In a move widely hailed for its potential positive contributions to public safety in Lagos State, the billionaire businessman and executive chairman of Geregu Power Plc, Mr. Femi Otedola, donated the sum of N1 billion to the Lagos State Security Trust Fund (LSSTF) last week. The gesture was acknowledged in a formal ceremony where the governor of Lagos State, Mr Babajide Sanwo-Olu, received the donation, further cementing the synergy between the state’s public sector and private philanthropy. For some time, the LSSTF, which has been a cornerstone in the provision of critical support to law enforcement agencies for nearly two decades, is said to have benefited from Otedola’s consistent support. As a matter of fact, he has the distinction of being the highest individual contributor to the fund.

Speaking on the occasion, Otedola, who was represented by his daughter Tolani Otedola, harped on the LSSTF’s enduring contribution to the state’s security framework and the Otedola family’s commitment to fostering a safe environment for all Lagos residents. He highlighted the LSSTF’s role in ensuring peace and security across the state. In another intervention in October last year, the business tycoon stunned not a few Nigerians when he donated the sum of N1 million to each of the 750 students of Augustine University, Ilara, Epe, Lagos State. The then newly inaugurated Chancellor of the university announced the scholarship donation to each student enrolled in the institution for the 2023/2024 academic session, including new and returning students. He made the announcement during his acceptance speech at the university where he outlined his vision and commitment to the educational institution and its student body.

According to him, the objective of the donation was not just to provide financial relief but to encourage academic excellence and national development. In addition to the scholarships, Otedola also pledged the sum of N140 million to furnish the recently completed Engineering faculty building of the university and another N110 million for the installation of street lights around the campus, together with a standby generating set. This was apart from the N2 billion he had earlier pledged for the construction of the Faculty of Engineering. He said: “I made the pledge as I have always been committed to the development and economic empowerment of our youth through quality education. I did not dream then that I would be appointed Chancellor of the university. Now that I am Chancellor, I intend to work with the university staff to ensure that the university and especially the Engineering Faculty become the centre of excellence in Nigeria.”

Without necessarily providing a catalogue of Otedola’s philanthropic deeds, the point can be easily made that he is acutely aware of the context of the social inequalities in which the vast majority of Nigerians live their lives, and the need for interventions by private individuals in ways that complement whatever the government has been able to do to make life more livable for the populace. Security being the raison d’etre of the state, there is no doubt that Otedola’s N1bn donation to the LSSTF will go a long way in making Lagos State, Nigeria’s economic capital, safer than it currently is. As a billionaire, Otedola has the wherewithal to provide private security for himself and his family, but crucially, he recognises that he is only secure to the extent that his immediate environment is secure. In the same vein, his donations to student of Augustine University where is Chancellor also underscores the importance of wealthy individuals lending a helping hand to members of their community as a way of ultimately creating a better, happier society, especially as the government, for which we make no excuses here, cannot do everything.

The question whether the government is really doing anything concrete to address the privations that Nigerians face in their day-to-day interactions is a valid one, and the gestures by Otedola and (wo)men of like passion donations should provoke critical reflections on the treatment of Nigerians by the political authorities set over them. In the final analysis, it is in the enlightened self-interest of politicians to make a real change in the lives of the people over whom they superintend and on whose behalf they supposedly took office. If they are not making the kind of difference they should be making in the lives of the people and instead prefer to gorge themselves on the public wealth, they are only preparing the ground for a conflagration that will eventually consume them and anything they piled up through robbery. The earlier they realise this, the better for everyone.

We commend Femi Otedola for his generosity and urge other wealthy Nigerians to emulate him and let the society feel their wealth. The society will be a better place with more men and women of this kind.

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