Gov Dapo Abiodun’s “Karimi Philanthropy”: Generous to Strangers, Neglectful to His Own Ogun People [By Ope Banwo, The Mayor of Fadeyi, Founder Niaja Lives Matter and Indigene Of Ogun State]

Once again, Governor Dapo Abiodun has proven that when it comes to selective generosity, he is second to none. News just broke that His Excellency, in a grand show of compassion, has donated N20 million to victims and families affected by a tragic road crash involving athletes returning from the National Sports Festival — an accident that happened in Kano, involving people who are neither from Ogun State nor directly connected to Ogun’s responsibility.

On the surface, one might hail this act as evidence of a compassionate leader with a heart for all Nigerians. But scratch beneath the surface, and you’ll see the ugly political theatre of what I call Karimi Philanthropy — generosity performed for applause while his own house burns.

A Governor Who Can Cry for Strangers but Turns His Back on Ogun Indigenes

Where was this compassion when Ogun State indigenes suffered real tragedies right under his nose? During the just concluded National Sports Festival hosted in Ogun State, several Ogun citizens and small business owners lost property to fire outbreaks around the congested venues. No relief fund. No public visit. No N1 million per family. Nothing.

Even worse, some Ogun indigenes have suffered fatal accidents on our dangerous state roads during his tenure. No special delegation was sent. No public donation to grieving families. No emergency intervention for the dozens of Ogun communities crying daily for safety on the death traps we call roads.

The Billion-Naira Betrayal: When Ogun Indigenes Became Strangers in Their Own Festival

It gets even more insulting when you realize that this same governor awarded billions worth of contracts for catering, hospitality, logistics, and entertainment for the National Sports Festival to companies owned by non-indigenes, effectively sidelining Ogun-based businesses who were supposed to benefit from the influx of visitors and the economic opportunities the event should have brought.

This was supposed to be Ogun State’s moment to empower its people economically. Instead, the largest catering and hospitality deals went to outsiders while Ogun caterers, hotel owners, event planners, entertainers, and artisans were left watching from the sidelines, scrambling for crumbs.

So, while outsiders made billions during the event, and athletes from faraway states receive millions after the event, many Ogun indigenes have nothing but pictures and unkept promises to show for the festival they hosted.

The Politics of Selective Compassion — Or a Calculated Move to Please Abuja?

Even more curious is the growing speculation — especially among those who claim to be in the know — that this newfound ‘national generosity’ by Gov Abiodun may not be driven entirely by compassion but by desperate political calculations.

According to insiders, Gov Abiodun may be strategically going out of his way to donate and show magnanimity in northern states like Kano as part of his larger political repositioning to get back into the good graces of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, and by extension, strengthen his relevance in the emerging 2027 northern electoral strategy for Tinubu’s second term bid.

Unfortunately for him, many believe that no amount of staged philanthropy or northern appeasement will erase the bitter memories of his past political missteps — starting with his early betrayal of the president during his first presidential run, a betrayal that famously earned him the derisive presidential nickname “Eleyi” during the APC primaries.

Though Baba, in his magnanimity, had forgiven him enough to allow his second term victory, political grapevines suggest that Gov Abiodun may still not be fully out of the “Eleyi dog house”. His recent over-the-top gestures towards northern interests are therefore seen in many circles as transparent attempts at damage control and political penance that may not deliver the redemption he seeks.

A Final Word to Gov Abiodun

Your Excellency, charity, they say, begins at home. Ogun State is not a billboard for your national political ambitions. It is a state filled with real people who trusted you with leadership.

We are tired of watching you play the “benevolent father of the nation” while your own people remain orphans of government care.

Ogun people deserve the same compassion you freely distribute to others. Anything short of that is not leadership — it’s hypocrisy.

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