A business mogul and governorship aspirant under the platform of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), Otunba Bamidele Akingboye (OBA) has finally confirmed that he has extended his philanthropic gestures to the poor, needy, and vulnerable across Ondo State and beyond in the face of the COVID 19 pandemic.
Responding to questions from journalists on Tuesday, 14th April, 2020; Akingboye said he prioritized the aged, widows, orphans and others in the same category as the major beneficiaries of his cash gifts and clarified that no beneficiary received less than N10,000.
The business tycoon also clarified that the palliative was not limited to those mentioned above, but others who sought his assistance.
He said “As a matter of fact, I still gave out to about 23 people this morning and I don’t know how many of them will still be in need before the day runs out. Of course, this is how it will continue so far God still gives me the capacity.”
Akingboye further explained that the first set of disbursement was done through his foundation “OBA Foundation” (between Friday, 10th to Sunday, 12th April, 2020) a Non-governmental organization (NGO) that has been at the fore front of charity and bringing succor to battered lives for many years.
He said “I am compelled to say this to correct the erroneous impression of some persons asking the same question on the social media some days ago.
“It is not in my nature to disclose to the public whenever I give out, especially at a time like this. I personally do not subscribe to it. As a Christian, I understand the biblical teachings on giving in Mathew 6 verse 3 that says “But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing”. This has been my watchword and it has always been of blessing to me.
“This is not the first time I am doing it and will not be the last time. It didn’t just start with the coronavirus pandemic. There are so many people benefiting from my annual scholarship scheme through the OBA Foundation. I have their data. Many of them are graduates today. We have our health intervention programmes and many other areas!
“Recently, we empowered more than ten people with vehicles and none of it worths less than than N2.5 million. We have always supported our people in their businesses and even set up businesses for some from the scratch, but because we don’t publicize as others do, people tend to assume I haven’t been doing anything.
“It is my style not to make such philanthropic gesture public. The idea behind such humanitarian services is not to score cheap popularity but to touch lives positively and meaningfully.
“This doesn’t mean that those publicizing theirs are wrong. They also have their reasons.
When quizzed on the rationale behind his choice of cash to food and other relief materials, he said ” I prefer giving out cash so that beneficiaries can make informed decision on what to do with it. They know their needs more than I do.
“At least most donors have given out food items like rice, beans and garri. Some may not need those given items anymore and even if at all they need them, they can easily get them with the cash and in fact buy more than what would ordinarily have been packaged as food items.
“For instance, those who have rice would want to prepare stew or ingredients to cook it; those with garri wants ingredients for soup if they want to eat Eba and many more..so, if you give them another garri or rice, you may not have impacted as when you give them cash to buy those ingredients.
“Again, the fund I would have wasted on transportation of the food items across the state; buying, printing, branding of bags and packaging as a whole has been extended to other beneficiaries who hitherto wouldn’t have benefited. So, that’s why I adopted cash gifts.”
