THE PARADOX OF PHILANTHROPY IN NIGERIA.

Mr Lagbaja is  awarded a N1billion contract by the NDDC to fix a 10km road that leads to his own village that is impassable all season.

He is mobilized to do the work. Mr Lagbaja being a crooked character, connives with certain NDDC officials/project managers to do Rochas kinds of roads to his village for less than N200m.

He gives N300m to the rogue project managers and supervisors. He then deploys N20m out of the N500m heist now in his possession to buy 30 okadas for his village boys. Award scholarships to 20 indigent kids and throws cash here and there at Church fund raising programs and settles some Ndi Eze and political edi abalis. He doles out grants of N5000 or N10,000 to petty traders here and there. He now has N480m in his pocket.

4-6 months after commissioning the road, the first downpour or drop of rain washes away the roads and reverts the community to their parlous and miserable state.

Mr Lagbaja comes out in 2023 to contest elections for one position or the other without any plan or clue of what he plans to do for his people. He is contesting against an honest and accomplished technocrat with clearly defined blue print of what he plans  to do for his people and community .

Do you know what will happen? The same people/ communities that were shortchanged.  The same people , who still drives on the washed up road that was used by Mr Lagbaja to steal their common patrimony will forget all these issues and be screaming like demented zombies, he is a philanthropist. He empowered us. Some will scream, he is the  commander of empowerment . Vote for him. They will demand from the able technocrat to show them how many Okadas he purchased and how many people he dashed monies.

The illustration above is the general concept of philanthropy in Nigeria today. This is not only tragic, but shows clearly why we are locked up in the trap/vice grip of con artists, scammers and incompetent junkies as rulers. This is one reason why Nigeria is a shithole jungle.

God have mercy on us all.

Dr Nnaemeka Onyeka Obiaraeri, FICA, MIRA.