Otunba Seye Famojuro and Bibire: Like Father, Like Son — By Senator Reformed

Politics can be very interesting. The same people who were laughing together yesterday can wake up today and find themselves on different sides of an argument. People who ate and drank together can suddenly stop talking because of a political disagreement. An election can turn friends into enemies and, if care is not taken, a disagreement that should have ended with the election can continue for years. This is why, in politics, winning an election is one thing, while keeping people together after the election is another.

This was what came to my mind when I heard about the meeting Hon. Abayomi Fagbenro, popularly known as Bibire, held with stakeholders of Ward 12 in Ibadan Southwest Local Government. The ward had gone through some disagreement following the councillorship primary. There were aspirants, supporters and party members who were unhappy with one thing or another. Rather than allow the matter to fester, Bibire brought the people together at his Adabeji residence and asked them to settle their differences.

There is something about a man who chooses to settle a quarrel when he could easily have ignored it. It takes little effort to watch two people fight and say it is their business. It takes more courage to call both sides together and tell them that whatever happened yesterday cannot be allowed to destroy tomorrow. That was the position Bibire took.

He told the aspirants and other stakeholders to let peace take the front seat. He reminded them that nobody’s ambition should be bigger than the party and that everybody would still be needed in the work ahead. He asked those who contested the primary to bury the hatchet and work with the person who emerged. He also reminded the incoming councillor that leadership means carrying people along, including those who did not support him during the primary.

For me, this is where the name of Otunba Seye Famojuro comes into the picture. Those who have watched Otunba Seye Famojuro closely over the years will understand what I mean. One of the characteristics of this unifier is that he does not like to see people who belong to the same political family remain at war with one another. This is why many continue to describe him as a man who believes in peace, unity and bringing people together. There have also been innumerable occasions when he intervened in disagreements because he believed that allowing such disagreements to continue would do more harm than good.

You begin to see the same attitude in Bibire. I am not saying the two men behave exactly the same way in every situation because politics does not work that way. Every politician has his own personality and his own method. But certain values can be picked up from people one respects and watches closely. The way a person handles people, particularly when there is disagreement, tells you a lot about the kind of political school he has passed through.

Bibire could have looked at what happened in Ward 12 and decided that everybody should sort themselves out. He could have said the primary was over and there was nothing more to discuss. He could even have allowed the disagreement to work in his favour. Instead, he decided that the people needed to sit down together, and that decision matters.

Anybody can talk about peace when there is no problem. The real test comes when people are angry, when somebody believes he has been cheated or when an aspirant who worked hard does not get the result he wanted. That is when a person who genuinely wants peace has to step forward, and this, Bibire actuated.

He did not tell them that their grievances did not matter. He told them that the grievances should not become the reason the whole political family would remain divided. There is a difference. You can acknowledge that people are unhappy and still tell them that they must find a way to move forward. There are times when you have to swallow your pride for a greater purpose. There are also times when you have to shake the hand of somebody you disagreed with yesterday because there is a bigger responsibility waiting for both of you tomorrow.

Politics requires a lot of this. Those who cannot forgive and move on will find it difficult to survive for long in the game. You may disagree with somebody today and still need that person tomorrow. You may contest against someone in one election and work with that same person in another. Political relationships are rarely as permanent as people imagine when emotions are high.

Bibire also looked beyond Ward 12. He reminded them of the political work ahead and asked them to begin mobilization for the elections to come. He spoke about Governor Seyi Makinde’s presidential ambition, the gubernatorial election of Bimbo Adekanmbi, the House of Assembly and the local government elections. His message was that nobody should allow a disagreement over one primary to make them lose sight of the larger political assignments ahead.

The primary is over. The candidate has been determined. The next question is what everybody will do from here. Will the people continue fighting themselves, or will they come together and prepare for the elections ahead? That is the question Bibire put before them. It is a question that goes beyond Ward 12 because every political formation eventually reaches a point where its members must decide whether their differences are bigger than their common interest.

There is also a lesson for the person who emerged from the primary. Winning gives you the ticket, but it does not give you the right to treat everybody else as though they no longer matter. The people who contested against you still have supporters. They still have influence in their various areas. They still have relationships with the people you will need when the election comes. A wise politician understands this.

This is where leadership becomes different from mere ambition. Ambition says, “I want this position. Leadership asks, “What do I do with the people after I get the position?” Bibire’s advice to the incoming councillor was therefore important. He asked him to work with everyone, including those who contested against him, because the primary should not become the beginning of another fight.

There is a popular saying that when you want to destroy a house, you first make the people inside it fight among themselves. Political parties are not different. When members spend all their energy fighting one another, the opposition does not need to do much work. This is why those who make peace within a political family should be encouraged and sometimes, applauded.

And this is why I keep coming back to Otunba Seye Famojuro and Bibire. There is a saying that a good example is better than a thousand words. You do not always need somebody to sit you down and teach you everything. Sometimes, you just watch how the person behaves and learn from it.

Otunba Famojuro has spent years building relationships across different sections of Oyo politics. Whatever anybody may think about his politics, it is difficult to discuss his public image without mentioning the unassailable truth that he is as a man who loves peace and wants people to work together. That reputation, I must confess, was built over time.

Now look at Bibire. When internal wranglings greeted Ward 12, his first instinct was to bring people together. He did not wait for the disagreement to become a bigger problem before intervening. He called the stakeholders together, listened to them and reminded them that they belonged to the same political family. He asked them to put the past behind them and return to work.

That is how political bridges are built. It is not always through complicated strategies. Sometimes, it is only by calling people who are angry with one another and telling them to sit down and settle their differences.

Perhaps this is one of the things Bibire has learnt from his leader, Otunba Seye Famojuro. The latter has been associated with the politics of bringing people together, while the former is beginning to demonstrate that same instinct in his own political space. Like father, like son. Not father and son by blood, but father and son in values and example.

The lesson is worth noting because politics needs more people who understand that disagreement does not have to become hatred. Two people can contest the same position and still sit together afterwards. Two people can support different candidates and still respect each other. A person can lose an election today and support the winner tomorrow without losing his dignity. That is what political maturity should look like.

At the end of the Ward 12 meeting, the stakeholders agreed to put the past behind them and work together. Whether they will keep to that agreement is something time will tell, but somebody had to make the first move, and Bibire made it. In fact, an effort to bring people back together deserves recognition, most especially in this kind of our own political environment where disagreements can easily become personal.

It must be stated that political victories are temporary, but relationships last much longer. Today, you may need somebody because of an election. Tomorrow, you may need that same person because of a community, a party or a larger assignment. There is little wisdom in burning a bridge because of a disagreement that can still be settled.

This is where the paths of Otunba Seye Famojuro and Bibire appear to run in the same direction. One has built a reputation for unification by bringing people together, while the other is showing, in his own corner of Oyo politics, that he understands the value of doing the same thing. Truly, like father, like son.

Let me conclude by stating that the best way to measure what a man has learnt from his leaders is not by the words he uses to sing their praises, but by the actions he takes when the chips are down, because a tree is truly known by the strength of its roots when the storm begins to blow.

Senator Reformed, a journalist, writes from Ibadan Southwest Local Government. 

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