Where Are The Elders In The Political Market Of Akure

Where Are The Elders In The Political Market Of Akure

By Ojo Oyewamide

It was in 1993. Otunba Omolade Oluwateru had just retired from the Ondo State Housing Corporation, where he rose to the position of general manager. He set his sights on the chairmanship of the old Akure local government. He joined and sought the ticket of the Social Democratic Party (SDP). The party was one of the two political parties decreed into existence by the military administration of Ibrahim Babangida. The other one was the National Republican Convention (NRC).

Hon. Idowu Otetubi, a chartered accountant, also aspired to the same position on the SDP platform. At the time, the late Lisa of Akure, High Chief James Olusoga, served as the party’s chairman in Akure. To determine the party’s candidate, a committee of respected elders was constituted. Among them were Baba Reuben Fasoranti, the late Oba Luyi Rotimi, Architect Olu Agbesua, the late Chief Makinde Oguntona and Olusoga.

The committee met at the late Professor Olu Agbi’s official residence and screened the aspirants based on agreed criteria. Agbi was the Secretary to the State Government under the administration of the late Evangelist Bamidele Olumilua. At the end of the exercise, Otetubi emerged as the consensus candidate.

Upon hearing the outcome the following morning, some of us who supported Oluwateru gathered at his residence in Ijapo Estate. We urged him to reject the decision and demand a primary election. He agreed. Our next stop was Olusoga’s residence in Oshinle. Oluwateru insisted on contesting and requested for the nomination form. Olusoga gave a condition that Oluwateru must first visit all members of the screening committee to express his dissatisfaction before collecting the form.

From Oshinle, we moved, first to Architect Agbesua’s residence along Oda Road. We did not meet him at home. And then to Baba Oguntona’s home in Oba-Ile, where Oluwateru made his position known. From Oba-Ile, we headed for the residence of Baba Fasoranti. Baba listened patiently as each of us spoke. He did not interrupt for nearly an hour. I argued strongly that Oluwateru must contest.

When everyone had spoken, Baba Fasoranti addressed Oluwateru with the calm authority of a true elder. He cautioned him against being misled by those around him. Then he began a quiet but profound lesson on ambition. Baba drew from political experiences of the 1950s and 1960s. He illustrated how unrestrained ambition had destroyed careers, fractured alliances and weakened communities. Before he could even reach the 1970s in his narration, Oluwateru raised his hands and withdrew from the race.

That moment remains a powerful demonstration of leadership. Baba Fasoranti showed us that day that ambition, when not guided by wisdom, can become a destructive force. He revealed that not every opportunity must be seized and not every contest must be fought. Sometimes, restraint is the highest form of strength.

Otetubi remained the SDP candidate. However, before the general election could be held, Sani Abacha seized power. The council election was cancelled. In March 1996, Otetubi contested under the zero-party system and became the first chairman of Akure South local government. He served for about a year. In March 1997, another election was conducted. And Oluwateru eventually won on the platform of the Democratic Party of Nigeria.

I love narrating this story again and again. When Nigeria returned to democratic rule in 1999, there were strong pressures on Baba Fasoranti to contest for the governorship of Ondo State. He declined. Many speculated about his reasons. But he later clarified that his decision was guided by principle. His brother-in-law, Oba Olu Falae, was contesting for the presidency. For him, it was morally inappropriate for both of them to pursue such high offices simultaneously. He chose relationship over ambition, principle over power. That’s the measure of Baba.

Today, the political atmosphere in Akure presents a troubling contrast. Dr. Taiwo Fasoranti, Baba’s son, has resigned as Secretary to the Ondo State Government to contest for the senatorial seat of Ondo Central. The seat is currently occupied by Senator Adeniyi Adegbonmire, son of the late Chief Wumi Adegbonmire. Baba Fasoranti and Chief Adegbonmire were close political associates. Both families share deep roots in the progressive, Awoist tradition.

In itself, ambition is not evil. It is the fuel of progress and driver of achievement. But when ambition is detached from history and blind to consequence, it mutates into something dangerous. It divides allies, erodes trust and turns brothers into rivals. It is no longer a ladder for growth but a wedge of discord.

Some have suggested that Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa is the one encouraging Fasoranti’s senatorial aspiration. They may not be far from the truth. Aides of the governor have started campaigning for him. If that is the case, one must ask, to what end? Can any genuine lover of Akure endorse a situation that pits the sons of two respected political families against each other? Taiwo Fasoranti is not like his father. That much is clear. Baba Fasoranti was never driven by desperation for office. Baba understands timing, context and moral boundaries.

The truth is that Akure stands at a delicate moment. The question is no longer just about who becomes senator. It is about whether the ancient city still has elders who can rise above personal interests and speak truth into heated political situations. Elders who can remind aspirants that not every contest is worth the cost.

A Yoruba proverb warns that when elders are absent in the marketplace, the head of a child may hang awkwardly. Today, one must ask, where are the elders in Akure’s political market? Akure politicians are like a flock of sheep without a shepard.

Look at the Akure South chapter of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC). There is crisis in virtually all the political wards, following the recent, ill-fated APC congress. This is as a result of the desire of Aiyedatiwa’s aides to impose their preferred party executive members. No regard for ward leaders and elders. The cat is away and the home of the APC in Akure South has become a playground for all kinds of rats.

Akure aspires to produce the governor of Ondo State. Yet, the lack of cohesion and strategic clarity remains evident. Political maturity is not just about participation. It is about coordination, discipline and foresight.

Taiwo Fasoranti has every right to aspire. But when ambition begins to serve forces that may not have the collective interest at heart, it becomes a tool of division rather than development.

*** Ojo Oyewamide writes from Abibirih Lane, Isolo, Akure