Managing a family business: The intrigues

It was back in 1982 that Wale Olaifa, then a musician, now a veteran businessman and his wife, Atinuke, first set eyes on the Labamba Hotel in Oyo town, Oyo State. They fell in love with it, booked a holiday right away and vowed to return each year with their family.

It’s a tradition that has continued for some years. Atinuke, sadly, died in 1999, but this month saw Olaifa finding an alternative there as usual, surrounded by no fewer than seven members of his extended family. As well as Olaifa and his sons, Matthew and Femi, there are five grandchildren, siblings and siblings-in-law, nieces and nephews and cousins, and even a great-grandson, John, aged one. For Olaifa, now 68, it’s become a welcome opportunity to catch up with his clan. But the annual get-together is also a way of saying thank you for all the family have done over the years for his private owned firm, Olaifa and Sons.

Because the truth about Olaifa’s firm is that it has been an extraordinary example of family teamwork. Olaifa was always the brain behind the company’s operations, of course – but for the list of his clientele, for the authenticity of his services, and for the insights into the worlds of his customers, he invariably turn to his family for help.

For many years, Atinuke was his right-hand helper. “She was a terrific critic and a great researcher – she did all kinds of research for me and she was great at it,” says Olaifa. His sons helped him too, especially Femi, whose work as a commerce teacher was to assist in moulding new business models. “Dad came to my house one cold evening to seek for ideas for his new business plans,” says Femi, 42. “There can be nothing more nerve-wrecking!”

Femi is sitting next to his dad today at their country home in Iseyin. The two reminisce on the family involvement in Olaifa’s business down the years. John, says Femi, is the inspiration for most of his father’s business success. Matthew, Femi’s son, provides much of the idea for the new business models of his grandfather’s business. And many others among the Olaifa’s family have been happy to weigh in with a bit of research here or a business idea there. It’s almost been like a big family hobby that pulls them all together.

However, there have been snide comments about Femi being desperate to head his father’s company and whispers about him just wanting to cash in on his father’s legacy. “Even in the family, people say, ‘How does being a commerce teacher make you think you can lead a firm?’” says Femi. How does he deal with it? “By having good business plans and retaining my father’s clients and getting new ones,” he says.

Things can go wrong in running a family business, says Bunmi Akinde, a business owner. “My brothers, sister and father were in business together for many years. My husband is currently an owner in the family business that his father started almost 50 years ago, and is now being owned and operated by him and four of his brothers. My mother and I own a business together. Between all of these experiences, I have become very knowledgeable about the problems that can arise,” she says.

As a middle child, Bunmi has adopted the role of mediator and peacekeeper, but when it comes to money and business that role becomes much more difficult for her. According to her, the siblings who are in business together develop many complex relationships that then spill over to every other family relationship. “Our family was once very close,” she explains. “We celebrated holidays together. We went on family vacations. We were very close to our nieces, nephews and in-laws. Over time, that has deteriorated because of business. My oldest brother still owns the business and our family tends to rotate in and out of employment there, but the ties that were once there are gone. It makes me sad for my children because they will never know the family that we were before the family business.”

She adds that another problem that can arise with family business is that one’s personal life is no longer personal.

By: ANNE AGBAJE