By Hon. (Omoba) Kehinde Gbadebowale Oyefusi
The excitement surrounding the Renewed Hope Mega Empowerment programme facilitated by Rep. Babajimi Benson should not end the public conversation; it should begin one. Every politically conscious citizen of Ikorodu is entitled to ask whether this is a genuine, sustainable investment in the people or a short-term distribution designed to generate political goodwill ahead of the 2027 general elections.
The issue is not whether beneficiaries should receive support. The issue is whether the programme is transparent, properly funded, fairly administered, and capable of producing lasting economic benefits.
Several basic questions therefore require clear answers: Where is the money coming from? Who approved it? Is it public money, constituency funding, donor support, or a combination of sources? Who are the beneficiaries, and what criteria were used to select them? How many people were targeted, what was the total cost, and what mechanisms exist to monitor the distribution and assess its results?
These are not questions of jealousy, bitterness, or opposition for its own sake. They are necessary questions in a democracy. No elected official should be above public scrutiny, and no empowerment programme should be shielded from examination because it is presented under an attractive political slogan.
If public funds are involved, the people have a right to know how those funds were raised, approved, allocated, and distributed. Taxpayers’ money is not a politician’s personal wealth, and the use of public resources should never be presented as a personal favour from an elected representative. Transparency requires more than photographs, speeches, and lists of beneficiaries; it requires accessible records, clear selection criteria, and credible accountability.
The programme must also be judged by what happens after the distribution ceremony. A bag of rice, a cash grant, a piece of equipment, or a temporary financial benefit may provide immediate relief, but it does not by itself address unemployment, rising living costs, failing infrastructure, inadequate healthcare, or the broader economic hardship facing thousands of households.
A serious empowerment programme should include a clear sustainability plan. Will beneficiaries receive training, mentoring, access to markets, affordable credit, or follow-up support? Will the equipment distributed be maintained and used productively? How will success be measured, and what happens to those excluded from the first phase? Without answers to these questions, empowerment risks becoming a cycle of publicity and dependency rather than a pathway to self-reliance.
Fairness is equally important. Public interventions should not be limited to party loyalists, politically connected groups, or carefully selected audiences. The people of Ikorodu deserve to know whether the process was inclusive and whether the benefits were distributed according to transparent, needs-based criteria.
The timing of the programme also warrants scrutiny. With the 2027 elections approaching, citizens must distinguish genuine public service from political publicity. The timing alone does not prove an improper motive, but it makes transparency even more important. A programme that forms part of a consistent, publicly documented development plan should be able to withstand questions about its purpose, funding, implementation, and continuity. If it appears only as an election approaches, citizens are justified in asking whether public resources are being used to build political support.
Ikorodu should welcome meaningful assistance while refusing to surrender its right to accountability. Gratitude must not replace scrutiny, and political loyalty must not silence legitimate questions.
The central question is simple: are we building an empowered constituency, or are we creating a constituency that must keep waiting for the next handout?
That is the political challenge Ikorodu must confront. The real conversation about Rep. Babajimi Benson’s empowerment programme should therefore focus not only on what was distributed, but also on whose money funded it, who benefited, how the process was managed, whether the impact will last, and why it is happening now.
Hon. (Omoba) Kehinde Gbadebowale Oyefusi
ADC Candidate
Lagos State House of Assembly
Ikorodu Constituency I
The Name Speaks for Itself.
Leadership is Service.
