THE MYTH OF THE RIGHTEOUS POOR – Why A Nation That Disdains Its Intellectuals and Privileged-From-Birth Leaders in Favor of Its Nouveau Rich Will Always Struggle

By Dr. Ope Banwo (a.k.a. Mayor of Fadeyi)

There’s a dangerous myth we’ve bought into—especially in Africa.

It is the myth that poverty makes people righteous. That unless someone rose from nothing, they cannot truly understand justice, cannot lead with empathy, and cannot champion the poor. It’s why we keep crowning “hustlers” and “grassroots” leaders while disdaining intellectuals, mocking the privileged, and treating old money and elite education as suspicious.

But I submit to you today, without apology: A nation that disdains its intellectuals and privileged-from-birth reformers in favor of its nouveau rich and survivalist hustlers will never rise beyond its suffering. It will only recycle poverty—with more expensive suits.

💣 The Dangerous Mindset Of Most Poverty-From-Birth Leaders

While this is not true of all, the fact is many who rise from poverty become obsessed with survival, not transformation. Their trauma teaches them to hoard, not build. Their early experience of lack creates a deep fear of returning to it. So when they finally arrive, they become:

• Power hoarders – obsessed with keeping power and transferring it to their children and family, making it an inheritance matter just to avoid ever going back to poverty.
• Status chasers – they keep acquiring insane money and assets without really doing anything with it to transform society.
• Symbolic leaders – who do little to fix the systems that kept them (and others) down.

And because they “made it,” they begin to believe struggle is normal—even good—for everyone else. They tell people to endure poverty and say things like:
“If I suffered and made it, why shouldn’t they?”

While this phenoment is not limited ot Africa, It’s a serious African affliction. The poverty-scarred big man who tells others to “hustle harder” instead of fixing the damn road.

🧠 In Contrast: Those Born Into Comfort Can Birth Comfort For Others

On the other hand—while also not applicable to all—most leaders born into comfort, order, and early exposure to dignity often don’t carry the fear of poverty. They don’t feel the need to prove anything. They, of course, still acquire more but without the obsessive compulsion to keep acquiring more that is often prevalent among the rags-to-riches people. And so, they can build freely, share power, and expand access without paranoia or vengeance.

🏆 Case Study Of Privileged Leaders Who Transformed The World For The Poor

These leaders were born with advantage and privilege—but grew up to pursue justice and elevation of those in poverty and the oppressed:

• Franklin D. Roosevelt, born into wealthy New York elite; launched the New Deal, reshaped American welfare, created the Social Security program for the less privileged.
• John F. Kennedy, political dynasty billionaire; championed civil rights and global youth empowerment via the Peace Corps.
• Eleanor Roosevelt, old money aristocrat; she drafted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
• Nelson Mandela, royal lineage, elite schools, but gave up privilege to fight apartheid and birth a rainbow nation. When he got power, he used it for transformation of his people and refused to do a second term or become a sit-tight president—unlike most of our born-into-poverty leaders who often cling to power at the expense of the poor.
• Karl Marx, son of a wealthy lawyer; invented communism to fight capitalist exploitation.
• Fidel Castro, son of a sugar plantation magnate; led revolution to redistribute wealth and empower the masses.
• Barack Obama, elite educational path (Columbia, Harvard); created healthcare reform and uplifted underprivileged communities.
• Mahatma Gandhi, born into privilege and educated in London; led India’s independence through nonviolence and anti-caste reform.
• The American Founding Fathers, ALL 56 revolutionary leaders and signers of the Constitution were wealthy landowners, lawyers, or merchants. They created democratic institutions that changed the world to this day.
• Winston Churchill, born in a palace; saved Britain during WWII with vision, grit, and elite training.

💥 And yes, even in Nigeria we have a few great leaders who were born into priviledge or who experienced privledge early but who used that experience to fight for the poor and less priviledged:

• Emeka Ojukwu, son of one of the richest men in Nigeria, used his position and privilege to fight against injustice and for the liberation of his people. He never engaged in gluttonous wealth acquisition even as paramount ruler of the ill-fated Biafran Nation agitation.
• Ahmadu Bello (Fulani aristocrat), had a compassionate heart and was focused on elevating the people.
• Obafemi Awolowo, the undisputed greatest Yoruba post-independence politician, was an educated elite who was privileged to school abroad in his youth but very profound in his determination to raise the standard of living for all. He was rich but never indulged in the disgusting acquisition of riches we often see in Nigerian leaders who grew up from poverty.

All these used their privilege not to dominate, but to serve. They were decent in their pursuit of money and power and genuinely embraced the idea of elevating the poor amongst us—unlike most of the nouveau riche our continent has been most unfortunate to endure.

🚫 Case Studies Of Some Rags-To-Riches Leaders Who Used Their Escape From Poverty To Keep Others Trapped In Poverty

By contrast, here are 10 rags-to-riches leaders who failed to transform poverty. These are leaders who escaped poverty but reproduced poverty for others instead of trying to lift them out of it:

• Idi Amin, an illiterate military man who grew out of poverty to become a brutal dictator who looted Uganda dry and perpetuated poverty for his people.
• Mobutu Sese Seko, orphaned, born poor; got into power but chose to keep amassing billions while citizens starved.
• Robert Mugabe, born poor, poor rural teacher; went from being a liberator to economic destroyer. He focused on amassing more and more wealth for himself and his family while his country ground to a halt in poverty.
• Jacob Zuma, another rags-to-riches tragedy; he herded cattle growing up but once in power oversaw state capture and deep corruption.
• Sani Abacha, born poor, took military route to achieve power; stole billions, ruled with an iron fist without making any efforts to liberate others from the poverty he escaped from.
• Nicolas Maduro, born poor and grew up a bus driver, but on gaining power he only used it to deepen Venezuela’s economic collapse while he continued to amass disgusting wealth.
• Samuel Doe, born poor illiterate soldier; got to power and became a violent, paranoid dictator whose only goal was to amass more money and power so he never had to go poor again.
• Yahya Jammeh, born and grew up a poor village boy; claimed divine powers, tortured opponents, and increased poverty for his people.
• Blaise Compaoré, born into very modest beginnings; got power and instead of spreading prosperity to help others escape poverty, he gave them 27 years of repression in Burkina Faso.
• Jean-Bédel Bokassa, born and grew up dirt-poor, but when he got power he crowned himself emperor and starved his people while he continued to amass gluttonous wealth.

These men who were born poor or grew up in poor surroundings did not become builders.
They became guardians of their own escape, not liberators of the people.
They escaped poverty, but instead of helping others escape poverty too, they simply reproduced their youthful poverty lives for others while they chased disgusting wealth and more power to maintain their escape from poverty.

🕊️ THE EXCEPTIONS: POVERTY-FORGED TRANSFORMERS WHO LIVED TO HELP OTHERS ESCAPE POVERTY TOO

Yes, there are rare exceptions—individuals who came from very little but still led with a liberator’s heart.

Of course, lest I am accused of pursuing an elitist agenda (I was born poor myself and would not really know what I would do if given power, so I do not claim any moral superiority—just stating facts of research, history, and experience), I must also mention that there are exceptions to the reality I just painted.

There are indeed some poverty-forged transformers who are the exception to the rule:

• Abraham Lincoln, grew up in a log cabin, no formal education, but led the fight to abolish slavery and oppression of the poor and helpless, preserved democracy.
• José Mujica (Uruguay), born to a poor farming family, lived in poverty most of his life. As president, slashed his salary, lived humbly, legalized cannabis, and reinvested in healthcare and education.
• Lula da Silva (Brazil), born into extreme poverty; worked as a shoeshine boy but became a transformational president and launched Bolsa Família, lifting over 20 million Brazilians out of poverty.
• Thomas Sankara (Burkina Faso), came from a modest family; on attaining power, renamed the country from Upper Volta to Burkina Faso (“Land of Upright Men”), slashed government salaries, empowered women, and redistributed land. Slashed his own salary, banned government luxury, and pushed self-reliance.
• Andrew Jackson (USA), orphaned as a child, grew up on the frontier with little education; rose to U.S. presidency through military and political skill. While controversial, he was seen as the first “common man” to become president.
• Léopold Sédar Senghor (Senegal) was born to a low-income Serer family, Poor village roots, rose through colonial education but as first president of independent Senegal he focused on education, culture, language development, and pan-African values. Stepped down peacefully from power—very rare in Africa. He is a rare example of a modest-born leader who invested in institutional growth, not just self-glorification.
• Jerry Rawlings (Ghana) was Born to a poor Ghanaian mother and Scottish father. Raised with very little; joined the Air Force. He led a coup but later transitioned Ghana to democracy. Oversaw anti-corruption campaigns, economic reform, and political opening. He died poor and widely respected. Sure, he had complex legacy, but undeniably worked to clean the system and elevate governance.

However, I must reiterate: these are the exceptions, not the rule. Their brilliance and commitment to transformation in the land was despite experiencing poverty, not because of it.

🧨 THE MAYOR’S UNCOMFORTABLE TRUTHBOMB:

Let me say this clearly: While I am not pushing for the rule of the elites, as this article may be erroneously misinterpreted by those who are not deep enough to grasp the true point I am trying to make, I sincerely believe we need to stop treating poverty as proof of purity and struggle with poverty from birth as a badge of leadership.

Hustle is not policy. Scarcity is not strategy. And suffering is not a qualification for nation-building.

I sincerely believe that a nation that mistrusts its intellectuals, demonizes its elites, and idolizes its survivalists will forever be ruled by men who escaped poverty—yet refuse to eliminate it for others.

If we keep celebrating leaders simply because “they started with nothing,” we will keep ending up with governments that give us nothing—except the same poverty, now in designer agbadas.

My name is Dr. Ope Banwo, Founder of Naija Lives Matter and self-appointed Mayor of Fadeyi, and i say It’s time we break the myth of the righteous poor… and start demanding vision, values, and structure as qualifications for leadership—regardless of origin or circumstances of birth. We need to choose our next set of leaders with  clear eye. That someone never had any shoes growing up does not necessarily mean they will lead the movement to ensure everyone else gets a shoe when you give them power. More likely, especially in Afirca, history tells us they are most likely going to go on a shoe shopping spree for themselves and their family, at the expense of the masses who have no shoe. They will be telling the masses to endure because their own time of blessing will be coming soon!