Helping underprivileged, one of life’s greatest fulfillments — Ex-Skye Bank MD, Oguntayo

With four in every 10 Nigerians living below the poverty line, according to official data from the National Bureau of Statistics, the place of philanthropy in society has never been more critical.
So, whenever industry leaders like Mr Timothy Oguntayo reveal that helping the underprivileged is one of the greatest fulfillments in his life, it is no doubt deeply inspirational and thought-provoking as well.

According to the veteran financial expert and investment banker, it is more important to be more humanitarian than self-centred at a critical time like this in Nigeria’s economic history. For him, he finds more fulfilment in spending his resources on alleviating poverty and improving social welfare than spending it on luxury vacations.

“Whatever we become in life is largely influenced by where we come from. No matter how terrible or rough, the origin of a man may be, there is always one or two good things that we can learn from it. Many of us grew up together in the same communities. A few are ahead of me, but many are way behind. Then, when you look back, are you happy with the living conditions of those adults that contributed to raising you when you were young?” Oguntayo explained while momentarily taking sips from his teacup.

The former Skye Bank manager also opined that alleviating poverty was not a prerogative for only the government. “Remember the saying, it takes one family to give birth to a child but it takes a community to raise him or her up, especially for those of us that come from village settings where everyone is his/her brother’s keeper. Therefore, if one is successful in life, it is a responsibility to contribute to the upliftment of the living condition of those still in those communities where we come from. It is very clear that the government cannot do it all.”

While explaining how he bootstrapped his charity drives from a slender income pool, he encouraged other well-meaning Nigerians to continue in their humanitarian efforts for the less privileged.

“Where there is a will, there will always be a way. It is also about setting priorities.

“Economists have what they call opportunity cost. Your colleagues may choose to spend their savings on foreign holiday trips while you spend yours on projects that will benefit your community and take local holidays. It will surprise you that when you carry out these projects as a private person in conjunction with the community, the cost is nothing near what it costs the government to execute the same project. You even do them faster.

“Also, helping communities is not just about money. You can use your time, skills, ideas and network to help your communities. The first thing is that you must visit your community from time to time, identify with them, and discuss and rub minds with them. This way, you will get to know their needs and priorities. For example, most of the schools in the rural areas and even in Lagos are poorly staffed. You can volunteer to pay for one or two teachers, or teach from time to time.

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“You can use your network to attract NGOs and philanthropists. You can design project concepts and rally other sons and daughters of the community, who have the financial means but have no time, to contribute their money towards certain projects. In actual fact, having money is not enough, you need to contribute time, passion, etc. In sum, if you want to help, there is always a way out. And that is what worked for me.”

With over 35 years of experience in the banking and finance sector, Oguntayo has cut his teeth in the professional financial advisory scene. Since he set up his DLK investment and financial advisory firm, in 2016, he has helped myriad businesses scale and some are on their way to getting listed on the Nigerian Stock Exchange.

Drawing upon his decades of experience as a bank executive, Oguntayo is a well-respected expert in the African corporate sector. Some of his key career highlights include the first-ever close-ended Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT) to be listed on The Nigerian Stock Exchange (Skye Shelter Fund). It was subsequently launched in the Nigerian capital market.

He has also been awarded with a laurel of excellence for his role as a community ambassador in his native Ogun community, by the Ministry of Community Development and Cooperatives, in Ogun State, around 2014.