By Olabode Opeseitan
By all accounts, the 65th birthday of former Ekiti State Governor Ayodele Fayose should have been a moment of reflection, reconciliation, and renewal. Instead, it became a national spectacle, one that exposes the fragility of ego, the weight of unresolved history, and the urgent need for decorum among those who shape public life.
Former President Olusegun Obasanjo, invited as guest of honor, did not mince words. In his trademark bluntness, he recalled Fayose’s past vitriol, the circuitous path to reconciliation, and the need for humility and repentance. “You are not the best of my political children,” he said, “but you have made achievements that must not be ignored.”
He spoke of emissaries sent to beg for forgiveness, of repeated betrayals, and of his decision to attend the event, provided Fayose would sponsor his swift return from Kigali. Fayose obliged, but Aliko Dangote later sent a private jet to bring Obasanjo home, a dignity flight that underscored the occasion’s significance. Obasanjo ended with a Yoruba hymn of gratitude.
It was vintage Obasanjo: candid, corrective, and laced with cultural and biblical references. But it was also, perhaps, a little too sharp for the occasion.
Fayose’s response? A blistering “thank you” message that stunned the nation. He accused Obasanjo of being “irresponsible,” “mad,” and “fit for the zoo.” He demanded a refund for the travel expenses he had offered. He mocked the elder statesman’s age and mental state. And in doing so, he crossed a line, not just of protocol, but of public decency.
This is not about who is right. It is about how we disagree. Fayose had every right to feel slighted. But to respond with such venom, barely 48 hours after public forgiveness, undermines the very values he sought to celebrate: maturity, legacy, and statesmanship.
We are reminded of Proverbs 12:16: “A fool shows his annoyance at once, but a prudent man overlooks an insult.” And again in Ecclesiastes 3:7: “A time to keep silent, and a time to speak.”
Abraham Lincoln, too, understood this tension. Whenever he felt provoked, he would write two letters, one full of vituperation, the other measured and statesmanly. The first he never sent. After Gettysburg, he drafted a blistering rebuke to General Meade for letting General Robert E. Lee, the commander of the Confederate Army during the American Civil War, escape. He, however cooled off and filed it away, unsigned. It was his way of preserving dignity while still honoring truth. Fayose could learn from this: not every insult requires a public eruption. Sometimes, restraint is the higher courage.
Fayose is no stranger to boldness. It is part of his political brand. But boldness without restraint becomes foolhardiness. Obasanjo, for all his flaws, is an elder. In Yoruba culture, elders are corrected with tact, not tantrums.
This is not just a personal rift. It is a mirror held up to our political culture. If reconciliation collapses so easily, what hope is there for national healing?
We urge Fayose to reflect, not to trade insults, but to model restraint. A 65-year-old, two-term former governor should wear the cap of a statesman, not display the tantrums of a raging bull.
And we urge all public figures to remember: words spoken in anger may win applause, but they rarely win respect. "Okun kì í ho rùrù ká wà rùrù." Don't act rashly in the face of rising tension.