Media personality and food critic Opeyemi Famakin has sparked reactions after explaining why he believes helping wealthy people can sometimes be more beneficial than helping those who have little or poor.
Famakin said repeatedly helping people who have nothing can sometimes create a sense of entitlement, with beneficiaries eventually seeing their helpers as a permanent source of financial support.
In his words; “Nigerians have created something called ‘my helper.’ Once you help someone, they see you as, ‘Oh, this person is my helper.’ When I need something, this person is the person that I can always run to.”
He added: “When you give them free, and you stop giving them, they will start misbehaving. I believe it is better to help people who already have than to help those who have nothing.”
Famakin shared an experience involving a staff member whom he had repeatedly assisted financially, including increasing his salary, but who later returned to ask for more money.
According to him, helping someone who is already financially comfortable is more likely to create goodwill and reciprocity.
In his words; “When you help a rich person, you are less likely to physically get something from that person immediately, but the person will pay you back. There will be goodwill, they can do things for you, they will be nice to you.”
“But the reality is that I help a poor man and he creates a ‘my helper’ because I helped this person. Because I dashed a poor person money 10 years ago, this guy will still come back.”
He acknowledged that his opinion would provoke many Nigerians because of the country’s widespread poverty, but maintained his position: “I said what I said, and I stand by those words.”
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