The Egba Traditional Council has suspended the Olu of Owode in Obafemi Owode Local Government Area of Ogun State, Oba Kolawole Sowemimo, for two months for decorating a popular Fuji musician, Wasiu Ayinde Marshal, popularly known as KWAM 1, with new naira notes.
The traditional ruler was seen in a viral video, which surfaced early in January, decorating the musician with new N1000 notes during a social function.
His suspension was announced during the Council’s February statutory meeting on Saturday, presided over by the Alake of Egbaland, Oba Adedotun Gbadebo.
In a joint resolution, the meeting adopted the monarch’s suspension based on the suggestion of its Ethics Committee, which stated that he (Sowemimo) should not parade himself as a traditional king during his suspension.
The Chairman of the Ethics Committee, the Olowu of Owu, Oba Saka Matemilola, while reading the committee’s report, stated that the decision was reached after reviewing the viral video. He said Mr Sowemimo violated the ethics of Yoruba traditional institutions by defacing Nigeria’s currency.
The committee chairman stated that their findings showed that the traditional ruler was seen in public carrying the naira, strewn as a bead and hanging the same onto the neck of the singer.
He said members of the public inundated the council with derisive comments on the traditional institution, adding that Mr Sowemimo’s action is in contradiction of Section 21(1) of the Central Bank Act, 2007.
Reacting to his suspension after the meeting, Mr Sowemimo, who was present at the meeting, said, “I totally accept the verdict of the council because it is the person that we love that we chastise. So, I am good with the decision.”
It has become a norm in many Nigerian parties and social gatherings for attendees to decorate celebrants, musicians, dancers and others with money. Popularly called ‘money spraying’, the act has been condemned in the past by the Central Bank of Nigeria, which threatened to sanction individuals caught doing it.
However, the threat has not stopped the act in parties across Nigeria.
The Ogun traditional ruler arguably took his a step further when he joined the naira notes together, turning them into large beads and placing them on the neck of the Fuji musician.
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