In Nigeria, “philanthropist” too often doubles as a campaign costume. Goodwill surfaces four months to elections, complete with branded rice and camera crews. Then there’s QS Muhydeen Okunlola Kayode (MOK) who flipped the script.
Ask market women in Owode and Ipata and other popular markets in Kwara. You won’t hear a manifesto. You’ll see receipts, 10,000 plus received interest-free loans from MOK Foundation to keep their stalls alive in the past three years. Capital, not promises.
Ask the over 600 students whose WAEC fees he cleared, or the over 2000 JAMB candidates who would have stayed home but for his intervention. Ask the families fed during Ramadan, or the 3,000 Offa indigents who got Eid-el-Kabir palliative when food prices bit hardest.
Coach Faremi Bukola of Olalomi Royal Volleyball Club said it plainly after MOK’ Financial support helped them in the national league “God sent and a philanthropist par excellence.” That’s not politics. That’s presence.
MOK has been constant with his word “I believe that it’s very okay for us to give back to the society regardless of where we are and what God has given to us.” He set up MOK Foundation “to complement government efforts” not to campaign with them, it has fulfilled it’s mission.
He praised NSIP but told Vanguard Newspaper the hard truth “Government programs, though well-intentioned, cannot sufficiently cater to the needs of all vulnerable groups. This is where private grassroots philanthropy becomes essential.” His ask isn’t votes. It’s partnership “Government must collaborate with private philanthropists to effectively tackle poverty.”
Food doesn’t ask for your PVC. Hospital bills don’t wait for primaries. MOK has powered transformers in Kwara, covered medical fees at primary health centers, and harvested fresh food from his farm to feed over 3,000 Muslims and Christians. No ballot box required.
As a close ally, people have continued to ask why he hasn’t run, MOK is consistent “impact shouldn’t wait for a ticket”. His focus is building structures that outlive politics, food systems, education access, micro-capital, because “there are things that need to be done to enhance government intervention” with or without a seat. He argues private citizens plug gaps faster than bureaucracy, and that contesting now would shift the mission from service to campaigns. The work is the office. As he have continuously shown, born by a mechanic who struggles through the storm, he is lucky to be at the peak of his career, he has reiterated timely that ” Helping is primary, politics is secondary.” Of course the public argument is logical, for a man who have done much for the people, he is expected to take them to the poll, but he is rare, uncommon and a special creation. Despite having the opportunities of first refusal to contest across different political platforms, he has maintained timing, he has remained observant, he would take the step when it matters.
Cynicism is earned in Nigerian public life. It becomes laziness when we ignore the exceptions. MOK’s model is simple and uncomfortable,you don’t need a title to intervene.
In 3 years, his Foundation reached thousands of people in Kwara State. Solely funded by him. No ribbon-cutting. No “empowerment” as a euphemism. Just human capital development, school fees, food, and capital that keeps people dignified. Fixing people in places of opportunities.
Politics will always come. People shouldn’t have to wait for it. The results will contest before the man does.
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