*Babatunde Ologburo: A Heavy Rainfall Without the Gathering Clouds.* Isiaka kehinde. 

Alhaji Musibaudeen Babatunde Ologburo is perhaps best described as a *natural cover*—the kind of person whose presence provides shelter long before the storm is fully perceived. He offers assistance without waiting for recompense, applause, or recognition. For him, kindness is not a transaction; it is a moral obligation. In that respect, he seems to embody Immanuel Kant’s philosophical proposition that *kindness is a duty* rather than merely an occasional virtue.

He loves his friends with uncommon passion and, more importantly, remains steadfast in both their popular and unpopular moments. His loyalty is not calibrated by convenience. He does not abandon a friend simply because the tide has turned against him.

I was reminded of this quality on August 5, 2025, when the controversy involving the celebrated Fuji musician, K1 De Ultimate, set the internet ablaze. The musician had been criticised by some netizens after an incident involving a moving Lagos-bound ValueJet aircraft at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja. The presence of a flask containing a liquid suspected by some to be alcohol became part of the ensuing controversy, and social media quickly transformed the episode into a theatre of condemnation.

Amid the avalanche of criticism, Chief Ologburo was among the few friends of K1 De Ultimate who came out in staunch defence of him. Rather than join the chorus of condemnation, he offered an explanation: the contents of the flask, he clarified, were ordinary water prescribed by a doctor to address dehydration.

His intervention was as timely as it was illuminating. It was a classic demonstration of what genuine friendship means: *standing beside someone when public opinion has already decided to stand against him.*

I encountered another manifestation of this loyalty in my own assessment of hi. I called to pre-inform him that some political associates of GSM were likely to abandon him and cross over to another political party. His response revealed a philosophy of loyalty that went far beyond partisan calculations.

“*My brother, you know the only permanent thing among politicians is interest. Their loyalty is fleeting, like a bird that perches on a tree only to fly away when the tree is shaken to its roots. As for me, I have nothing to trade away from my loyalty to GSM. It’s absolute. I see him as the builder of modern Oyo State. That is enough reason for standing by him at all times.”*

I found that response profound. It was not merely political rhetoric; it was an articulation of a personal creed. In a political environment where allegiance can sometimes be measured by immediate advantage, Ologburo’s position suggests that loyalty, for him, is a matter of conviction rather than convenience.

I have also watched people take to social media to appreciate Chief Ologburo for extending one kind gesture or another to them. Each time I read such commendations, I smile. Not because their appreciation is undeserved, but because, in my estimation, *they know Chief Ologburo only by half.*

If I were to recount my own experiences of this amiable chief and socialite with a difference—experiences spanning decades—I would need far more than asocial mediaa post. Some acts of kindness are too numerous, too personal, and too deeply woven to be adequately narrated in a few words.

There is something almost paradoxical about his generosity. He can be likened to a proverbial fly that perches on one without necessarily announcing its arrival. He does not wait for you to ask before extending assistance. He often anticipates the need before the need becomes a request.

Our Yoruba elders have a particularly evocative expression for such a phenomenon:

“*Òjò tí kò ṣù, tó ń rọ̀”*a rainfall that begins without the sky first announcing its imminence through gathering clouds.

That, to me, is Chief Ologburo.

He reminds me of the title of Lois Lowry’s 2014 film, The Giver—a metaphor for someone whose defining instinct is to give.

I once asked him what he enjoys doing most. His answer was remarkably simple:

“*Giving without season.”*

Those words have stayed with me to date.

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He often speaks about philanthropists such as Edward Cecil, whose efforts through the Onveigh Trust were associated with alleviating the suffering of homeless people through the development of Bull Alley Estate in Dublin.

For Ologburo, giving is not merely an act of generosity; it is a philosophy of human responsibility.

That, indeed, is a higher conception of philanthropy.

There are people who give because they have been asked. There are those who give because they want to be noticed. There are others who give because generosity enhances their public image. But there is another rarer category: *those who give because giving has become part of who they are.*

Chief Musibaudeen Babatunde Ologburo belongs, in my estimation, to this latter category.

His greatest distinction is not simply that he gives, *but that he gives without prompting and without the expectation of applause.*

May Almighty God continue to bless Alhaji Musibaudeen Babatunde Ologburo, preserve his generous spirit, and replenish the well from which he so freely gives. May He also bless all those who carry within them that increasingly rare commodity— *the milk of human kindness running in their vein*.