (pointing at the ‘immigration’ woman), take that man back to the end of the queue from where you took him!”

I heard the yeye man tell the clutchy lady, ‘I told you it’s wrong, I don’t like causing a scene’ but the woman held his hand and led him on, all the same, prompting me to raise my voice louder, cussing and embarrassing them both.

An old man at my back in the queue said, “Young man, when last did you come to Nigeria?” I told him I didn’t understand his question. He continued, “Nigeria is not America. That’s the way we are here o.” I told him, “Every society needs eternal vigilance to oil the wheels of justice and fairness.” He shrugged, “Well, I agree.”

In no time, I was done with immigration and I landed at the carousel for my luggage. My luggage didn’t arrive on the plane: come tomorrow. Ok. No wahala. Tomorrow is a stone’s throw.

I hopped into a taxi. Portable omo Olalomi hopped in with me. The car stereo blared: “Ara adugbo (Zeh) /Tuntun ti de o (Zeh) /Zazoo (Zeh) /O po leti (Zeh) /O ye ke ti ma gbo (Zeh)… /Baddo sneh (Zeh) /Pepper sneh (Zeh) /Many many were wa n le (Zeh) /Ahh, repete (Zeh) /Unruly (Zeh) /Baddo Lee (Zeh) /Hacker (Zeh) /Ika (Zeh) /Te s’oju e (Zeh)… /Eje loju bi t’Abacha (Zeh) /Run’ju pa (Zeh) /Le’ju pa (Zeh) /Ma rerin (Zeh) /Kala (Zeh) /Daju (Zeh) /Hu wa ika (Zeh)… If you don’t understand these Yoruba lyrics, just imagine Adolf Hiler, ogres, members of Nigeria’s political class, together with Satan and his angels in a dark hall – you’ll understand the level of mercilessness Portable portrays in Zazoo.

MORE FROM THE AUTHOR: OPINION: The God That Cut Soap For Wizkid (1)

‘Zazoo’ is the story of Nigeria’s degeneration. Though it has a multiplicity of meanings, a central theme of the song includes the glorification of internet fraud expressed in ‘Hacker’, ‘Kolu to n bo kaadi o’. It also praises extreme wickedness in the referenced stanza. Most of the song is street nonsense.

I smiled wryly. The taxi driver didn’t know why. He asked, “You too like Portable, sir?” I kept the plastic smile on and fetched my phone from my pocket. WhatsApp was my first port of call. I scrolled. A senior colleague had sent me news links. They were about the Oluwo of Iwo, Oba Abdulrasheed Adewale Akanbi.

The senior colleague wrote, “See what you caused.” I skimmed through the texts and thought he was talking about the Oluwo’s aso òkè, which was similar to the one I wore during my father’s burial on Friday, May 17, 2024, in Lagos. I replied, “I’m not royal, I’m a hunter,” asking if he was talking about the aso òkè. My relentless senior highlighted to me the links to a story on the Oluwo done by two British tabloids, The Sun, and The Mail on Sunday.

Both British newspapers called the Oluwo a thief, a misfit, 419 king, Yahoo kingpin, ‘Kolu to n bo kaadi’ and jailbird.

Metaphorically, the reports of the newspapers intone that lacking royalty, honesty, loyalty, pedigree and bíbí ire – a Yoruba word for honour – the life of Abdulrasheed Adewale Akanbi and his emergence as the Oluwo of Iwo was a plot in the drama of the absurd, where a felon grabbed a crown to desecrate a town.

Specifically, on its May 19, 2024 cover, The Mail on Sunday splashed the picture of Akanbi in a close-up handshake with the Duke of Sussex, Prince Harry. The handshake, however, went beyond the elbow when the newspaper befouled the picture with the headline, “Royal Exclusive: Harry and conman Nigerian king twice deported from US.”

MORE FROM THE AUTHOR: OPINION: The god that cut soap for Wizkid (2)

The description of the Oluwo as a criminal is the view and product of investigation of the British media, not mine. In a three-part series, ‘Oluwo and the glorification of ignorance’, Tunde the son of Odesola, expressed his views about Oluwo Akanbi in 2022 when he described the conman as a con-king transmuting into a king-kong.

In its publication on May 19, 2024, THE SUN was extensively brutal. The headline of the paper’s story reads, “Dodgy Royal: Nigerian King who Harry called his ‘in-law’ is ‘CONMAN jailed and deported after trying to cash stolen £247k cheque’, with the rider, ‘The ‘Funky King’ (Oluwo) was jailed 15 months in 1998”.

Reporting the three-day visit of the 39-year-old Harry and his 42-year-old wife, Meghan, to Nigeria, THE SUN reveals Akanbi had been deported twice from the US and banned twice for life from entering the US.

THE SUN story reads, “But the Nigerian royal (Oluwo) is a convicted fraudster who was twice kicked out of America. He was allegedly first arrested in Boston in 1998 after he tried to cash a stolen cheque for £247,000 from aviation company Boeing.

“Akanbi posed as a successful businessman called Joseph Pigott but cops were alerted by a suspicious bank teller at BankBoston. The conman (Oluwo) was also charged for forging a cheque for £59,000 using the name Thomas Eyring. He was also reportedly jailed for 15 months and deported to Nigeria in April 1999.

“His £1,500 fine was waived ‘because of an inability to pay’. Despite being banned from re-entering the US, he was then said to have been caught attempting to cross the border in March 2011. Akanbi was with his then-wife Rakiya Saidu and young son and claimed they were going to New York to shop.

“Facing the prospect of a maximum prison sentence of 20 years and a £197,000 fine, Akanbi pleaded guilty. He was sentenced to time served, deported and banned from the US for life a second time.”

If Akanbi had been jailed for 20 years, Iwo would never have witnessed these years of the locust nor would this big calabash of shame hang on the community’s neck. Iwo would’ve remained famous for the honour earned by former Oluwos, including Oba Parin, Oba Lamuye, Oba Samuel Abimbola, and Oba Olatunbosun Tadase among others. The sacred name of Iwo wouldn’t have been stained with dishonour.

If you’re close to Iwo, you could’ve heard their sons and daughters eulogise the impregnable security of the land, saying “Iwo ti o ni ilekun, ti o ni kokoro; eru wewe ni iran baba won fi n de ile.”

O ye descendants of Iwo, is it a mistake that your forebears left the city gateless and keyless? O ye children of Iwo, is it not too late now that a virus has crept onto the throne? Where were the ‘eru wewe’ small slaves sentineled at the gate when Akanbi crept into town? Sé wón gbà’bòdè ni? Did they sabotage?

Then-Governor of Ondo State, Dr Olusegun Mimiko, stood up for integrity when he kicked out the Deji of Akure, Oba Oluwadare Adepoju, from the palace in 2010, for beating his wife, Olori Bolanle.

From Ife to Oyo, Lagos, Ijebu, Abeokuta, Ede, Owo, Benin, Warri, Sokoto, Kano, Bauchi, Gwandu etc, monarchs had been dethroned. Sadly, none of the deposed kings in Nigeria’s history parades the kind of criminal credentials as the Oluwo. Governor Adeleke, ICPC, EFCC, National Council of Traditional Rulers, Yoruba Council of Obas, Iwo kingmakers, Iwo people, over to you. Oluwo must go!

Email: tundeodes2003@yahoo.com
Facebook: @Tunde Odesola
X: @Tunde_Odesola

Headline

South Korea, Japan Protest China, Russia Aircraft Incursions

Published

2 days ago

December 10, 2025

Editor

South Korea and Japan reacted furiously on Wednesday after Chinese and Russian military aircraft conducted joint patrols around the two countries, with both Seoul and Tokyo scrambling jets.

South Korea said it had protested with representatives of China and Russia, while Japan said it had conveyed its “serious concerns” over national security.

According to Tokyo, two Russian Tu-95 nuclear-capable bombers on Tuesday flew from the Sea of Japan to rendezvous with two Chinese H-6 bombers in the East China Sea, then conducted a joint flight around the country.

The incident comes as Japan is locked in a dispute with China over comments Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi made about Taiwan.

The bombers’ joint flights were “clearly intended as a show of force against our nation, Defence Minister Shinjiro Koizumi wrote on X Wednesday.

Top government spokesman Minoru Kihara said that Tokyo had “conveyed to both China and Russia our serious concerns over our national security through diplomatic channels”.

Seoul said Tuesday the Russian and Chinese warplanes entered its air defence zone and that a complaint had been lodged with the defence attaches of both countries in the South Korean capital.

“Our military will continue to respond actively to the activities of neighbouring countries’ aircraft within the KADIZ in compliance with international law,” said Lee Kwang-suk, director general of the International Policy Bureau at Seoul’s defence ministry, referring to the Korea Air Defence Identification Zone.

South Korea also said it deployed “fighter jets to take tactical measures in preparation for any contingencies” in response to the Chinese and Russian incursion into the KADIZ.

The planes were spotted before they entered the air defence identification zone, defined as a broader area in which countries police aircraft for security reasons but which does not constitute their airspace.

Japan’s defence ministry also scrambled fighter jets to intercept the warplanes.

Beijing later Tuesday confirmed it had organised drills with Russia’s military according to “annual cooperation plans”.

Moscow also described it as a routine exercise, saying it lasted eight hours and that some foreign fighter jets followed the Russian and Chinese aircraft.

Since 2019, China and Russia have regularly flown military aircraft into South Korea’s air defence zone without prior notice, citing joint exercises.

In November last year, Seoul scrambled jets as five Chinese and six Russian military planes flew through its air defence zone.

Similar incidents occurred in June and December 2023, and in May and November 2022.

Meanwhile, Tokyo said Monday it had scrambled jets in response to repeated takeoff and landing exercises involving fighter jets and military helicopters from China’s Liaoning aircraft carrier as it cruised in international waters near Japan.

It also summoned Beijing’s ambassador after military aircraft from the Liaoning locked radar onto Japanese jets, the latest incident in the row ignited by Takaichi’s comments backing Taiwan.

Takaichi suggested last month that Japan would intervene militarily in any Chinese attack on the self-ruled island, which Beijing claims as its own and has not ruled out seizing by force.

AFP

Headline

Thousands Reported To Have Fled DR Congo Fighting As M23 Closes On Key City

Published

3 days ago

December 9, 2025

Editor

Fierce fighting rocked the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo on Tuesday as the Rwanda-backed M23 militia rapidly advanced towards the strategic city of Uvira, with tens of thousands of people fleeing over the nearby border into Burundi, sources said.

The armed group and its Rwandan allies were just a few kilometres (miles) north of Uvira, security and military sources told AFP.

The renewed violence undermined a peace agreement brokered by US President Donald Trump that Kinshasa and Kigali signed less than a week ago, on December 4.

Trump had boasted that the Rwanda-DRC conflict was one of eight he has ended since returning to power in America in January.

With the new fighting, more than 30,000 people have fled the area around Uvira for Burundi in the space of a week, a UN source and a Burundian administrative source told AFP.

The Burundian source told AFP on condition of anonymity he had recorded more than 8,000 daily arrivals over the past two days, and 30,000 arrivals in one week. A source in the UN refugee agency confirmed the figure.

The Rwanda-backed M23 offensive comes nearly a year after the group seized control of Goma and Bukavu, the two largest cities in eastern DRC, a strategic region rich in natural resources and plagued by conflict for 30 years.

Local people described a state of growing panic as bombardments struck the hills above Uvira, a city of several hundred thousand residents.

“Three bombs have just exploded in the hills. It’s every man for himself,” said one resident reached by telephone.

“We are all under the beds in Uvira — that’s the reality,” another resident said, while a representative of civil society who would not give their name described fighting on the city’s outskirts.

Fighting was also reported in Runingo, another small locality some 20 kilometres (12 miles) from Uvira, as the M23 and the Rwandan army closed in.

Burundi views the prospect of Uvira falling to Rwanda-backed forces as an existential threat, given that it sits across Lake Tanganyika from Burundi’s economic capital Bujumbura.

The city is the main sizeable locality in the area yet to fall to the M23 and its capture would essentially cut off the zone from DRC control.

Burundi deployed about 10,000 soldiers to eastern DRC in October 2023 as part of a military cooperation agreement, and security sources say reinforcements have since taken that presence to around 18,000 men.

The M23 and Rwandan forces launched their Uvira offensive on December 1.

Rich in natural resources, eastern DRC has been choked by successive conflicts for around three decades.

Violence in the region intensified early this year when M23 fighters seized the key eastern city of Goma in January, followed by Bukavu, capital of South Kivu province, a few weeks later.

– Regional risk –

The peace deal meant to quell the fighting was signed last Thursday in Washington by Congolese President Felix Tshisekedi and his Rwandan counterpart Paul Kagame, with Trump — who called it a “miracle” deal — also putting his signature to it.

The agreement includes an economic component intended to secure US supplies of critical minerals present in the region, as America seeks to challenge China’s dominance in the sector.

But even on the day of the signing, intense fighting took place in South Kivu, where Uvira is located, which included the bombing of houses and schools.

Witnesses and military sources in Uvira said that Congolese soldiers fleeing the fighting had arrived in the city overnight Monday and shops were looted at dawn.

Several hundred Congolese and Burundian soldiers had already fled to Burundi on Monday, according to military sources, since the M23 fighters embarked on their latest offensive from Kamanyola, some 70 kilometres north of Uvira.
Since the M23’s lightning offensive early this year, the front had largely stabilised over the past nine months.

Burundian President Evariste Ndayishimiye warned in February there was a danger of the conflict escalating into a broader regional war, a fear echoed by the United Nations.

Headline

‘Santa Claus’ Arrested For Possessing, Distributing Child Sexual Abuse Material

Published

3 days ago

December 9, 2025

Editor

A 64-year-old man from Hamilton Township has been arrested in the United States after investigators linked him to the possession and distribution of child sexual abuse material.

The suspect, identified as Mark Paulino, had been working as a “Santa for hire” at holiday events, a role that placed him in repeated contact with children.

Mercer County officials said the investigation began on 4 December when detectives were alerted to suspicious online activity involving the uploading of child pornography from a residence in Hamilton Township. The probe quickly identified Paulino, a retired elementary school teacher, as the person involved.

Police stated that Paulino had presented himself online as a retired teacher and had recently performed as Santa Claus for photographs and private, corporate, and organisational events. “Because this role involved direct, repeated contact with children, detectives worked around the clock to secure a search warrant,” authorities explained.

The warrant was executed on 5 December, during which police seized multiple items regarded as evidentiary. Paulino was taken into custody without incident and charged with possession and distribution of child sexual abuse materials, as well as endangering the welfare of a child.

Prosecutors have filed a motion to detain him pending trial. The investigation remains ongoing, and authorities have urged members of the public with relevant information to come forward.