The Nation Newspaper

Tag: NGOs

  • Report indicts UNICEF, foreign NGOs in plots to blackmail Nigerian military fighting Boko Haram

    The United Nations Children Education Fund (UNICEF) as well as some international NGOs have been fingered to be part of a large scale plot to blackmail the Nigerian military

    This was contained in the first quarter report by the Coalition of CSOs on human rights and conflict resolution in Nigeria on the ongoing war against insurgency is Nigeria.

    The report signed by Gowon Maxwell Esq,
    Executive Director of the coalition and made public during a media briefing explained that the review that let go the report monitored troops closely in their operations to appraise their conduct, observance of rules of engagement and compliance with best international standard to ensure that human rights remains sacrosanct.

    He said the review also monitored the activities of  international NGOs to ensure that their activities conform to the principles and purposes of the United Nations.

    The report stated that from the findings of teams deployed it discovered that the reports of these NGOs have the potential to present Nigeria as a country with a military that has no good reputation, which would in turn make the country ineligible for international support.

    It stated that the formation of Protection from Sexual Exploitation and Abuse (PSEA) Nigeria by some of these NGOs amounts to direct interference by foreign entities in the internal affairs of Nigeria, which runs contrary to the spirit of the United Nations.

    “From our investigations, this is a covert operation aimed at blackmailing the Nigerian military which has remained the only tool used by the Nigerian state to enforce the rights of civilians to life and inhuman and degrading treatment from the terrorists.

    “The NGOs’ position is capable of scandalizing the military to a point where the only option left is to withdraw troops from areas where they are operating, which would create an environment that would be conducive for a Boko Haram comeback to terrorize people in these places. An identified worrisome dimension is the seeming collaboration between these NGOs and top officials of the UNICEF, Priscilla Haveyda who are directly involved the execution of this agenda against the helpless people of Nigeria,” the report stated.

    The report however expressed concern that the authorities in Nigeria, especially the Federal Government, does not recognize these NGOs as threats, hence the freedom it allows them to operate with, which they abuse by deploying their international affiliation as tools to destabilize their host countries.

    It stated further that it’s investigation showed that Boko Haram has been degraded to a point that it can no longer engage in any impactful which has now left it to be reliant on the activities of NGOs on the PSEA platform to release reports that terrorize the people in the north east in line with their agenda, which is at variance from what they present themselves to be.

    It recommended the reports of NGOs should be subjected to detailed reviews since they do not usually declare the interests of their organizations or that of their staffers in the counter insurgency war against Boko Haram.

    It stated that, “NGOs that are genuinely desirous of improving the quality of life in the north-east of Nigeria should weigh the longer-term consequences of their intervention. Their parent organizations are urged to audit the activities of their country teams to ensure they are not deploy the organizations as cover for agenda that do not tally with improvement of human condition.”

  • NGOs urge Fed Govt to provide potable water

    A GROUP, H20, an amalgam of seven non-governmental organisations seeking an end to open defecation and lack of clean water, has urged the Federal Government to provide potable water.

    According to its spokesman, Anthony Erewele, attention should be given to potable water by governments, regretting that people drink water from contaminated sources.

    He said: ‘’As one of the critical stakeholders in the quest for clean environment and equality in the distribution of basic amenities, we are appalled that nothing has changed in the attitude of government to the plight of Nigerians, who are continuously subjected to health hazards as a result of drinking contaminated water from streams and rivers, because of lack of access to potable water, despite huge budgetary allocation for provision of adequate clean water.

    “It is instructive to note that both the rural dwellers and their counterparts in the city are affected by this problem of lack of access to clean water. While the rural dwellers continue to suffer in silence, the urban dwellers who can afford to drill borehole are also frustrated by the infiltration of sewage into boreholes resulting in environmental and health hazards.”

  • Fed Govt to deregister NGOs over terrorism, money laundering

    THE Federal Government has begun the profiling of Non-Governmental organisations (NGOs) with the intention of deregistering those involved in questionable activities.

    It was learnt that the measure was aimed at curbing money laundering and terrorist financing,

    The profiling activities presently being carried out by the Special Control Unit on Money Laundering (SCUML), Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU) and the Federal Ministry of Finance (FMF) is in compliance with the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) recommendation.

    The FATF recommendation requires countries to adopt necessary measures to prevent the use of NGOs for nefarious activities.

    NFIU’s Director Francis Usani, who broke the news in Abuja yesterday, said the need to profile and review activities of NGOs were informed by the realisation that the groups have become “veritable tools to launder money and finance terrorism”.

    Usani said the government was also exploring other options, including sensitising NGOs on their obligations to ensure they do not unwittingly yield themselves to terrorists and other criminals.

    The NFIU Director spoke at a “regional workshop on the development of effective frameworks and structure to fight terrorist financing/money laundering through non-profit organisations (NPOs)”.

    It was organised by the Inter-Governmental Action Group Against Money Laundering in West Africa (GIABA).

    “It is obvious that Designated Non-Financial Business or Profession (DNFBP) and particularly NPOs pose a major challenge in our respective Anti-Money Laundering/Combating the Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) culture, and this challenge has been identified in our various national risk assessments.

    “There are case studies in Nigeria and in the West African sub-region and globally too, where NPOs have been used as veritable tools to launder money and finance terrorism,” Usani said.

    He added that the realisation of this fact informed why FATF, under its Recommendation 8, directed that countries should review the adequacy of laws and regulations that relate to NPOs/NGOs that could be abused for the financing of terrorism.

    GIABA’s Director General Kimelabalou Aba said the workshop was to educate players in the NPOs and a measure to protect NPOs against abuses because their extended logistical networks, large transitory workforces, cash-intensive nature of operations now make them highly vulnerable to terrorist financing.

    Mrs. Stella Maduka of the Federal Ministry of Finance blamed the growing unemployment rate globally for the increasing in terrorist activities.

     

  • How Dickson spent N50b on health sector

    How Dickson spent N50b on health sector

    How did the Governor Seriake Dickson-led administration justify about N50bn it had so far spent in Bayelsa State’s health sector? The question hung in the lips of stakeholders, who recently trooped to the Gabriel Okara Cultural Centre in Yenagoa, the state capital.

    Youth groups, civil society organisations, non-governmental organisations (NGOs), students, women, traditional rulers, labour unions and journalists were among the stakeholders, who came to hear explanations on how Governor Seriake Dickson spent N50 billion on the health sector. They came out prepared for a visual tour of health projects and facilities executed and built so far by Dickson and his Restoration Cabinet.

    The tour guide was Prof. Ebitimitula Etebu. He is a professor of medicine and Commissioner for Health. Most people believe that Etebu’s appointment underscored Dickson’s seriousness in repositioning the health sector. With numerous requisite credentials, Etebu, who was a former Chief Medical Director (CMD), Federal Medical Centre (FMC), Yenagoa, is seen as a round peg in a round hole.

    Armed with files and electronic devices, Etebu wasted no time to arrive the venue. Like a pilot, he hit the runway and took off with his curious tourists. His first port of call was the Bayelsa Diagnostic Centre (BDC) at the heart of Yenagoa. The tourists were greeted by impressive sight. Some of them did not know that such state-of-the-art health facility exist in Bayelsa.

    Indeed, they confirmed BDC as a complete suite of multi-billion naira diagnostic solution. It has dazzling and eye-catching modern medical installations and equipment. Housed in a three-storey building with aesthetic beauty, the medical facilities in each department, are the latest in the country manufactured between 2013 and 2017.

    In fact, the BDC is built to undertake all kinds of diagnosis. It is described as the best centre for X-Ray, mammography, Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI), CT Scan, ultra scan, endoscope and cardiovascular investigations. The equipment speaks for themselves. The centre is designed with the capacity for telemedicine.

    The stakeholders were dazzled. But what they saw was a tip of the iceberg. Etebu took them to the Bayelsa Specialist Hospital. Little did some of them know that what they used to know as the Government Clinic had been upgraded, expanded and transformed into a full-fledged specialist hospital. It is now open to members of the public.

    The proximity of the specialist hospital to the Bayelsa State Diagnostic Centre gives the state the confidence of having a complete medical solution. Combined with the diagnostics centre, the hospital has been saving lives.

    Addressing his audience on the significance of the diagnostic centre and specialist hospital, Etebu said: “The Bayelsa Diagnostic Centre in Yenagoa, is a major facility of world-class standard. People are beginning to use it, saving lives, hundreds and thousands of lives, with early diagnosis.

    “That is a modern diagnostic centre, one of the best in the country. People now come from Lagos, Abuja, Port Harcourt and many other states to Bayelsa for diagnosis. It was built, equipped and handed over to American specialists to run it for efficiency.

    “It is the same thing government did to the Specialist Hospital at the Government House. It used to be Government House clinic, but Governor Dickson felt what is good for the governor, deputy governor, and their families must be good enough for all Bayelsans. That was how it was expanded with a public wing, fully equipped.

    “You cannot find the equipment they have there, with the personnel anywhere else. They have installed telemedicine facilities, which means you can communicate with doctors from abroad right there, they can even direct an operation from where they are in America or London. That is the investment the Restoration government has made in Bayelsa State.”

    On that visual tour, Etebu took the stakeholders round modern hospitals springing up in all the local government areas of the state. He said healthcare had improved significantly under Dickson. Hitherto, Bayelsa could not boast of modern hospitals. Residents travelled to nearby states to access their health facilities.

    “But all that have now changed. In Brass we have a modern one there. We have completed the one for Ekeremor, ready for furnishing and take off; we have completed the one for Sagbama, ready for furnishing and take off.

    “Same for Kolokuma/Opokuma, Oporoma and now completing the one for Ogbia  in spite of some initial delay. Governor Dickson has also directed that another one be built in Nembe, making it two for use there”, he said.

    Etebu boasted of another ambitious health project of the governor.

    “The government is doing more,”he said, “before the end of December 2018, every ward will have a functional health centre, equipped with quarters where nurses and doctors will stay”.

    To ensure quality healthcare for people in the state, he told the stakeholders that the government established a Health Insurance Scheme (HIS) with Dicksoncare project factored into it. He said the scheme had made healthcare affordable in the state.

    “The health insurance scheme recorded over 300,000 people with the one man, wife and four children approach. The governor has also approved 5 per cent of our the Internally-Generated Revenue (IGR) for ‘Dicksoncare’”, he said.

    The professor later redirected the tour. He took his audience to a project Dickson initiated in his first term and later completed. It is the Drug Mart, a quality control centre for all drugs brought into the centre. It was designed as a clearing house to eliminate fake drugs in the state. In fact, its foundation was laid by the late fake drug czar, Prof. Dora Akunyili.

    “To ensure that that fake drugs do not compound the health situations of our people, government built the drug mart and Bayelsa pharmaceutical centre, ready for commissioning.

    “It has already started working and there are not many states that have that. Everything we have put together, everything we have been working on, is targeted to cover an area of lack in our state,” he said.

    Etebu shocked pregnant women in the state with good news.

    He said: “This year, government is coming up with a policy for our pregnant women. From the month a woman becomes pregnant, she becomes government property. She will be registered and taken care of. Women who are pregnant can confirm their pregnancy and put on a special allowance; we then register them to have their data so that we can monitor.

    “If anyone has any challenge, we know and we can deal with it.”

    Indeed, persons, who embarked on the visual tour were happy. They said with what they had seen on ground, the government has justified its expenditure in the health sector.

    Commissioner for Information and Orientation Daniel Iworiso-Markson, who initiated the tour, gave further insight on the motive behind the investments in the health sector. He said the investment had curtailed capital flight in the state.

    He said: “The facilities we have in our state are comparable to anyone outside the country. Professionals from the USA have also been brought into the state to man these facilities. The whole idea is to create medical tourism in Bayelsa.

    “By the time this administration completes its programme on health, this state will be the hub of medical tourism. We are replicating quality health delivery across the state. The government is building general hospitals in each of the eight local government in the state.”

    The stakeholders, who participated in the visual tour had their questions answered by Etebu. They insisted that Dickson had justified the massive investment in the sector. But like Oliver Twist, they want more.

     

  • (ICYMI) 2019: NGOs back Buhari as Obasanjo’s coalition lands

    (ICYMI) 2019: NGOs back Buhari as Obasanjo’s coalition lands

    All seems set for the unveiling today of former President Olusegun Obasanjo’s Coalition for Nigeria Movement (CN).

    Obasanjo broke the news of the coalition in a long “special statement” in which he lashed the President Muhammau Buhari administration.

    Today’s event may have ignited a new wave of support for President Buhari, with an army of Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) endorsing him for the 2019 election.

    The NGOs also vowed to start a nationwide rally in support of Buhari’s administration from February 6.

    Of the 36 governors, 10  and some senators are said to have indicated interest in being part of the CN.

    Seven governors are believed to be of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and three Peoples Democratic Party(PDP) members.

    Others who are said to be part of the formation of CN are a former National Security Adviser, some ex-governors, such as Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, former Cross River State Governor Donald Duke and former Jigawa State Governor Sule Lamido and retired Generals, among others.

    The launch of CN Movement will hold this morning at the Shehu Musa Yar’Adua Centre.

    Former Osun State Governor Olagunsoye Oyinlola is said to be the coordinator.

    Oyinlola’s Asokoro Quarters, Abuja home was a beehive of activities yesterday, with politicians flocking the place.

    It was gathered that Oyinlola is set to resign his appointment as the chairman of the National Identity Management Commission(NIMC) to enable him take up the role of coordinating the coalition.

    Although the programme for the launch was already in the public domain yesterday, the list of attendees was kept under wraps.

    The programme, however, stated the mission of the CN as follows:

    “The Coalition for Nigeria Movement is a movement that seeks to promote and ensure socio-economic development, improvement, growth, social justice, egalitarianism, cohesion, cooperation, equity, equality of opportunity, transparency, societal order, rule of law, human security and human rights leading to National Unity, good governance and general well-being and the welfare of all citizens and inhabitants of Nigeria.”

    A source, who spoke in confidence with our correspondent, said: “As you can see, we are set for the formal launch  of the CN Movement on Wednesday in Abuja.

    “Our membership is open to all Nigerian citizens of 18 years and above. It is a common platform to rescue this nation from its challenges.

    “Shortly after the launch, we will have interim officers and we will immediately start meeting with people and groups of like minds nationwide on the way forward for this country. We will traverse the length and breadth of this country to ‘change the change’ at hand.”

    Responding to a question, the source added: “So far, we have about 10 governors on our side, a former National Security Adviser, some ex-governors(military and civilian), retired Generals, ex-ministers, Senators, members of the House of Representatives, and some civil society organisations.

    “Others already collaborating with the CN include  a former National Security Adviser, some ex-governors like Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, Donald Duke and Sule Lamido, a former Minister of Information, Prof. Jerry Gana and other like minds. We will release the list in the fullness of time.”

    Asked if Obasanjo will attend the ceremony, the source replied: “I cannot be categorical if ex-President Olusegun Obasanjo will attend the inauguration but we are hopeful that he might be able to finish his assignment at the AU Secretariat to join us.”

    The source also said: “Ex-Governor Olagunsoye Oyinlola will coordinate. All things being equal, he might resign his appointment as the chairman of NIMC on Wednesday to face the new task ahead.”

    Elsewhere in Abuja yesterday, about 200 Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) are planning a nationwide rally for a second term in office for Buhari.

    The group, under the aegis of the Forum of Non-Governmental Organisations in Nigeria (FONGON), believed that Obasanjo should be held responsible for half of Nigeria’s problems.

    At a briefing yesterday in Abuja, the forum said the former President  cannot impose his will on the people; he should allow the principle of democracy to reign in the 2019 poll.

    The National Coordinator of the forum,  Mr. Wole Badmus, said Buhari is not too old to lead the nation in 2019.

    He said:  “We are a coalition of 200 NGOs, with a total membership of 3 million, comprising students, women, artisans, youth groups etc. drawn from the nation’s six geopolitical zones. We are here today to announce that starting from next Tuesday, February 6th 2018, we will kick start a nationwide rally in support of the Buhari Administration.

    “The rally will start here in the nation’s capital, Abuja, and then move to all the six geo-political zones. It will be a rally like no other. We, the concerned NGOs, have come together to rally support for President Muhammadu Buhari‘s Administration, because we believe strongly that it has, since assuming office on 29 May 2015, performed creditably in putting Nigeria on the path of growth and development.

    “We have chosen to come out this time because there seems to be an orchestrated campaign going on across the country at the moment to demonise the Buhari Administration, in order to pave the way for the return of the same people who brought the country to where it was before President Buhari launched his rescue mission upon assuming office.

    “We are concerned that unless an urgent action is taken, the voices of these  people, whom we believe are being sponsored by looters and those who have been prevented from turning the nation’s treasury to their personal banks,  may become the dominant voices.”

    He said since Obasanjo subtly sought for third term in office, he “lacks moral credibility to discourage President Muhammadu Buhari from contesting.”

    Badmus described Buhari as “strong, experienced and credible enough” to run in next year’s election, adding that Buhari “is not too old to contest re-election in the 2019 general election”.

    Badmus, who acknowledged the age and authority of the former president, however, doubted if Obasanjo has good intention for the country.

    He added: “With due respect, whether he has good intention for the country or not, we cannot really say but we know that if you want to identify the problems of Nigeria, without fear or favour, 50 per cent can be attributed to the individual called Olusegun Obasanjo.

    He said Obasanjo had criticised all past leaders  but he had always  exonerated  himself from blame.

    “As for the letter (special statement), yes he raised some valid points which are not as a result of the ineptness of the present administration.

    “Everybody knew that the country was at the brink of collapse as at May 2015. So you cannot put the entire blame on Buhari. In  writing his latest letter, did he make a single attempt to see the President? No.

    “Somebody just came up and he started  telling Nigerians yearly that they must take his own dosage to our democratic ailment; it is never done. Democracy is a game of many, not a game of an individual.

    “With due respect, former President Olusegun Obasanjo cannot be imposing his whims and caprices upon the nation all the time. We see his letter as distractive.

    “The question needs to be asked, why is Obasanjo distracting Buhari when he has not declared in actual fact? Why are people telling Buhari not to contest when he has not declared that he is running? You are castigating somebody and arm-twisting him. You are saying he should not run because you don’t believe in him. But we believe in him, so we are saying he should run. The simple answer is to subject everything to democratic scrutiny.”

    Badmus said Obasanjo could not limit the alternatives available to Nigerians to CN Movement.

  • Most NGOs are motivated by selfish, financial gains – Ajulo,

    A former National Secretary of Labour Party (LP), Mr Kayode Ajulo, has said some of the brains behind  most of the non-governmental organisations (NGOs) operating in the country are driven by selfish, financial gains.

    He stated this in a statement at the weekend while throwing his weight behind the NGO Regulatory Commission Bill.

    Quoting from a memorandum he submitted to the House of Representatives, which conducted a public hearing on the bill, last week, he noted that it was because of the financial gains to be made that there is a proliferation of “emergency NGO founders” across the country.

    The activist said the era envisaged under the bill will ensure that NGOs are driven by passion and not by financial inducement “which has been the major reasons many Nigerians have now become emergency NGO founders”.

    According to him, the commission to be established will be saddled with the responsibility of issuing licenses to NGOs renewable every two years while also submitting financial reports. He expressed his disagreement with the critics, saying he was of the firm belief that there should be a regulatory framework for NGOs and CSOs.

  • NGOs seek action against Pneumonia

    The Coalition of Non-Governmental Organisations has called for more domestic financing for Pneumonia vaccines, routine immunization programmes and strengthened health care systems.

    Knowledge Management and Communication Coordinator, Community Health and Research Initiative Asma’u Rufai, made the appeal in a statement jointly signed by Vaccine Network in Abuja.

    She poke at an event to mark, the World Pneumonia Day.

    It was first hosted in 2009 when over 100 organisations formed the Global Coalition against Child Pneumonia.

    Rufai said Nigeria scored 38 per cent coverage in the integrated Global Action for Prevention and Control of Pneumonia and Diarrhea (GAPPD).

    According to her, Nigeria is among the three countries with the lowest score of 38 per cent little above Chad which score 29 per cent and Somalia with 27 per cent in the GAPPD.

    She however noted that the score is against a threshold of 70 per cent for Pneumonia and Diarrhea GAPPD scores for 2017.

    She added that GAPPD also showed Nigeria’s inability to meet the Pneumococcal Conjugate Vaccine (PCV) coverage threshold of 45 per cent by scoring only 26 per cent.

    “We are calling on the Nigerian government to reaffirm its commitments by increasing local financing to immunization, better the policies on immunization and expand the coverage of routine immunization,’’ she said.

    The world pneumonia day was to raise awareness about pneumonia as the world’s leading killer of children under the age of five.

    Pneumonia is an infection in one or both lungs. It can be caused by bacteria, viruses, or fungi.

  • Fed Govt, Osun, NGOs fight malaria with nets

    Fed Govt, Osun, NGOs fight malaria with nets

    Malaria is considered a major health challenge that hinders the development of countries, especially those in African, where over a million lives, including expectant mothers and children under the age of 0-5 years are affected.

    Mindful that the disease remains one of the biggest challenges and which causes 11 per cent of maternal mortality in Nigeria, the Federal Government and key stakeholders are making serious efforts to ensure that the rate at which the disease spreads is reduced maximally.

    In a bid to curb the spread of the disease, the Federal Government and various international organisations have stepped up advocacies to ensure people are adequately sensitised to preventive measures and how to get treated if affected.

    One of the measures through which the spread of malaria can be curbed is the use of Long Lasting Insecticide-Treated Nets (LLIN).

    Lately, the Osun State government, through its Ministry of Health, in collaboration with a number of non-governmental organisations that include the Catholic Relief Services, the National Malaria Elimination Programme, the World Health Organisation and the Society for Family Health, embarked on the replacement of LLIN campaign across the state in furtherance of the 1.6 million nets distributed in 2013.

    The Commissioner for Health, Dr. Rafiu Isamotu, revealed that, in February this year, the team, which comprised officials of the various organisations and the state government envisaged 4,974,662 as the population expected to benefit from the programme.

    He said: “The team toured the entire state with a mandate to distribute for the population about three million nets as part of its mandates.”

    Also, the Manager for the LLIN Replacement Campaign, John Ocholi told Southwest Report that the nets are chemically-treated and endorsed by the World Health Organisation to protect people from mosquito bites that cause malaria.

    Ocholi added that the move was imperative as he said governments globally are interested in curbing the deadly disease. He, therefore, called on people, especially the expectant mothers and children to optimise the opportunity by making use of the material.

    Apart from the micro-planning, sensitisation  and advocacy programme, the team visited the ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs), traditional rulers, traders, the media and other relevant stakeholders to persuade them to key into the initiative and create more awareness on the exercise.

    Also, the Osun State Deputy Governor, Chief (Mrs) Grace Titi Laoye-Tomori, was installed as the state’s Net-Ambassador to rally support for the programme. At the investiture ceremony, the deputy governor promised, on behalf of the state government, to ensure the provision of logistics and other mechanisms to assist in the success of the campaign.

    Other community leaders, traditional rulers and government officials at the local level were also installed as Net-Ambassadors for their respective domains.

    In continuation of the efforts to make more people aware of the exercise, officials were drawn throughout the 322 wards to help with household mobilisation. Houses were reached from August 13 to 17, this year with net cards to ensure the eligibility of each household (i.e. father, mother and two children) have a net card while cases with more children attract an extra net card. The Net Cards were the legal tender for the collection of the nets. During the household mobilisation, about 2,762,110 net cards were distributed out of the 2,763,701 envisaged.

    During the process, two beneficiaries of the LLIN, Mr. Adereti Wasiu and Mrs. Ololade Afolabi, praised the state government and its partners for the initiative. They pledged their readiness to make wise use of the nets.

    Meanwhile, on September 6, this year, Osun State Governor, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, presided over the inauguration of the LLIN Replacement Campaign Distribution.

    At the ceremony, Aregbesola underscored the importance of the nets as protective guards against mosquito bites. He promised to restore healthy living apart from dredging water canals that enhance mosquito breeds. He also supported the all-round sensitisation initiative to ensure compliance and adherence to the campaign.

    The Minister of Health, Prof Isaac Adewole, who was represented by the Chief Medical Director of LAUTECH Teaching Hospital, Osogbo, Prof. Akeem Lasisi, said the Federal Government, in its ongoing efforts to rid the country of malaria, is providing about 13 million nets for the six worst hit states. Adewole explained that the Federal Government is planning to reduce drastically the prevalence of the disease by 2020.

    Representatives of the Society for Family Health, Dr. Jenifer Ayate, the Catholic Relief Services, Dr. I. Adebayo, the National Malaria Elimination Programme, Dr. Audu Mohammed, the World Health Organisation, Dr. Tolu Arowolo and the Osun State Commissioner for Health, Dr. Isamotu, all re-emphasised the need for people to be cautious and to embrace the use of the nets to protect their families.

    After the opening ceremony and the distribution exercise with the sampling of the use as well as onward collection by beneficiaries, from September 6 to 10, this year, about 2,470,472 nets were redeemed with net cards out of the 2,912, 850, representing 89.5 per cent reach. In the process, about 12,008 workers were engaged for the distribution across the 30 local government areas.

    After the distribution, 119 independent monitors moved round Osun State from September 14 to 17, to assess the level of compliance with the campaign.

    Households were visited to know the challenges encountered during the drying, hanging and use of the nets. During the end-process as it was called, residents were assisted to hang the nets and re-orientated on the need to sleep under the nets at bed time to safeguard them from mosquito bites.

    At the debriefing was Dr Isamotu, Special Adviser to the Governor on Health, Dr. Gbenga Oyinlola, Permanent Secretary, Osun State Ministry of Health, Dr. Akinyinka Esho and Dr. Ernest Nwokolo, of the Directorate of Society for Family Health, among others.

     

  • ‘War’ on NGOs

    Almost throughout its post-independence existence, the Nigerian government has struggled with the provision of essential services to the populace while being perpetually unable to deal with the country’s infrastructure deficit. In July this year, at the quarterly presidential business forum held at the presidential villa, the Minister of Finance, Kemi Adeosun, admitted that the country had no money to deliver essential services. The public service gap thus created has been filled for decades by domestic and international Non-Governmental Organisations, NGOs, that out-do local authorities in the provision of basic public services, recommendation of vibrant policies and development of vital research and data.

    It is, therefore, shocking that a hare-brained scheme now in process at the House of Representatives, is set to frustrate the work of NGOs in the country. It will generally destabilise the third sector (civil society) that plays a key role in providing constructive criticism and checking the excesses of government. The Non-Governmental Organizations Regulatory Commission (Establishment) Bill, 2016, which is widely referred to as the “NGO Bill”, is not only a step in the wrong direction,  but coming after recent moves to regulate and control social media, it is also a signal of the direction that the government is headed – totalitarianism.

    One of the first disturbing features of the bill is the establishment of yet another commission, one that has powers to establish subsidiary organs and borrow money, adding to a perpetually growing and oversized government and increasing government overhead. This means that more funds in a vastly insufficient treasury will be drawn away from capital projects. The waste and recklessness proposed alone should be enough to defeat the bill, but there is more. Beside the fact that most of the functions of the commission are already being handled by other government agencies, the import of all the provisions is that the government will be essentially in control of the resources and activities of NGOs. The bill aims to place civil society in a government designed box, where dissent and criticism will be impossible and where straying out of the box will be punishable by imprisonment.

    The provisions of the Bill are so hostile and the red tape it contemplates so cumbersome that it is guaranteed to lead to a fast decline in assistance from international organisations presently involved in operations in the country. In the past few years, hundreds of organisations have entered Nigeria, and continue to do so, most recently in the north where Boko Haram and low level of education and development are crushing hopes for a better future for citizens in that region. To create an environment where these organisations have to contend with multiple legislation and scores of agencies to perform traditionally government roles, is unfair to the potential beneficiaries and will surely be counter-productive in the long run.

    When pressed about the rationale behind the bill, Hon. Umar Buba Jibril from Kogi State, the sponsor, was quick to point to similar legislation within ECOWAS and Africa generally. Surely, it is not news that African countries continue to display legendary bad judgment in decision making when it comes to regulation and governance in general. His response is made further exasperating by the fact that there is readily available precedence within the continent for the damage this particular bill can do.

    A similar Act, which by all indications was instrumental in preparing our current NGO bill, was in operation in Kenya. The operative word here is “was”. The said Act came into operation in Kenya in 1992, during the regime of President Daniel Arap Moi. In actual fact, the 1980s and 1990s have been described by some as the darkest in Kenyan political history, as Mr. Moi and his Kenyan African National Union, KANU, party actively and brazenly shut down dissent and suppressed critical voices in the country. Only last year was the Kenyan twin of the bill, the Non-Governmental Organisations Co-ordination Act (Kenya), repealed by the Public Benefit Organisations Act (2013) which although was a vast improvement, was still met with controversy in the country.

    The Kenyan version of the bill contained vague grounds for the denial of registration of an NGO as does our current bill and it set up a board made up of government appointees and an insignificant number of representatives of the NGOs. Our bill has 15 government appointees, including the “Executive Secretary” and only three representatives of the NGOs as members of the board. What we know about the Kenyan NGO board is that it got corrupt, lacked accountability, harassed NGOs and generally abused its powers. We also know that the Act led to reduced funding from international organisations in Kenya. Yet, Hon. Jibril is prepared to lead a charge backwards by 20 years, despite the warnings in the Kenyan example.

    Also, last year, another African country, Egypt, passed a similar legislation that attracted widespread international criticism. Maina Kiai, a UN Special Rapporteur on the right to freedom of assembly and association, described it as a law that threatens to “devastate the country’s civil society for generations to come and turn it into a government puppet”. This is exactly what this NGO bill threatens to do here in Nigeria.

    NGOs are named as such because of their necessary independence from government. This independence extends to their choice of projects and sources of funding. As we are a civilised society, everyone knows that rights are qualified only at the point where they intersect with other rights or come into friction with laws. Despite some shortcomings, we have an elaborate system of laws that properly cover the activities of NGOs.

    The bill portrays the NGO landscape as a free-for-all market where anything goes, but this cannot be farther from the truth. There are already provisions for their registration, records and documentation at the Corporate Affairs Commission, under Part C of the Companies and Allied Matters Act which also regulates their activities. NGOs also have to file annual returns under the Companies Income Tax Act with the tax authorities, submitting audited accounts amongst other things, while their respective integrated tax offices are mandated to monitor their activities to ensure compliance with their financial objectives. The Special Control Unit Against Money Laundering (SCUML) of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, also registers NGOs and is empowered to monitor their cash and currency transactions.

    Another laughable feature of the bill is the totality of Part IV that mandates “self-regulation” and establishes a “Nigeria National Council of Voluntary Agencies”. To seek to gather together, by force of law, “voluntary agencies” and demand that they self-regulate, defies logic. Sane governments encourage self-regulation with incentives, whereas the Nigerian government is forcefully taking control of voluntary organisations and using the incentive of duty waivers as bait. The sponsor has also alleged that some NGOs in the North-east fund insurgents. He needs to be asked whether the Terrorism Act (and many others) is there for window dressing.

    In the end, the NGO bill is a waste of legislative time and the fact that it has passed first and second reading in the House shows a desire to complicate charity through irresponsible law-making. A recurrent theme in the bill is the idea that NGOs are partners of the government engaged to follow government’s development agenda, however flawed. NGOs rather, are partners of the people in their everyday struggles and have no obligation to foster any interests of government as an institution. This is where Hon. Jibril, the Speaker of the House, Yakubu Dogara and their team of honourables get it wrong.

    While everyone is concerned about their precious religious bodies, the bill threatens to do deeper and more lasting damage than we realise. Our lawmakers are taking us backwards and plan to erode the civil society space with the corrupting touch of government. We must, therefore, resist this move, for the sake of the many victims in our society whose only recourse are the NGOs rendering selfless service. Indeed, we are all victims, so we must not again fall victim to Jibril, Dogara and their cohorts.

  • NGOs sign MoU on parenting

    National Council of Women Societies (NCWS), Nigeria and Centre for Family Peace Initiative (CFPI) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), to promote quality child education and responsible parenting in schools and homes across the country.

    The NGOs will collaborate to motivate, encourage and challenge parents and teachers to be the best they can be in the task of moulding the character of children.

    The MoU will culminate in the public presentation of a Parent-Teacher Motivational Handbook, a book on capacity building for the academic excellence and sound moral upbringing of children. Parent-Teacher Motivational Handbook is published by Centre for Family Peace Initiative, a marriage and family focused Non-Governmental Organisation that is based in Abuja.

    Ondo State Governor Dr. Olusegun Mimiko, who wrote the foreword to the book, said the book “is a treasure to be well guarded as it contains well thought out quotes that have the inherent capacity to make our world the ideal.”

    The National President of NCWS, Chief Gloria Laraba Shoda,  said her organisation was pleased to partner the Centre for Family Peace Initiative on the book. She posited that women as mothers, being the first and most important teachers of children, would benefit from the book as it had the capacity to positively impact parents and teachers for the good of children.

    The Executive Director, Centre for Family Peace Initiative, Mr. Chinedum Ikogwe, the former Abuja Bureau Chief of Ovation International Magazine, who compiled the book, lamented the precarious state of the educational system, as well as the prevailing weak family structure in Nigeria, adding that today’s children were at great risk. He, therefore, stressed on the need for all stakeholders to motivate and encourage parents and teachers to rise to their responsibilities to children.

    He expressed his gratitude to the management and staff of NCWS as he stated that the collaboration would enable the two credible NGOs to collectively raise funds from charitable corporate organisations and individuals to mass-produce the Book and give out copies to teachers in primary and secondary schools across the country at no cost to them.