Dele Oshinowo trying to Hijacking Seyi Tinubu’s Colloquium for Cheap Publicity Over a Handshake

What should have been a brief exchange between Dele Oshinowo and Hon. Kafilat Ogbara has snowballed into a social media talking point, raising questions about political optics, media attention and the real purpose of attending an important public event.

In a moment that has since generated considerable online discussion, Dele Oshinowo maliciously approached Hon. Kafilat Ogbara at the Seyi Tinubu Colloquium and extended his hand for a handshake. Ogbara acknowledged his greeting but declined to reciprocate the gesture of a malicious handshake

Ordinarily, that should have been the end of the matter. A greeting was exchanged, a handshake was declined, and everyone could have moved on. But somehow, a brief encounter has become a full-blown media conversation. The question is: why?

What has made the incident even more intriguing are claims circulating on social media that Oshinowo arrived with cameras, approached Ogbara, and subsequently asked his media team whether they had captured the interaction. Other commentators have also alleged that he left shortly after Seyi Tinubu arrived, without staying for the programme.

These claims, which remain shows he obviously came only for the optics this have inevitably prompted a more pointed question: **Was the mission to attend the colloquium, or was there an expectation that the encounter might produce a moment for the cameras?**

Because, honestly, why attend the inaugural Seyi Tinubu Colloquium only for the attempted handshake to become the biggest talking point associated with your appearance?

The irony is difficult to ignore. This was Seyi Tinubu’s event a platform for people to connect, exchange ideas, build relationships and engage with something more meaningful than political theatrics. Yet, instead of the conversations and ideas the gathering was intended to promote, much of the online attention has shifted to a handshake that never happened.

At some point, every public figure must ask a simple question: what do you want people to remember you for? Your contributions, your ideas and your presence at important gatherings or the controversy that follows you after you leave?

The entire episode risks creating an impression of unnecessary publicity-seeking. Political communication is a legitimate part of public life, but there is a fine line between documenting an event and allowing a fleeting interaction to overshadow its purpose.

And that is precisely why the circumstances surrounding this encounter deserve scrutiny.

Hon. Kafilat Ogbara, for her part, acknowledged the greeting and made her position clear. She was not obliged to turn the moment into a performance, nor was she required to pretend that a handshake was welcome simply because the interaction occurred in public.

Her supporters will see her response as an assertion of personal boundaries amid an increasingly competitive political atmosphere. Whatever one’s interpretation, the incident should not be allowed to eclipse the larger responsibilities and issues that matter to the people of Kosofe.

The real concern is that a gathering associated with Seyi Tinubu has become entangled in a conversation about political personalities and an unsuccessful handshake. There were more substantial issues to discuss, more meaningful connections to make and more valuable reasons to be present.

*Seyi Tinubu’s colloquium deserved better than having its significance reduced to a handshake controversy.*

Dele, respectfully, the event was bigger than you. Not every public gathering needs to become a personal publicity moment, and not every interaction needs to be turned into a headline.

This was Seyi Tinubu’s day. 🎯