…as foundation capture many indigents in Kwara

By Abdul Momoh

The Chairman of Ahmed Ayinla Foundation, a Non-Govermental Organization, Dr. Jimoh Ayinla has revealed urge to give back to the society lured him to set up his foundation.

Ayinla stated this on Wednesday while answering questions from newsmen in Ilorin, the Kwara State capital.

According to Alhaji Ayinla, he said the foundation came into fruition about three years ago with the concept to promote peaceful co-existence among the people of Kwara State and Nigeria at large as well as carrying out social development programs among others.

“As a peace scholar, I thought its appropriate to advocate a peaceful society that is devoid of rancor and at the same time to assist the less privileged in the society.

“The journey has been interesting and I derived much pleasure from it.”

He further added that though the foundation is young, but it has lived to meet up with the purpose it was founded.

“The foundation is young. We are still crawling and hopefully soonest we will walk. Since about four years now, we have not been able to do so much aside from the payment of school fees of indegent and the sick people who had sought for assistant.

“The first program we had was during the last general elections where we felt we should not fold our hands against electoral violence.

“We staged violent free election is a must. It was well attended program held at IEDPU house, Ilorin”.

Reacting to what led him to venture in humanitarian projects, Ayinla said the desire to give back to the society that made him gave birth to the NGO.

“The huge to impact the society motivated me to go into this project. And from my own professional angle, I’m a peace scholar. I had my PhD in peace and development study and that is why I stood ground that to achieve peace is a must,” he said.

Ayinla further divulged that the foundation is solely sponsored by himself and debunk having synergy with any government.

“We are not in synergy with any section of government. I believed that having being blessed, I thought it right that this is the time for me to give back to the society. I don’t need to apply to any government or personality. We don’t do that.”

On his act of kindness to the mother of late Rasidi Yekini, Ayinla said late Yekini was an international figure that is why his gesture to him went viral.

“We have been doing much to the less privileged people in the society without notice. There was a time the foundation picked up a boy along Lubcon. The boy couldn’t work, owing to polio defects. We took the boy to the UITH and for six months, our foundation footed his bill. The boy is well now.

“So in the case of Rashidi Yekini, having involved myself in football right from childhood. I was a player in my school days as I rose to become the sports editor while in the college.

“After the demise of this star, we discovered that his mother has never being attended to by the previous government. When I had that the woman was selling loaves of bread, I felt touched and I decided that we should extend our palliatives coverage to her.

“Our foundation gave her some clothing materials, bags of rice, beans and cash donation. She felt grateful and prayed for the foundation as we vowed to sustained the gesture to her, “Ayinla stressed.

The Chairman of Ayinla foundation also used the medium to trace his sport benevolent with the Kwara United Football Club of Ilorin dated back to the 80s.

“I’m a football lover, my love for football propelled me to join the Nigerian Referee Council before I call it a date. I left NRA as a result of a clash between Kwara United and Lobi Stars after the fans’ fracas with late Dogo Yabisu which made the club relegated from the top.

“When we had Kwara Bomber, one Mr. Alabi from the ministry of sport was the club’s secretary then. They often had difficulties to get their away matches executed. I was contacted to raise the club in terms of fund which I did.

“After several default, they later sublets the club to me under Ahmed Ayinla Enterprises and the club was them run profitably,” he concluded.

He therefore avowed that part of the mission of his NGO is to take the foundation outside the shores of Nigeria as plans are on to partner with other reputable NGOs across the world.

  Ahmed Ayinla Foundation, Dr Kayode Ayinla