By Gbenga Sodeinde in Ado Ekiti
“The said woman had taken a loan to pay her child’s school bills but defaulted in paying back the loan.
“We learnt the loan agents came after her and inhumanely tied round her neck some empty tin-cans “agolo”, a replica of the Scarlet Letter “A” hung on Nathaniel Hawthorne’s Hester Prynne as a symbol of shame. The loan-defaulting woman was made to walk round the town with the tin-cans dangling on her neck, thereby subjecting her to opprobrium”.
Resolute to help the less-privileged and vulnerable people, especially single parents, orphans and widows during this period of economic quagmire, a female gubernatorial candidate in the 2022 Ekiti Guber elections under the Action Democratic Party (ADP) in Ekiti State, Erelu Kemi Elebute-Halle, has distributed cash and relief materials worth N20 million to students and parents in three communities in the state.
The beneficiaries were drawn from Oke Ayedun, Odo Ayedun, in Ikole local government of Ekiti State, and Igbara Odo Ekiti, in Ekiti South-West Local Government of the state to buffer the effect of the current hard- biting economic crunch on the poor parents who are having children in schools and some students who were available at the events.
Elebute-Halle, now a chieftain of the ruling All Progressives Congress, following her defection to the party, distributed these materials during a twin programmes commemorating the 5-year coronation anniversary ceremony of the Alaaye of Oke Ayedun, Oba Olufemi Aribisala, Obembe 1 where she hailed, also at the burial ceremony of late Mrs. Esther Olufunke Ojo, at Odo Ayedun neighbouring town in same local government area and the third empowerment which was massive was during the burial of Pa Michael Ojoko held at Igbara Odo Ekiti as over 600 people in that community benefited.
“Giving account of how what she spent amounted to N20,000, she revealed that she gave out BAO rice which she branded in the name of our Governor as a way to lend support to the humanitarian activities of Mr. Governor and his wife in the state alongside kitchen utensils, back -to-school bowls and packs, salt, Maggi packs and cash which she doled out to those in need of them in the three communities”.
The materials, according to the former Gubernatorial candidate, now a member of the All Progressives Congress (APC), became necessary considering the hardship many women are facing in providing basic amenities for their children.
The gesture was to contribute to the numerous projects of Governor Biodun Oyebanji across the state, so that people can breathe.
“Candidly speaking, we cannot leave everything to our people’s Governor who we know has been saddled with lots and more commitments in that wise”, she averred.
Elebute-Halle in her interaction with THISDAY, said, she thought of what could be of benefit to the people of the two communities immediately she got the invitation letter to grace the occasion following the stories of dehumanizing, and embarrassing situations in which some of our women found themselves after borrowing money to either pay their children’s school fees or meet some immediate family needs such as feeding.
She recounted a particularly pathetic story about the dehumanizing experience of a woman in one of these two communities: “The said woman had taken a loan to pay her child’s school bills but defaulted in paying back the loan.
“We learnt the loan agents came after her and inhumanely tied round her neck some empty tin-cans “agolo”, a replica of the Scarlet Letter “A” hung on Nathaniel Hawthorne’s Hester Prynne as a symbol of shame. The loan-defaulting woman was made to walk round the town with the tin-cans dangling on her neck, thereby subjecting her to opprobrium”.
She went further, “there was another very humiliating situation where a woman from this same neighbourhood had borrowed money and could not pay back, consequently, the creditors subjected her to very embarrassing treatments which forced her to go with caps in hand to an ‘Okada’ man for money to settle the debt. Regrettably, the ‘Okada’ promised to lend her money on the condition she agreed to his having canal knowledge of her, a request which she granted him.
“They made out in the dark corner of a primary school premises! Sadly enough, the ‘Okada’ man deceitfully stuffed some cement papers into her hands and immediately zoomed off.The woman’s agony was heightened when she discovered she had been outfoxed!”
“These situations prompted me to embark on the recent empowerment of the two communities in Ikole local government. Initially, I thought of organising bigger things for them but I was told that with what the people are going through now, N20,000 each could go a long way towards alleviating people’s sufferings.
“I ran into another woman in the community while I was distributing the relief packages. Unfortunately, her name was not on the list of the beneficiaries. She passionately requested money.
“She burst into tears, when I gave her N10,000 , revealing to me that her child in the school had sent her a message the previous night asking her to send something even if it is N500 naira. If I had met that woman outside without her coming to tell me about her problem, I would have assumed all was well judging by her appearance.”
“You see clothes cover a lot of problems and burdens that people are carrying secretly. Cases of struggling moms, single parents and orphans need urgent attention! So, whenever I am invited to such events, I always see it as an opportunity to give back to the society.
“It was a delight to collaborate with one of my daughters-in-laws from that Ikole Local government who suggested some of these things which were immediate or pressing needs of the people in these communities. My intention was not to give them at the church because we intended them as souvenirs. The Reverend of Odo Ayedun First Baptist Church advised that church members must also benefit from them as well”.
She maintained that as a humanitarian who loves to positively affect lives wherever she finds herself, she must make an impact.
“I have many NGO’s which I founded a few years ago, but I have decided to use one of them, Dominion Mothers Group, which has since 2018 been dedicated to helping single mothers, orphans, widows and orphanages. Schools have resumed and it is common knowledge that women take care of children when getting some school materials for their children. We have to help them and ensure children in schools get some materials that will aid their studies as well as provide succor for their parents.
Espousing her views about philanthropic gestures and governance further, Elebute-Halle, said everything should not be left in the hands of the Government or Political appointees alone but also individuals who have the capacity to give back to society should not hesitate to extend the hands of love to the have-nots stressing such an act will further help the Government to achieve its good agenda for the people.
“The act of giving is a gift, and my advice to people is that they should always cultivate the habit of giving and making people around them happy, because people cover their numerous problems with clothes.
“So it doesn’t matter, you never can tell whose life can be blessed through a token of your widow’s smite. You shouldn’t wait until you have too much or until you become a governor or political office holder before you can contribute your own quota towards making people happy.
“If the driving force behind one’s giving is If you can’t feed a hundred people, feed just one, then the whole human race will say goodbye to hunger pangs and deprivations.I am also an engineer with a lot of challenges but I have made up my mind that come what may, I will always live a life of impact by making people happy, particularly the downtrodden and the vulnerable”.she added.
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