Category: THE CEO

The distribution sub-sector of the electricity market has been operating without a standard construction guideline. In this interview with John Ofikhenua, the Managing Director, Nigerian Electricity Management Service Agency (NEMSA), Peter Ewesor, says the guidelines, when unveiled, will eliminate all risks associated with electrical construction.

What will the operation of the electricity industry be when the new order comes on stream?

The outlook, or what to expect  when the new construction guideline comes out is that, one, there is going to be  uniformity of installation nationwide. We are going to see poles that are properly aligned. We are going to see the elimination of bad networks. Not as we see it now, when you planted a pole just yesterday and by today it is already bending from the position because people are not constructing their substations in line with the extant rules and regulations. The electrical installation and construction guideline manual, is actually meant  to show the nitty-gritty, step-by-step approach to carry out electrical installation along the distribution sub-sector of the power value chain.

If you notice today, when people are given a village to electrify, the man will not follow any kind of approach. He just goes there and plants poles the way he likes and how he feels it should be planted, not following a specific pattern. But the guideline is actually referring to the rules and regulations and the extant rules, giving you a step-by-step approach of how to do it. For example, when you are providing light in a community, there is what we call survey. You are going to do the survey so that there will be proper pole alignment. Proper pole alignment will enable this network to be firm, stable and solid. But if there is no proper alignment and you have poles planted zig-zag, what now happens is that there will be forces of imbalance that will actually be pulling the network in different directions and that will make the network to collapse and it will make the network not to provide its services.

So mainly, this construction guideline manual, is going to ensure standardisation, it is going to guarantee safety, it is going to guarantee reliability, to ensure that the network you build will not fall into a state of disrepair as it is now.

At the same time, it is going to ensure smooth and reliable flow of power to houses. In short, it is going to address a whole lot of things. For example, when you finish your installation, when NEMSA is coming to inspect, test and certify, it is going to look at the guideline. Have you carried out the installation in line with what the regulation says, directed, and as pictorially shown and approved in the guideline? This is because all this works together to ensure that at the end of the day you get a fine and reliable product of the network that is delivered. That is why we want to ensure that the project has been properly planned, designed and executed, and to ensure that the network will actually provide those services in the very long run, not the one that works and after a period of time, it collapses. This is because the construction guideline would have given them what to do in each of the different sections of the installations, starting from the overhead line where you are going to connect to the grid and where you are going to connect to the transformer.

But today under the guideline, there is provision that we call bi-metallic lighter which allows you to join too metals together without any problem. The earthling system and everything will be okay. This is because the guideline will give you the layout station, layout of switch yard and layout of control room.

In many of the control rooms today, you cannot access their backyards and it makes maintenance difficult. And there is not enough maintenance spaces between the panel and the wall. All this will be done. Like in a control room, all the relevant devices will be there, like installation rubber bind, fire extinguishers, danger sign, everything will be there. In the construction guideline  that is used in a network, every device that should be there, will be there, including how you treat an angle. And then all the devices, like anti-climate devices, danger place, all those ones will be provided. Actually, the guideline is a holistic document that will give you a standard procedure for carrying out electrical installation in the distribution sub-sector.

How far has NEMSA gone with the preparation of the guideline?

Currently, we are at the final stage and that is one of the things we said we are going to do from the second stakeholders forum. The step is for us to ensure that this one is concluded and be ready for presentation and launching, and will be delivered for the distribution sub-sector’s use because from there on, no distribution company will be able to feign ignorance, or say that they don’t know. Today, you see different types of constructions. Actually we have done stakeholders, internal stakeholders and external stakeholders on the guideline and during our second stakeholders’ forum, it was presented again.  So, we are at the final stage of just checking to see what and what are not there and what we need to actually tie, and what we need to lose. And that is the final stage.

When will the guideline take effect ?

We are looking at preferably the end of January. In short, in the third week of January, we should be able to make the presentation.

How far has the agency gone with the clearing of structures under high tension lines?

Right of way is not just NEMSA’s work, but we are the ones enforcing some technical standards. So, in line with government policy we have already issued directive to the distribution companies, as a first step, to secure the lives of those living under the lines. DisCos should disconnect any structure, any facility, or any building that is within the right-of-way from the public supply, and that we are already doing. And they are already complying with that, they are already sending us the compliance level. And we are compiling them. As of today they have disconnected well over 750 houses, structures from supply within the right-of-way nationwide.

Some of the residents are saying they are not quitting the right of way until they are resettled, while others are saying that they were not adequately compensated, therefore, they will not quit. What is your position?

The true situation is this. I will just give you the scenario. Anybody that is saying that he has not been compensated is definitely not telling the truth. But that is not to say that there cannot be one or two nationwide, for one reason or the other. The true position is that when government is going to build a 130KV line and a 330KV line, they will do a survey, they will do enumeration for the right of way they are acquiring, and those enumerations are properly documented. Under the then TCN, under the PHCN, NEPA that time, there was what we called a Way Leave Department that assessed all the buildings, structures within the right of way. Not even just structures, even those who have crops under the right of way were enumerated. And they would pay them and make them to sign for what they were paid. But some of them said what they paid them was not enough to build a house. That too, cannot be true.

If you listened to my Radio Programme, one of the chiefs in Abuja ( I think it is  around Kubwa area),  stated that there was somebody with a two bedroom that was  paid higher than somebody that had a  four bedroom. Yes, it is possible because they evaluate the structure and look at the kind of structure you have built. If you built a four bedroom which is zinc, ramshackle, you cannot be compensated like somebody who has built a standard two bedroom with blocks, with all the required apparatus in the house. So, many of them too, when they get this money, only God knows what happens because government used qualified valuers to value most of these properties within the right of way. They don’t just go and start guessing.

They are valuers who would value the properties and give you the right valuation and the right amount to be paid. Even the one in Lagos that was complaining that they didn’t pay them, one of them came to say they were paid, but they were shortchanged. But I can’t know that. You can’t know that. The people that can actually know are the people who pay them and the person who is paid. If they are short-changing you at that point, you should complain. So these are the issues that I see, but to say you were not paid, I think it is not correct because there are standard procedures for doing it.

Is it true that government has no evidence of payment?

I have told you that when they do compilation, they do survey. In that survey, they will show all that are inside the right of way. Thereafter they will go and have meetings with the people. They don’t just say there are 10 houses. After they have enumerated, they count all the houses. They normally have what is called, stakeholders meeting with the communities, Chiefs and all the people that are involved. At that stakeholders forum they will check the details of every building, owner and premises owners. And the person will agree that this is my name and show evidence that he owns the property. I can’t see how somebody will say that government doesn’t have an evidence. We started in 2014 and 2015 with our Act. TCN, which is the custodian of the right of way, that has the Way Leave Department, definitely has all the documents. And unfortunately some of them would be thinking when they were paid, there was no evidence. That is why they are saying so, but in their hearts they know that they have been properly compensated. If they say it was inadequate it depends on the measure with which the person is saying, it is inadequate.

Industry players are saying that all manner of meters will flood electricity market upon the implementation of the Meter Asset Provider (MAP). Although the MAP regulation is yet to take effect, what check do you have to ensure standardisation?

That is  the reason why NEMSA National Meter Test Stations were established because when you say all manner of meters, it is not all manner. When you say all manner, that is any type of meter. There are brands of meters, there are specifications. Specifications have been properly aligned and defined in the Nigerian metering code version. Any meter that does not meet those specifications and requirements, NEMSA will not test it. In short, we are already having challenges with some people now. They brought meters into this country and our Meter Test Station engineers assessed the meters and said this meter is not in compliance with this specification, as a result, we will not test those meters. And some of them have even gone as far as writing petitions everywhere and saying the meters meet international standards. I said yes; your meter, whatever standard we are looking at, must first and foremost comply with the national local standard in Nigeria.

That is the first  place we start from. But if it does not meet it, we will not test and such meter will not be allowed to be used in Nigeria. NEMSA cannot be forced because we are the sole authority in ensuring that meters are properly tested, meters are checked out to ensure the accuracies are correct, to ensure the types are right, and to ensure that the quality, too, are the right quality and to ensure that when the meters are being used the people will not be shortchanged. Every meter that is tested in NEMSA and the one that has been certified, there is a seal on it. That seal shows that this meter has been tested and certified. You know this one now, the MAP is going to explode the deployment of meters, we are equally now going into fine tuning how people can verify whether the meter in their premises is genuine meter tested by NEMSA or not. That one too we are working on it seriously to ensure that just as if you buy your drugs now you can dial one number it will tell you this drug us fake, this drug us pis genuine. We are going to do that. Because you talked of all manner, you check against all manner, we are definitely going to step up our game of ensuring the security of the meters we have tested is to  consumers and to the suppliers benefits because that when you talk about meter you always think about the consumer and customers alone. No, it is for both. The supplier too can lose revenue if the meters are under dispensing, if the meters are dispensing power and the amount they are dispensing is not paid, the DisCo will lose money. At the same time it is that if the meter is over dispensing and the person is not paying for that amount of money because there is no proper accuracy balance, there is no accountability, the supplier will lose money. On the other way the consumer will lose money. So, our job is to make sure we are referees to make sure that both suppliers and the consumers actually have satisfaction from the business. I am paying for what I am consuming and I am paid for what I am supplying. There are the issues that we are going to look at.

How many types of meters have you tested since the sector started talking about MAP?

I can say that precisely it is one brand now, it has just come. And that particular brand is a brand that is coming new which we are type-testing. Type-testing, we want to check whether it meets our requirements in the industry. But we have done what is called due diligence check; physical checks and technical checks to see whether it meets those requirements like what we say were the radar is must not be opaque. It must be transparent. That is the terminal cover of the meter. But this one we are talking now is opaque, we cannot see the terminal. So, even if there are going to be safety challenges there, there is smoke, something is going one, it will not work. The voltage rate which they quoted was not correct. There is a token with which we verify that meter because every meter has a cycle it will go: one kilowatt/hour unit us actually fulfilled. If it is a mechanical it is like a disk. It is when it finishes the 360 degree that you have consumed one kilowatt hour. So this one I am telling you has been going on for about nine months now because they have been going everywhere and we have told them that as NEMSA our job is to check that no substandard meter should come into the industry.

How many types of meters have you tested so far?

If you say how many they are so many. We have type- test certificates we are giving now, they are close to about 450. And if you say type, it means if A is producing meter, and B is producing meter, it may be you are using the same specification but you may just change one angle there to make it look  different. So if you see them it is only through pictures you will see some little differences. You might not even see some differences. But we have type-tested over 450 since the inception of NEMSA.

How has the establishment of NEMSA affected safety in the electricity industry ?

If you watched me very well you would see at my Power Summit presentation from 2015,  2016, 2017, 2018 till now, there is a marginal decline in electrical accident and electrocution, which shows there is improvement. But beyond this, the DisCos still need to do more because the target is that we are going to zero tolerance for electrical accidents and electrocution. But it is better than the past, and if NEMSA has not probably been there  and if NEMSA is not doing its job through inspection, may be by now, it would have been something else. When we say marginal decline in electrical accidents, you can just know that it is not just a small thing . But the loss of one soul alone is big, but when you now say multiple of them, then it is bigger. What we are now saying is that there is a decrease in the number of electrical accidents. But definitely for safety in the industry, we need to do more, the DisCos need to do more and unfortunately, the networks are aging . You know that with age the equipment are no longer as strong and no longer as reliable.

The DisCos are being told everyday in writing, counseling to make sure that they start revamping and changing most materials and equipment that are already old that can fail suddenly on their own. We are following it up with sanctions. As I am here, we have gone to do some network monitoring which I am writing to them when they are not properly done even though  it is a rehabilitation. When you bind a conductor to the neck of the insulator, it is a very risky situation because it will slip and it will fall off . Definitely there is improvement in terms of safety in the  industry. Subsequently, we are going to have more improvement because the DisCos  know now that they have to ensure compliance.

There was a time you talked tough about the types of poles that should be used in the electricity industry . Is there any compliance with the type you said they should use?

There are, and it may interest you to know that some people, some pole manufacturers, who could not meet up on their own fell by the wayside. They packed up because if you want to do the manufacturing of electric poles you must be a serious businessman. You must have the resources, you must have the technical know-how. But before we came on board somebody will just go and buy a mould, then himself and his child or his wife or just one or two persons will be mounding. But now it is mandatory. There are mandatory requirements. You must have a civil and structural engineer, who must be part of the business. Because the person must design the structure of that pole.  We are carrying out test on those poles.  There is what we call disruptive test. In that test we will try to destroy the pole, we will first of all drag it, we leave it back and it goes back to its original position. We must see that it has that ability to move and go back to its original position. And it must be strong and firm. And there is a factor of safety which we must check out. So, many of them are complying and now NEMSA is on the field. We check them regularly and we at the headquarter too, check our men who check on them regularly to make sure there is compliance because the electric concrete pole is actually the strongest part of the network. It is the one carrying every other thing. Then if it is substandard, the whole network will be substandard. But we still tell people any person who sees any person manufacturing pole, just like we say you should equally ask them where is your certificate? Any contractor or individual who wants to buy electric concrete pole, even if it is steel pole, you should ask where is NEMSA certificate to show that what we are using is correct. If you buy pole from accredited NEMSA pole manufacturer, if the pole has defect, you are sure of that pole being replaced to you and being replaced at no cost. If you buy 20 poles and 20 poles get broken, the poles must be replaced once we find out it is a defect.

There was a time you started your meter test stations upgrade, how far have you gone with the upgrade?

The upgrade, we finished Lagos in 2015. Kaduna is done now. We are just waiting to do finishing touches so that we can commission. We just hope we will be able to commission this same period. We have commissioned new equipment too for Kafuna. In fact, Port Harcourt upgrade and remodeling that one is commencing as soon as the resources come down those ones will start. We are building new one in Enugu and we hope to equally start the one in Kano soon.

What else would you like to clear with  the public ?

The only thing I have to say is that people in the media should actually help us to always to regularly do campaign of how people should observe safety requirements in their houses, in their offices. Like for example, now somebody will use extension cable, you plug over 10 to 15amps inside that extension, it is not good. Many people build their houses they don’t earth them and sometime you see your cooker, your fridges they will be shocking but if it is properly earthed it won’t be shocking and if there is any electrical accident anywhere, people should be able to reach us and let us know.

Infrastructure deficit is a major challenge in Africa. In this interview with COLLINS NWEZE, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) New African Capital Partners (NACP) Charles Kie says the company will help to bridge the infrastructure gap on the continent. Kie, the immediate past Managing Director/CEO Ecobank Nigeria, says his company will invest in the development of a pan-African financial services platform which will provide customers with trade finance products and solutions.

What is your view on equity investments, trade and corporate finance in Africa?

I believe there are still a lot of industries which can be seen as being strategic to the development of the continent which either are completely out of our control or have not received the needed amount of investments. The same goes for trade and particularly for the Asia-Africa corridor where much more can be done.

There is, therefore, a lot of room for African-focused capital to be deployed for good investments in agriculture and eco-systems, in technology, in infrastructure, financial services, among others.

Tell us about the New African Capital Partners and what led you to establish it?

New African Capital Partners (NACP) is an investment platform created mainly to support the agenda of creation of African Champions in industries that support the economic growth of African countries.

Its main objective is to identify Small and Medium Size enterprises with high growth potential and pan-African reach and provide them with the financial, organisational and governance handholding they need to scale up over time. We, the founders of NACP, felt the time had come for African investment platforms to come in action to develop the African SMEs that aspire to become well-run multinationals.

The NACP is a Pan-African investment platform focused on equity investments, trade finance and corporate finance in Africa, as well as the provision of financial advisory services. NACP is a distinctively Pan-African entity, offering investors the combined benefits of the co-founders’ decades of experience, in-depth knowledge of African business, sectors and economies, as well as their independent thinking and networks in Africa and Asia.

The NACP’s founders share a common dream of a prosperous Africa, built with African human resources and African expertise. We have realised that there have been many years of discussions about how to drive the growth of African businesses, economies and trade, but that in reality very little has been done to execute some of the ideas and proposals generated to transform Africa into its rightful role as a global powerhouse.

At NACP, we will be focusing our investments on industries that can build sustainable economic growth pan-Africa, and particularly those that foster regional integration. Our ethos is to drive the value creation in our investments by leading their long-term transformation, and we will be co-investing in them alongside African-focused institutions.

The Co-Founder at NACP, Paulo Gomes, also believes that as Africans who know Africa intimately, we have launched NACP with the firm intent of becoming the premier platform providing investment opportunities in companies that trade intra-Africa and between Africa and Asia. We are mapping and analysing specific industries, ecosystems and the companies to pinpoint those that have the growth potential to become the African Champions of tomorrow.

For example, we intend to support the emergence of a multinational pan-African financial services platform built around the highest standards of the industry. Institutional investors can benefit from our unrivaled entrepreneurial acumen, hands-on business experience, turnaround expertise, on-the-ground know-how and high-level contacts which will be channelled into securing transformative investment opportunities, offering superior returns whilst making a real impact on African trade and development.

Honed by years of assessing and guiding commercial organisations in multiple sectors across the African continent, as well as understanding the need for responsible investment, the founders are identifying the growth prospects of tomorrow. Their philosophy includes rigorous screening for commercial viability, a hands-on management approach with investees and the independent thinking to leverage positive impact from investments.

What will be the initial focus of the company?

The initial focus is on investing in small and medium-sized as well as large, existing brands in the financial services sector – including in digital transformation – in Africa. They will also be introducing compelling investment opportunities bringing together key investors for a series of high-ticket transactions. As turnaround experts they will uncover undervalued companies that can be transformed into greater profitability and impact.

The team takes great care and places emphasis in selecting the right people to lead turnaround opportunities and all investments will be closely monitored by NACP’s leadership team. NACP looks set to be the team to follow for locating high growth investment opportunities in the Africa.

NACP will also offer financial advisory services including trade finance, fund raising, business organisation / reorganisation and investment advice. It will also be assisting governments to implement innovative schemes to raise funds, and spearheading market-led funding schemes for infrastructure projects in Africa, including Green Bonds.

What impact will your experiences as immediate past Managing Director/CEO Ecobank Nigeria have on the new company?

Having been in the banking industry for more than 20 years, in various parts of the African continent and having run some of the most difficult operations in crisis situations have provided me with the breath of experience that can now allow me create value sustainably in businesses NACP will be involved in. The last three years in Nigeria have definitely contributed in reinforcing my view that regional integration in Africa is paramount to the continent’s growth prospects.

What other experiences are you bringing in to impact on the success of the company?

Beyond the above, we’re leveraging the depth of the network of relationships we’ve built over the years, our intimate knowledge of business environments of various regions of the continent we’ve worked in, our hands-on management style as a means to drive and deliver the value creation potential we identify as well as our entrepreneurial mindset.

What impact is the company going to make in helping African businesses raise new capital and grow their reach?

Most Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) have consistently complained about the lack of capital to expand and reach their full potential.  We want to be able to demonstrate that ambitious SMEs which have a good growth potential and can expand internationally will have access not only to financing but also to good organisational structure and best governance practices through us.

We intend to focus in particular on women-run or led business as a means to really making an impact on Africa’s development.

What is your view on intra-African trade and how will the new company help to promote it, especially by providing the needed financing backbone for better trade and partnerships?

One of our key investment criteria is for companies to have operations in more than one country, with a potential of having a truly pan-African  profitable presence. One of the ways we intend to support intra-African trade is ensure that such companies have all it takes to remain competitive at the scale of the continent as we’ll support in having access to the financing they need to grow their trade volumes.

We also intend to invest in the development of a pan-African financial services platform which will provide our customers with Trade Finance products and solutions.

What are the investment opportunities you see in Africa and where are the funds likely to come from?

There is still a lot that can be done in giving access to financial services to unbanked populations at the lowest price point possible. That’s why financial services will remain a focus industry in our investment strategy. In fostering intra-African trade, it’s extremely important to ensure that the logistics industry is properly funded to facilitate the movement of goods between African countries. We see a lot of investment opportunities in this space as well.

Beyond the classic industries like Agriculture and FMCG where the demand is still quite high, we’re mindful that Africa has a huge opportunity to take advantage of this fourth Industrial Revolution and leapfrog on new technologies to speed up its development.  That’s why we’ll all closely look at potential investment in Fintech companies that bring productive innovations to Africa

What is your view on the various challenges that confront African businesses, especially infrastructure deficit and poor access to finance and how they could be tackled?

As Africans, we can continue meeting in endless forums across the continent and writing about our challenges but until we start investing, creating companies and jobs and supporting each other with new ideas, nothing will change. There’s nothing wrong with making mistakes and experiencing failures but execution time has come and it should be there to stay.

Where do you expect New African Capital Partners to be in the next five years?

The NACP intends to be the go-to platform when it comes to investments in pan-African ventures, and one of the largest independent Trade Finance entities in Africa

How would you access the Nigerian and African banking sectors, especially the rising cases of failures seen in the industry?

It’s really unfortunate that ten years after the world economic crisis, some of the basic lessons have still not been learnt. Banks need a high level of capital, liquidity and profitability, a low level of non performing assets and high ethical values. When these basic principles are applied banks don’t fail.

A start-up company, Bambooks, has unveiled mobile application which it said is the country’s largest digital library.

According to the firm, Bambooks offers users access to thousands of eBooks, magazines and comics from any internet connected device including mobile phones, tablets and computers.  It also offers an affordable membership plan that gives users unlimited access to the library; with a N500/per month and an annual plan of N5,000/yearly, users can subscribe using their debit cards or bank accounts.

It said the country has the largest mobile market in Africa with over 160 million connected lines and 100 million mobile internet users. With plans to expand across Africa, Bambooks is eyeing the 450 million subscriber base which is expected to grow at five per cent CAGR over the next few years. The penetration rate is forecast to reach 50 per cent by the end of 2023 and 52 per cent by 2025. According to its Head of Content Acquisition, Seun Ashaka, said: “Information is available to anyone that has access to the internet and mobile phones have become so smart you can do almost anything with them. We estimate the publishing industry across sub Saharan Africa to exceed a billion dollars in annual revenues by the end of 2018 and expect authors on our platform to earn a significant share of the market.”

It is a well-known fact that distribution of physical books is a major challenge in the country with little or no bookstores and libraries across major cities in the country. These infrastructure problems lead to low literacy levels and poor reading habits as many Nigerians don’t have the resources to travel long distances or buy physical books at prices way above their purchasing power. Scarcity of books also fuels the increasing trends of piracy with annual revenue losses to legitimate content owners running to the hundreds of millions of naira. Bambooks solves all these problems through their digital publishing platform and hopes to inspire a new generation of writers and content creators.

Founder & CEO of Bambooks, Ugo Okoye, said:  “Bambooks will not only entertain and educate people but also improve literacy levels, break the cycle of poverty and create a better future for Nigerians”.

When I first read the story that James Harrison, an Australian citizen nicknamed “the man with the golden arm,” has made a final blood plasma donation that up until then had saved over 2.4 million babies according to the Australian Red Cross Blood Service, all I could whisper to myself was: what a great man and what an inspiration!

A little background will suffice here; James Harrison, has a rare antibody in his blood that is used to make a lifesaving medication called anti-D, given to mothers whose blood is at risk of developing rhesus D hemolytic disease (HDN), or antibodies that attack their unborn babies. “It’s a sad day for me. The end of a long run, I’d keep on going if they’d let me,” Harrison was quoted as saying. But unfortunately, he has surpassed the donour age limit. At 81, doctors’ advised that he has done his very best for mankind by donating his blood consistently for 51 years and needed to rest and enjoy the rest of his life.

There’s something about giving that defines our humanity and Harrison embodied that having donated blood plasma over 1,100 times through the Australian Red Cross which said more than 3 million doses of Anti-D containing James’ blood have been issued to Australian mothers with a negative blood type. Harrison was the first donour in a national Anti-D program that started in 1967. Prior to the creation of the program, HDN killed thousands of babies every year. He made the decision to donate after he underwent major chest surgery and depended on blood donations to save his life.

According to the Red Cross, all of Australia’s anti-D plasma comes from a small pool of 200 donours, but 17 percent of Australian women who become pregnant need the injections to keep their babies healthy.

As I reflect on the story – which I do often – I always come out with the conclusion that acts of kindness defines our humanity if only we can tap into the resources planted in our hearts by God. I recall the story of the late Joseph Blankson, the man who saved 13 people from drowning in Rivers State but eventually lost his life during the 14th attempt! It took a major outpouring of emotions and commendation on social media before the state government stepped in to offer his wife an automatic employment and his children scholarships.

In our highly materialistic society, it often appears that our capability to receive in whatever form or manner is measured by our capability to give based on our resources. If we don’t have anything to give, we have nothing to receive, plain and simple. We live, generally, in a “give and take” society, so when we stop giving we may also stop receiving. Our social lives, consciously or unconsciously, revolve around this principle: the less we have the less we receive; the fewer our resources the fewer our friends are.

This, to me, is the most common misconception of giving: a preconceived notion that it should be reciprocated in return. There is always that implicit condition that if an individual gives to someone, the latter is bound to return the same favour or kindness in any form or manner.   Consequently, giving becomes a meaningless act because of such distorted belief of paying back the supposedly generous deed by the giver. The receiver becomes, in turn, the giver to the selfish motive of the primary efficient cause of giving.

Individuals like Harrison and the late Blankson – I strongly believe – do not have such mindset. Harrison did not think twice when he was told his blood has the “magic” that can save unborn babies; he continued donating his blood regularly for 51 years until he was advised to stop for medical reasons. Blankson, on the other hand, saved a record 13 people before he eventually lost his life trying to save more. It is unfortunate that we in Nigeria search for “heroes” in the wrong places while some of our most heroic feats often go unnoticed.

In our day-to-day existence, we normally receive from our loved ones and friends that we trust and love, from a stranger that we don’t know, or from the people that we neither care nor love.  We may also receive from others as a reciprocal token of our benevolent act. And the cycle goes on.

Sometimes, we give because we are compelled to do so. We accept because we want to play by the rules even if we don’t appreciate the gesture or the act of kindness being bestowed upon us. At times, we sacrifice our own principle just to appease the majority. But what is the “majority” if every individual act according to what is morally acceptable in relation to the common good of the society.

I sometimes wonder: is it a privilege to give or to receive, or is it a duty of every individual to give or benefit from the act of benevolence?  For instance, when people choose or elect a political leader in organized societies, the latter is privileged to receive such honour with duty and responsibility to serve the same people rather than his or her personal gains or interests.  Political leaders owe no allegiance to anyone but to the people who put their dream, hope and trust on them to oversee and manage the equal distribution of national wealth and the general well-being of the society.

A business or corporate entity gives something to the society not because it is philanthropic, but it is bound by duty to return the “surplus” of its profits for socio-economic development on the same society where it establishes business with. A government, on the other hand, is expected to give to the society; not because it has a “surplus”, but it is bound by the very nature of its entity to govern, manage and distribute what is due to its constituents.

In this regard, there are two kinds of giving: conditional and unconditional. In “conditional giving,” the giver sets a condition for the recipient in order to continue giving; otherwise, if the condition is breached or violated the giver will stop giving. Here, the act of giving is provisional, a “give and take” agreement, which demands the active participation of both the giver and the recipient. Violation of such agreement will result to the cessation of the act of benevolence. It is tantamount to say: ‘I’ll give you something, but you have to give me also something in return so that I can continue giving.’

In “unconditional giving,” on the other hand, the munificent gesture is purely an act of freedom and charity by which the recipient is not required to return the favour (material or non-material). In other words, there is no moral and material obligation for the recipient to reciprocate what has been given because the act and the object of giving are bestowed with no given set of conditions whatsoever.

The recipient has a freedom to do what has been bestowed because it is the desire of the giver to seek what is good for the receiver in the context of freedom and charity. The recipient may or may not appreciate or reciprocate the object that is being bestowed, yet it is the munificent act in unconditional giving that is consequential rather than the object itself.

In essence, there is something in the act of benevolence which is more sublime than the material aspect of giving or receiving. In the case of Harrison, some Australian mothers may not have even heard of him, yet component of his blood saved their babies.

I have come to the conclusion that to lose something, which is part of the person, by giving is to find new meaning in another person who now possesses the object of the benevolent act. The giver may “lose” the presence of such valued possession but soon, he or she may find the relevance of the object in another person who needs it more than the giver does.

We should keep this in mind: everyone, rich or poor, can be a receiver or a giver of the act of munificence, but in every act there is always an equal responsibility for both the giver and the receiver to use such benevolence for the highest good of others and the society.