Iwo is an amazing place to be and like many other cities. There are certain beliefs about this amazing land of amazing people that are not correctly portrayed to the outside world. Iwo is not just a city that has been in existence long before civilization in Nigeria, it is a city that has witnessed trends of transformation from generations to generations.
THE MYTHS
– BELIEF THAT DOORS ARE LEFT UNLOCKED AT NIGHT
It is believed that Iwo people don’t lock their doors when they go to bed at night, this used to be the practice of Iwo people in the genesis and it’s a part of the lineage appraisal but in today’s world, it’s an absolute myth and you don’t want to hold such fallacy anymore.
– BELIEF OF SPIRITUAL ATTACKS
I’ve experienced people conveying the false belief that Iwo people are very strong at attacking others spiritually. Well, just as this false belief is held in many other parts of the country even far to the Eastern, Southern and Northern of the country.
This fallacious notion about this beautiful land is a myth and does not exist, Iwo people are obviously very spiritual because they’re very keen of their different chosen religions but attacking others spiritually is too true to be believed at all.
– THE ỌBA RIVER IS A FORTRESS.
There have been folktales about the ọba river once saving Iwo from war but this does not have any proven evidence but just a verbal historical folktale translated from generations to generations. Some people still hold a strong belief on this notion and the only obvious truth is that it’s just a myth that has never happened in the lifetime of many.
A lot of ugly things have happened in this beautiful land and those who perpetrated the acts have successfully passed over the ọba River overhead bridge with nothing happening to them.
THE MISCONCEPTIONS
– BELIEF THAT THERE IS NO IWO INDIGENE THAT DOES NOT TAKE PAP.
The is a misconception of the idea of PAP consumption in Iwo. If you’ve ever been to Iwo before you’ll realize that Iwo people are so much in love with any type pap because it is a very prevalent food in the city but there are thousands of Iwo indigenes who don’t know how to consume this spec of food.
It’s is a misconception to believe that every single Iwo indigene is a consumer of pap. Yes, we love it but we have thousands who don’t take this pap and they can’t.
READ ALSO: Cost of Living In Iwo: Housing, Schooling, Transportation & Recreational
– BELIEF THAT EVERY IWO MALE CHILD IS A BUTCHER BY BIRTH.
This is a very funny experience to me, whenever I travel out of this city to a different southwestern city or town, there is this misconception reaction I always get from people who have heard one or two things about Iwo before, they always think the male child from Iwo is naturally by selection a butcher. There are sad instances where some even believe the male child does not go to school.
This is a misconception and is fallacious to believe such a notion. There are many Iwo male indigenes that have held high places in the government and outside government in both federal and state-level and this cannot be attained without a strong educational background. We have professors examples are; Prof. Lai Olurode who is a professor of sociology in the Lagos State University and was a former head officer in the INEC office of Nigeria. Prof. Alamu Jelili who was the acting Vice-Chancellor of Osun State University. Prof. Gbadegesin the former Osun State University registrar.
There are doctorate holders, thousands of Bachelor degree holders and well educated high school students who are males and females.
– BELIEF THAT IWO IS A VILLAGE.
Iwo is a city, a well-developed city but not an ultramodern city but the title of the village is degrading and does not represent the fact about this beautiful land of residence. It is a misconception to believe that Iwo is still under the category of villages.
Iwo has over one hundred and ninety-one three hundred and forty-eight persons in different districts. Also, Iwo kingdom has a lot of modern facilities such as hotels, restaurants, major industries and schools in it.
READ ALSO: Memoirs: The Unsung Heroes In Iwoland | By Engr. Bashir Lawal (Gomina Mekunnu)
– BELIEF THAT IWO IS A PLACE FOR MUSLIMS ONLY.
The fact that Iwo is well dominated by Muslims does not eradicate the fact that there is a noticeable large number of Christians and Traditionalists in Iwo. Iwo is a cohabitation land for all sorts of beliefs and is not for Muslims only. There are people with other religious views and beliefs living and cohabiting in Iwo. It’s a misconception to hold such a notion that Iwo is a place for Muslims only.
– BELIEF THAT EVERY IWO MUSLIM IS ISLAMICALLY EDUCATED.
Once you identify yourself as a Muslim from Iwo everyone begins to see an Islamic scholar on stand or seat, this is a blatant misconception and very ugly one. There are Muslims in Iwo, and they dominate Iwo but not every single Muslim in Iwo is an Islamically educated person there are thousands of Muslims in Iwo who can’t even recite the first verse of the Qur’an properly and correctly.
Holding such belief is a misconception of the Muslim individuals in Iwo.
READ ALSO: Iwo Female Muslims and The Use of Hijab: Fashion, Culture or Religion?
THE FACTS
There are facts about Iwo kingdom that cannot be denied, you may not know yet but they’re facts.
- Iwo kingdom is a very peaceful place.
- Iwo is dominated by Muslims.
- There are thousands of Christians in Iwo.
- Iwo has more mosques than schools.
- There are only three large markets in Iwo.
- Iwo has not less than ten modern public high schools.
- Iwo has sex service houses and junctions.
- There are dangerous no go areas at nights in Iwo.
- Iwo has bar houses.
- There is one private university in Iwo (Bowen University, Iwo).
- Also, there is one private polytechnic in Iwo (Wolex Polytechnic, Iwo).
- There is a study branch of National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN) in Iwo.
- There is one Federal college of education in Iwo.
- Though not the last, there is only one public general hospital in Iwo.
About The Writer
Olamide Yakub Lateef is 26 years old. I am Yoruba, I’m 5ft5 tall and I hail from Osun State and I’m an indigene of Iwo. I am an undergraduate student majoring in computer science at the online University of the People, CA, USA. I’m a lover of writing, I’m a poet and I love to take tasks the same reason I’m into programming.
I started conscious writing when I was a little above sixteen years old; that was when I first wrote my first poem. I’ve been writing since then, I’ve written many unpublished poems, short articles and few proses. I love to write because it’s the easiest way for me to relax after I might have written a few lines of codes in programming and by telling stories I feel like I’m building my very own universe.
