Layi Olanrewaju, Ilorin
His name is Oluwapamilerinayo (a Yoruba name which translates as “God has made me to laugh a laughter of joy”) Akinduyo. Though from Ondo State, he and his parents live in Ilorin, Kwara State. The eight-year-old boy, and Primary 3 pupil of Word Assembly Nursery and Primary School, Offa Garage Road, Ilorin, Kwara State, last week Thursday, brought joy to the hearts of the state government led by the governor, AbdulRahman Abdulrazaq, to the Kwara State Technical Committee on COVID-19, headed by the state’s Deputy Governor, Mr. Kayode Alabi, and to his parents, when he donated N1, 120 to the coffers of the Technical Committee. The money, savings from his thrifty acumen, was all that he had in the world. Though not a widow, nor a widower, that was his own widow’s mite.
Making the donation to Alabi, the Chairman of the Technical Committee, Master Oluwapamilerinayo noted that his desire to do so was informed by decision to assist in curbing the spread of the pandemic in the state and in the entire country. In his response, Alabi, while promising to deliver his message to the Governor, commended his magnanimity and gesture, and urged other well-meaning Kwarans to emulate him.
Probing into a little boy’s philanthropic act
Tell the truth and shame the devil, no, COVID-19 virus! How do you compare Oluwapamilerinayo’s paltry sum with the N2 billion donated, respectively, by the Central Bank of Nigeria and Alhaji Aliko Dangote, or the N1 billion sent in, again respectively, by Alhaji Abdul Samad Rabiu (BUA Sugar Refinery), Segun Agbaje (GT Bank), Tony Elumelu (United Bank For Africa), Chief Oba Otudeko (First Bank), Chief Jim Ovia (Zenith Bank), Herbert Wigwe (Access Bank), Femi Otedola, Nigeria’s billionaire businessman, the N200 million by Senator Bola Ahmed Tinubu or the N50 million pledged by Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, all, to fight the Coronavirus scourge, under the auspices of Private Sector Coalition Against COVID-19 (CACOVID) Fund, set up by the Central Bank of Nigeria?
But when the issue is looked at from the perspective of Jesus Christ (Luke 21:1-4), whose resurrection from the dead is being celebrated, by Christians worldwide, in this Easter period, the little boy, probably, gave the highest. Yes, higher than all those big, big donors. Higher than the Dangotes, Rabius, Agbajes, Elumelus, Otudekos, Ovias, Wigwes, Otedolas, Tinubus and Abubakars! Why? Because while they, according to Jesus’ words, contributed from their deep pockets and still have some cash left after that, the lad, like the widow in the story, gave all his personal savings. But, ironically, he was inspired by the N2 billion donated by Dangote.
Since he is not employed nor an income-earner, how did he get the money in the first place? If it is monetary gift, how long did it take him to save such amount? What originally did he want to do with the money before COVID-19 donations came up? And, why did he choose to give it away just like that, on the spur of the moment? This kind of boy that has learnt the art of giving, this early, what would he like to become in life when he grows up? Those are the questions that Saturday Sun took to him early in the week and the following conversation ensued:
How long did it take you to save the money?
It took me about a week.
How were you able to save it and from what: financial gifts or what?
I got the money as financial gifts; my schoolteacher gave me N100 while my Sunday School instructor gave me N20 when I won a Bible quiz. These I kept with my mum
Which day did you make your biggest savings and how?
I have been getting gifts from people but during this time I was given N1000 by my Dad
What originally did you intend to do with your savings before COVID-19 matter came up?
I was saving it for the Easter celebration to buy shoe and other things to entertain my friends.
Why then did you decide to donate it to the anti-COVID-19 campaign?
I made up my mind to do so when I was watching television and learnt from the news that people were dying and they would need money. I decided to tell my parents that I would donate my N120 to help but my Dad said it is too small. But when I continued to disturb them that I must donate it to fight COVID-19, my father gave me N1000 to add to it.
What and who motivated you to do that – your parents?
Nobody told me. I just felt I must help with what I have when the news carried it that people are dying all over the world and in Nigeria. I thought of what to do and, after that, I asked my mum for the money that I kept with her.
How did you feel when your gesture attracted the state government’s attention?
I felt very happy seeing myself standing with the Deputy Governor and His Royal Highness, Estu Tsonga. It was as if I was dreaming but it came to be real. In fact, having such big people listening to me was a great day for me.
What have your fellow kids been saying concerning that and about you?
Most of my friends who watched the news were surprised. After seeing me on the television, they were asking: how did you make it to the government? They felt happy with me and many of their parents have been calling my parents on the phone since then.
We call what you did philanthropy. Would you like to be a philanthropist when you grow up and begin to make your own money?
I will like to be a philanthropist so that I can help people who are poor and in need.
Why?
Because it is a thing that I had been doing before now. I used to share my food and snacks with my friends. So, it won’t be difficult to do when I am of age. My Bible teacher and parents always encourage me to give to others.
Which of the Nigerian philanthropists would you like to be?
There are lots of philanthropists in Nigeria and in the world. This I learnt from watching and listening to news on television but I will like to be like Dangote and Tinubu.
What class are you and which school?
I am in Primary 3. The name of my school is Word Assembly Nursery and Primary School, Ilorin
What’s your best school subject and why?
My best subject is English Language and I like it because it is easy; it is also being used to teach other subjects.
What will you like to become in life?
I will like to become a medical doctor because I want to help in treating people that are sick so that they will not continue to die.
What do you know about COVID-19 and how can we stop its spread?
I listen to the news on the television. They said it started from China and kills people who contacted (contracted) it. You contact (contract) it by having contacts with people through handshakes. We can stop it by maintaining hygiene such as constant washing of our hands with soap and also by keeping social distance and by staying at home.
What’s your advice to Kwarans and Nigerians concerning the disease?
My advice is that we should obey the government by staying at home and maintaining the social distance. I pray that this disease will not have victory over Nigerians, and that its cure will come very early so that it will stop killing people!
Parents’ side of the story
You are, probably, enthralled by Olupamilerinayo’s way with words, his articulation. So are his parents, namely: his father, Dr. Tosin E. Akinduyo, a lecturer with Adekunle Ajasin University, Akungba Akoko, Ondo State, and his mother, Mrs. Comfort Akinduyo. “We feel elated because he is very courageous to follow his heart,” his father said. “Oluwapamilerinayo has been exhibiting lots of leadership instinct for long. Sometimes, his friend would help him carry his bag and when we ask why, he would say that Oluwapamilerinayo is a leader, that even if he wants to carry his bag by himself, he would not be allowed to do so. Also, at home he used to censure what we discuss. Few days after, he would be asking probing questions. I mean intelligent questions that would make one sometimes to start asking: who taught this boy to ask some of these questions? So he has been a wonderful son and he is loved by everyone.”
On how the idea to donate his savings came about, Dr. Akinduyo said he came home on a visit to see how his family is faring as a result of the COVID-19 only to meet the boy disturbing his mother about the N120 saving he kept with her, insisting that he wanted to donate it to the state government to help cure Coronavirus victims. “I told him to forget the idea because the amount of money he was talking about is too small to be given as a donation but he insisted that he was not going to eat until he was allowed to donate the money,” he revealed. “I tried to persuade him to drop the idea but he refused. So, I had no choice than to add N1, 000 to it to shore up the amount. He was happy and satisfied. Then we went for the donation with him. I was thinking it was a small amount but surprisingly since the donation, her mother and I have been receiving a lot of calls and congratulations over what our son has done. It has been great and we feel proud of him.”
Corroborating her husband’s account, Mrs. Akinduyo said: “I came home one day and he said: ‘Mummy, my money is now N120. I want to donate it to COVID-19 treatment by the state government.’ But I said the money was small but he insisted that he would want to donate it. I told him that if anyone wants to donate, it must be big money. He said though he heard it on television his savings will be for that purpose. When he refused to listen to my explanation, I had to bring his Dad into the matter. He added money to it, especially when he refused to eat until he donates the money.”
“Oluwapamilerinayo, I would say, is an intelligent boy who loves giving,” his father added. “Even the food he takes to school, he usually share it with his friends. So, giving has been part of him.”
How did he get to learn about the existence of the COVID-19 fund? For an answer, his father looked at you, smiled and said: “I think the idea, according to him, came from the news he watched on television where people like Dangote were making donations, some N2 billion, some N1 billion. And, then when he learnt that similar donation would take place in Ilorin where he lives, but this time around, by the state government, ever since then he has been on our necks, saying that he would like to use his savings to do the same thing that Dangote and others did.”