BASTARDIZATION OF CHARITIES IN NIGERIA

Image courtesy of sufenwang.com

If you take a look as the amount of Nigerians seeking to ’blow’ just from owning and starting up charitable organizations and NGOs in Nigeria, you would be amazed at how degraded the term charitable organizations has become in the country.

Businessdictionary.com defines a charitable organization as an incorporated or non-incorporated tax exempt body which (1) is created and operated for charitable purposes, (2) employs all its resources to those charitable activities that are under its direct control, (3) does not distribute any part of the income generated for the benefit of any trustee, trustor, member, or other private individual, and (4) does not contribute to or associates with political organizations.

The above definition shows that the aim of charities is mainly philanthropy and every other form of giving back to society but down here, the reverse is the case – taking from the society in the guise of NGO, foundations and those other fancy names they give to these money making ventures nonprofit organizations. A critical look on some of these supposed charities or NGOs would reveal that they are not different from most for-profit organizations; they appear on the surface as a group established for humanitarian, religious or philanthropic causes but underneath, the ‘business’ goes on.

In a January 2012 article on Thisday newspaper titled Sustaining NGOs for Effective Service Delivery, Amaka Eze wrote, “As good as the concept of NGOs seems to be, some individuals however see the platform as a meal ticket and way out of poverty, thus use funds and grants from donor agencies to build personal houses, buy exotic cars, while those for whom the monies were donated are allowed to wallow in abject poverty.”

Someone was talking to me about trying to “help” a female friend (he was also interested in dating her) and he used these words, “Imagine the girl I was trying to help better her life. I was talking to her about looking for a name, starting up an NGO after which I’d introduce her to one or two people and from there, things would be better but she is misbehaving.” From every indication, “things would be better” as used by this young man could pass for: she’d make money, fame etc . There are a lot of Nigerians who are like this young man, they see starting up charities as a form of business venture – an escape from being broke or a source of income. From politicians who start or own them just to garner votes during elections, as objects of campaign, as tools to harness theft and misappropriation of public funds to celebrities who own them just to stay in the news, sometimes without even being concerned with the activities of the organizations for instance, every year, new queens emerge (as either Miss Nigeria or one of the other Misses in the numerous pageantries available today) and part of their projects is establishing charities that would cater a particular humanitarian need in the society but the twist is this: most of these charities either ceases to exist or become non-operational after a while or would only exist for the duration of the supposed queen’s reign. Why start it in the first place?!

Charitable organizations has been toyed with, misused and abused in Nigeria. In other parts of the world, there are charity regulators ie a group that sees that these charities are managed effectively and operated within their legal framework but I doubt if there is any like that here in the country because I’m yet to see or hear of any.

To ensure proper practice and regulation in the Third sector, a body should be created solely for seeing to the establishment and regulations of these charities (if none is in existence already)and if there is a regulating body, I think they are not just doing their job as it should be done because if handled properly, they (Charities or NGO’s) contribute to the nation’s economy and therefore shouldn’t be left for those who have decided to make money from any possible means or who see every single venture as a tool for their political antics.

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Follow me on Twitter: @victorikeji

CANCER IS CURABLE BUT THE BUSINESS WOULD DIE

                                                                Image coutesy of www.giveforward.com

This article was born out of curiosity after seeing the 2014 movie The Cure (which I'd advise that you try to see anyway). It could be easily dismissed as fantasy or fiction but it should be viewed objectively.  

The movie is about this Fortune 500 CEO of a pharmaceutical company who came up with a cure for cancer but had to keep it secret because if it is released, the billions generated from the sales of drugs used in chemotherapy would be lost. Also because money generated from chemo would surpass that of the cure. He hoarded the cure for 11years. Fortunately, two biochemists working in the company uncovered this secret and he contracted assassins to kill them so as to keep his secret that could save millions of people if released. 

Although the film climaxed with the cure being released, in the real world we are yet to come up with a cure for cancer, which is why I think questions should be asked and the issue looked into critically.

Millions if not billions are spent annually on drugs used in chemotherapy alone. Even with several researches we are made to believe is ongoing in oncology, there is yet to be a final cure for the disease. This movie could be easily discarded as a work of fiction but before we do that, we should really take time to look at this prediction (which is what I prefer to refer to it as) because there could be some iota of truth embedded within. It addressed an important issue which is the possibility of there being a cure already but is kept secret just to satisfy some people's selfish desires. 

We live in a world governed by the filthy rich and powerful, a number of who makes money either from legitimate or illegitimate and sometimes unnoticed means. If that is the case, the possibility of there being a conspiracy to keep the purported cure a secret shouldn't be waved off. There could be this grand conspiracy to keep the cure secret, who knows. Even conspiracy theorists would tell you that the true rulers or those responsible for formulation of policies in the world are not the ones that appears as presidents, prime ministers, kings, queens, CEO's etc but a particular group of people lurking in the shadows. Everybody wants to get or remain rich hence the quest to make millions or sustain the in-flow of billions at all cost so if there is a final cure, money is lost and that is bad business so they could assume that it better for people to die so that there could still be a lot of money in their pockets in circulation. The same could be applied to a number of terminal illnesses that we are made to believe have no cure yet.

One may be forced to ask, researches to find a cure could cost billions of dollars. How do you think such money could be spent and the resulting cure hoarded? My answer would be this: In our world, are billionaires and multi-millionaires who are keen on sustaining that status and hence would invest in any venture that seem profitable. More like, let's make all the money we can from chemo and then leave the cure as 'treasure' for our heirs and heiress'.

While discussing with a friend about this same subject, she asked, "But thousands of lives are lost annually, do you think they would prefer to have people die because of their quest for riches?" The sad truth is, it won't be first and probably not the last time that money is made at the expense of human lives in the world that we live in. Some of the pharmaceutical companies around carry out untimely human trials indiscriminately just to beat their competitors to that "pioneer status"-- we produced that drug before others. Also, most wars are fought solely for financial reasons but we are made to believe otherwise. The perpetrators of these wars have a picture of profits that would be made as against the number of lives that would be lost.
Bottom line is: They don't care as long as there is money to be made.

I'm not of the opinion that there is already a cure for cancer but just as the movie suggests, the possibility shouldn't be erased entirely. It is something that is worth thinking about.

PS: If you are in or around Lagos, there is a free breast and cervical cancer screening going on @ 118 Bode Thomas, Surulere courtesy of Dr. Femi Olaleye, Optimal Cancer care and Go PINK Nigeria.

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Follow me on Twitter: @victorikeji

WHY I WRITE

Writers they say are gods who with the aid of their pen and paper, creates characters that come alive, brings scenarios into existence and then try to reconcile art with life. Sometime last year, I wanted to join a writing club and was asked to submit an article with the title 'Why I write'. Some friends have also asked this question severally - "why do you write?"

Below are some reasons why I put pen to paper. 

Writing to me is a form of expression. Rather than speaking those words that could easily be forgotten, I prefer to pen down my thoughts so that they could be referenced later. Some people would argue that when you get to speak of certain things bothering you, you feel good about yourself but for me; when I write about them, it produces the same effect.

I write because there is this feeling of contentment that comes with every article or write-up, a feeling that could be said to make one feel like a god - bringing things into existence. Imagine picking up a blank paper and then penning down your thoughts, stringing words together and at the same time bringing up stories, articles and write-ups that people could reconcile with. 

I write because it gives me joy, it makes me happy when someone tells me that they read my article somewhere and it really made sense. For example, a friend stopped me on the road and used these words: "Vic, how are you? Saw your Article on Nairaland, it had over 30,000 views." Imagine the kind of joy in my heart as a budding writer. The fact that people get to understand my write-up(s), could reconcile with and even feel good about it makes me feel good myself.

Writing puts me in a position to air my views on certain issues as I usually do on my blog, advise and even caution people whom I wouldn't dream of speaking to on a normal day without being interrupted. LOL. I'd admit that the fact that some people can't see you but can hear you from you write-ups makes me happy. That feeling for me is 'très bon'. 

I write because I just have to. It is more like a personal obligation for me, I just have to pick up a pen or my computer and try to string words together because it makes me whole. Those thoughts just have to leave my head and either make someone's day, get another laughing or be a source of information to a third.

Writing for me is a form of relaxation - my yoga, pilates, tai chi, meditation and any other relaxation technique you could think of. I write nice poems when I'm depressed sometimes. Penning down a piece leads to more writing as I become more relaxed and productive.

I write because I just have to write, can't really imagine what not writing feels like, I just have to do it because I can't just help but write.


Why do you write? Feel free to leave your answer on the comment box below.

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Follow me on Twitter: @victorikeji