"The proper aim of giving is to put the recipients in a state where they no longer need our gifts." – C. S. Lewis
When Lewis made this assertion, he probably had a similar dilemma and school of thought as most of the Oyo state electorates with regards to our present state of mind in choosing our probable leader.
The primary aim of philanthropy is to alleviate poverty at the barest, this is achieved by relieving the society of the extra burden of the poor or the masses by transforming the standard of living of the people to a new level in economic growth through provision of jobs, job materials or professional trainings to improve the capacity of the people. This should be the goal and not the other way round where you watch the people come back for their daily needs everyother day.
This is easily the core undertone defining the pattern of votes of most electorates who galvanize a misconception of sympathy towards one of the candidates in this year's election. The CEO of Makon Group and candidate in one of the political parties in this year's election, has probably engaged in philanthropy to an unprecedented level, however, he has failed to take philanthropy to the level prescribed by Lewis. He has failed to teach the people how to fish, he has given them fishes over the years, yet they return to his doorstep for more, hence enhancing the blind perception that he gives to the poor. So much for giving alms that you forget to teach the people how to create wealth and not allow them come back to beg from your coffers of affluence.
By simple persistency, Seyi Makinde is palpably appealing to the sympathy of the electorates, he has been here and there fiddling with the minds of the people saying how much he will eradicate suffering of the people of Oyo State. However, he goofed with this rational assumption, he is merely playing with the intelligence of the voters by trying too hard to reap from where he did not sow. His antecedents must be inline with his proposition for the people of Oyo state before he can be trusted with the economy of the state. He has been at the forefront of the election phase since 2007, yet his mark of philanthropy on the lives of the Oyo State citizenry has not gone beyond sheer charity.
He enjoys flaunting his immense wealth with his favorite maxim - 'eni to ba fe daso funyan, torun e lako ma wo', but instead he should make an exhibition of his contribution to human and economic development aside the common alms giving he is known for, which are relatively crumbs or tiny fractions of his wealth, at a stage where it ought to have transformed to an epochal and exemplary gesture to the people.
At the last debate at Splash FM, he was waxing lyrical on how he will go about the transformation of the economic position of Oyo State with the Agricultural revamp and giving particular due interest to Oke-Ogun zone as the vantage point of execution. What he obviously forgot to mention was how he had practiced it in his personal capacity, a much reflection of his maxim 'eni toba fe daso funyan, torun e lako ma wo'. Engr. Seyi Makinde is obviously out to steer the ship of Oyo State on a voyage he has never been to himself, in his entire working capacity. He has never tried his hands on Agriculture. He has no known business setup here in Oyo State, he is not known for employing any large number of Oyo State indigenes in his business empire. He hasn't enthused either of his intension to borrow from any prototypical venture of his as a standard for showcasing his vast experience in any sector other than the oil sector which is nonexistence in retreading the economy of Oyo State. It is all fictional to him. A blatant pretence to selfishly become the first citizen of Oyo State hence, return us back to those inglorious days of inept and shallow leadership. We are off that!
His philanthropic gesture should however, not go underwhelmed or unnoticed, this is only a proponent for actualisation of true and sincere altruism which is the mean to an end of philanthropy. He has to expand his horizon and practice alleviation of poverty using the global best practice of job creation and capacity development, not the tongue in cheek approach he is believed to be operating. His true leadership endowment comes into question with his primitive and short sighted bearing, which will evidently characterise his approach of governance and will not readily go down well with the developmental pattern of the State laid down by the present Governor, Sen. Abiola Ajimobi, replica of the proverbial, 'taking one step forward, then taking two steps back', which we gravely frown at for our dear Oyo State.
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