Nigerian leaders, men of means should support less privileged, says Osolana

A call has gone to Nigerian leaders and other well-to-do people in the society to always think of the needy and offer support to make life easier for them.

The call was made by the Founder and Chief Promoter of Sola Osolana Foundation, Sola Osolana, at the fifth edition of the foundation’s public support programme held at Agege on March 7, 2024.

He said this was a critical period that leaders in government must prioritise people’s welfare, given the current economic challenges in the country.

Osolana, a philanthropist and politician is the House of Representatives candidate for the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the Agege Federal Constituency during the February 25, 2023 general elections.

In a statement issued by the Director-General of his campaign, Mr. Adeola Balogun, he explained that the Sola Osolana Foundation was a non-profit and non-political welfare organisation distinct from the political affiliations of the founder,

Balogun explained that the Sola Osolana Foundation was dedicated to giving support to the less privileged in the Agege community where Osolana was born and bred, saying that he had been giving support to people generally in the areas of personal needs like feeding and accomodation, children education, scholarships , critical health challenges and sports development for over 10 years without any consideration for tribe, religion or political bias of the beneficiaries.

According to Balogun, the only consideration for anyone to be qualified for Osolana’s public welfare support programmes are that the beneficiary is a human being that is in need and resident within the boundaries of the Agege community.

Speaking at the programme where 50 indigenes of Agege were each awarded N50,000 cash support, the philanthropist admonished Nigerian leaders and people who are financially solvent to elevate humanity beyond politics and other biases like tribe or religion, which only serve to create walls of discrimination among the people.

The beneficiaries of the cash support, he explained, were picked randomly from the society even as they cut across different political parties in the local government, market women and religious societies.

Osolana said that the hardship that people are going through as a result of the current economic and security challenges in the country calls for everyone to be their brother’s keeper, assuring that his foundation will continue to offer assistance to the needy in the society.

He explained that the Sola Osolana Foundation decided to monetise the welfare so that the beneficiaries can channel the little cash support to wherever they might consider individually as their most critical areas of need.

Saying that N50,000 award might not be able to attend to all that a beneficiary desires given the current economic hardship in the land, Osolana remarks, “the cash support is just our own widow’s mite and our prayer is for other men of means too to assist the less privileged around them.”

He appealed to people who didn’t make the list of the current cash support programme to be patient, saying that it is the plan of the Foundation to make the award a quarterly programme.

“Just continue to put us in your prayers, this is our own way of thanking God for His grace in our life and we will continue to share His grace with people around us,” says the Chief Promoter of the Sola Osolana Foundation.