The Leke Abejide Foundation (LAF) has launched a N500 million interest-free revolving loan scheme to empower women of Yoruba, Ebira and Igala extraction residing in Kano State, as part of efforts to strengthen small businesses and improve the economic conditions of families.
The initiative, described as the foundation’s maiden empowerment programme in Kano, targets widows and other women engaged in trading and small-scale businesses. Beneficiaries have been organised into cooperative societies to ensure effective management, monitoring and repayment of the loans.
Speaking at the programme in Kano, the founder of the foundation, Leke Abejide, said the intervention was inspired by his longstanding relationship with the people of the state, where he began his business journey more than three decades ago.
Abejide, who disclosed that he moved to Kano from Alu in Yagba East Local Government Area of Kogi State in February 1993, said the city had played a significant role in his personal and business development.
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He explained that after gaining admission to Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, to study Economics, he proceeded to serve in Ogu Local Government Area of Enugu State before returning to Kano to establish his business.
According to him, his decision to extend the foundation’s empowerment activities to Kano was informed by the need to give back to a community that contributed to his success.
“I thought it wise to do the same for people I have lived with for about 34 years now here in Kano. Many have challenged me that all I have become today started from Kano and as such I must not forget my roots,” he said.
The lawmaker explained that the N500 million fund had been set aside as interest-free loans for women from eight states: Lagos, Oyo, Ogun, Osun, Ondo, Ekiti, Kogi and Kwara, alongside Ebira and Igala/Bassa communities from Kogi State.
He said beneficiaries had been organised into cooperative societies according to their respective business interests, with the leadership of each group expected to assess members’ business capacities and determine appropriate loan amounts.
Abejide said the arrangement was designed to promote accountability and ensure that the intervention remained sustainable through a revolving-loan system, in which repayments would make funds available to other beneficiaries, adding that the foundation had put monitoring mechanisms in place to minimise defaults and ensure that the funds were used for their intended purposes.
The founder also announced additional support for widows, including food, clothing and financial assistance, assuring them that the intervention would continue beyond election periods.
He said funds meant for registered widows would be transferred directly into their bank accounts to avoid complaints or diversion by intermediaries.
“All widows here today that have functional account numbers in our data collection system will be credited,” the founder stated, although he did not specify the amounts earmarked for individual beneficiaries.
In addition to the financial intervention, the foundation distributed rice and six yards of printed wax fabric to the women. The presidents of the various state associations and representatives of the Ebira and Igala communities were assigned to coordinate the distribution.
Abejide further disclosed that plans were under way to extend the programme to youths and men engaged in business, particularly unemployed young people, to help them become economically independent.
He said the foundation had already collected the names of prospective beneficiaries and was working towards providing opportunities for them to establish businesses and support their families.
“The youth are the future, and it is not enough to just say they are the future of tomorrow without making deliberate efforts to make them succeed now,” Abejide explained.
Reflecting on the foundation’s activities in Kogi State, Abejide said its empowerment programme had been running for more than eight years, particularly in Yagba Federal Constituency and Kabba-Bunu/Ijumu Federal Constituency.
He claimed that more than 50,000 students had benefited from free West African Examinations Council (WAEC) registration through the foundation, while about 10,000 widows in Yagba Federal Constituency had received welfare support.
He expressed confidence that the programme would record positive results in Kano, which he described as a major commercial centre with a large population of industrious traders and entrepreneurs.
Abejide, however, warned beneficiaries against diverting the loans to other purposes, stressing that groups that failed to meet their repayment obligations would not qualify for subsequent rounds of the intervention.
He said the foundation had established a mechanism to trace outstanding obligations through the Bank Verification Number (BVN) linked to the accounts used for the transactions.
The programme also provided an opportunity for leaders of Yoruba associations from the eight states to come together. Abejide said the initiative had helped bridge longstanding divisions among some groups.
He disclosed that he held a meeting with the presidents of the associations at his Kano residence on Tuesday, 27 October, where they shared their experiences and discussed ways to strengthen cooperation.
On the political aspect of the gathering, Abejide, who described himself as the Asiwaju of the Yoruba people in Kano, appealed to members of the communities to support President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and other APC candidates in the forthcoming elections.
He said he was concerned by the votes recorded by the President in Kano during the 2023 general election and called for greater political coordination among members of the Yoruba community across the state’s 44 local government areas.
Abejide urged them to work together at polling-unit, ward and local government levels, saying coordinators would be selected from among women and widows benefiting from the programme to help mobilise support and protect votes.
He also promised to return with a bigger empowerment package, saying the current intervention was not a one-off exercise but part of a long-term commitment to economic advancement.
The lawmaker urged beneficiaries to use the opportunity responsibly, expressing hope that the revolving-loan arrangement would help more women become self-reliant and improve their families’ livelihoods.
