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ilyaorona@yahoo.com Richland, WA, USA

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NGOs AND THE GOVERNORS, SUCH AS FAYOSE OF EKITI STATE

his generation must be clear about the direction of our country. Sadly, the African continent is underdeveloped by our own choice, our foolishness, our unnecessary wars and the greed of our political leaders who siphon the wealth of the continent and invest it overseas. The people they should be helping are left hungry, wretched, poor and jobless.

Non-government organizations, commonly known as NGOs, should help (meaning that they must help) alleviate the suffering of the poor people in the underdeveloped countries, particular in Africa. I love the idea of NGOs, and they have done a lot for mankind, but corrupt leaders of a developing country should not be allowed to turn the NGO into an arm of their failed government. Sudan and Congo are examples that come to mind.

	The intent of an NGO is to render help where help is needed with no government interference. They are not meant to be a substitute for a failed constitutional government or republic.

Several organizations have asked me about the formation of NGOs in Nigeria and South Africa, specifically in the areas of environmental health (stemming out of Ken Sarowiwa brutal death) and power generation. A couple of these organizations have tried, and what they have told me is, "My country is too complex."

You might think the proliferation of NGOs around the world is aimed at helping poor nations such as the African countries, India or Bangladesh. But these organizations are rapidly becoming the surrogates of constitutionally failed governments. The intent of an NGO is to render help where help is needed with no government interference. They are not meant to be substitutes for failed constitutional governments or republics.

We have begun to see a proliferation of these organizations in our country, and many are even registered with some agencies of the United Nations such as the World Bank, UNIAD, WHO, the UN Food organization and many others. Many elected and constitutional governments, including Nigeria, must wait for such organizations to fund the construction of new roads, railways, refineries, potable water systems and other projects that should be their constitutional responsibility.

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I have seen the good work of NGOs since I was five years old. I grew up in a village where NGOs constructed public toilets, assisted in building schools and drilled drinking-water wells. Many of these NGOs, including the America Peace Corps, sent volunteers to teach in our primary schools and to affect the daily lives of the people in our community.

They never asked for anything in return. They never sought government contracts. They never asked for votes, as we see happening today among our NGOs and "foundation philanthropists" who look more like politicians. Watch out - some local NGOs and philanthropic organizations are rapidly becoming a revolving door for politicians to buy back votes in their constituency or state. This strategy is shortchanging our political process and must be stopped before it corrupts the political process itself.

In the areas of basic needs in our rural communities, the non-governmental organizations have done what the constitutional governments should have done, and these organizations should not be viewed by any governments as a surrogate that is there to bail out its own failed systems.

	Watch out - some local NGOs and philanthropic organizations are rapidly becoming a revolving door for politicians to buy back votes in their constituency or state. This strategy is shortchanging our political process and must be stopped before it corrupts the political process itself.

When a government such as Nigeria's begins depending on NGOs - particularly the foreign NGOs, locally groomed NGOs and foundation organizations - to solve its basic social infrastructure problems, the country is in trouble. Indeed, it has a fireball in its hand. We are seeing examples of this in the ECOWAS countries. We must understand that NGOs are there voluntarily to help, but not as a campaign machine at election time or a substitute for a constitutional government. Our politicians must understand this principle.

One must think of the failure of a constitutional government and the role of an NGO in the context of Nigeria. What works well in other civilized countries will be corrupted in Nigeria and will not work at all.

After 44 years of colonial rule, to expect an NGO to be responsible for providing water for a village is pathetic. This is a new century, and yet Nigeria is still waiting for NGOs to help cure malaria, run some hospitals in Benin and Lagos, and to build more latrines in the rural countryside of our nation. Who knows? - Perhaps Nigeria is waiting for NGOs to offer help to build and maintain our refineries. If this is what our country is waiting for, we are in for a long wait.

May I remind our government officials and policymakers at all levels of our government how the NGOs came about? They were formed and proliferated in the late 1950s, when churches, individual philanthropists and others in the U.S. and Europe wanted to help the poor countries of the world without going through their corrupt leaders.

To successfully implement their programs, these NGOs and philanthropists in developed countries encouraged local churches, mosques, synagogues and other groups that had no government affiliations to render their services through these organizations.

	One must think of the failure of a constitutional government and the role of an NGO in the context of Nigeria. What works well in other civilized countries will be corrupted in Nigeria and will not work at all.

Some of these organizations recorded some initial success. But the corrupt governments of some the countries where they operate have since redefined the role of the NGO, and the term NGO has been given a bad name. In Nigeria and elsewhere, it has become a code word for corruption and election votes. In Nigeria today, an NGO organization, local or foreign, is influenced to turn be profit-oriented and political. Some of these organizations, particularly the ones that are called "foundations," have a different meaning and definition in our society.

But I do know several foundations or organizations that have not yet been influenced into becoming a political "back door." One is the Ekiti Association in North America (EKAINA), which will be holding its third annual convention in Jamaica, New York, on August 21 under the leadership of Eng. Mathew Asaolu, Ibitoye Kakaki, Taiwo, Rev. John Ayodele, Clement Olakanmi, Dr. Arowosafe, the Atlanta-based financier Olatunji and others. The occasion will be graced with a keynote address delivered by our own Governor Fayose.

All will be in New York celebrating and deliberating about our state's future direction and how we can move the Nigeria New Frontier forward. I have met some of the executives of this organization, which spreads across all of North America. It has excellent leaders, particularly Asaolu, Kakaki, Taiwo and Olakanmi.

Mr. Kakaki, a dedicated Ekitiman, put on a spectacular show in Chicago during last year's convention. In my conversation with Kakaki, I observed him to be a man of trust and a genuine Ekitiman.

The executives of this organization and their members are serious about giving back to their country and Ekiti State without asking for votes or anything in return. These men are not using the organization as a political platform to launch their own political careers. EKAINA is a good example of what a philanthropic organization should be.

EKAINA made me pause and think of the word "foundation" in the context of Nigeria. I wonder if a foundation organization in our society is just a local NGO that may become a machine to buy votes in an election. This is a question my readers will need to answer. The process was used effectively in the last election by Nigerian politicians of my own generation, including my own State Governor Fayose.

Now, don't get me wrong. Fayose and other politicians did nothing that violated our constitution when they formed a local NGO or "foundation" and a year later turned it into a political vote machine. NGOs are rapidly becoming a means of moving ahead in Nigerian politics. But it must be stopped. If this is what the word foundation translates to in the Nigerian context, then we must start educating our population about the impact of such organizations in our political process. Nigeria as a republic has a lot to do.

Gov. Fayose has always been a kind man. I knew that before he came into the government. He has done a lot for his people in a state where the government had failed to provide water and basic needs. Furthermore, he has a vision in his own way, which at the beginning of his administration was poorly implemented. Because I saw him as a man of vision, I tried to get to him during his people's campaign. He is a thinker at a certain level, whether his critics like that description or not.

The problem of Fayose is the way he implements his vision that I question. I believe he surrounds himself with inexperienced technocrats and aides, they tell him only what he wants to hear. I believe if he is to succeed where others have failed he must stop surrounding himself with these people.

This governor loves his country and his state, but he lacks maturity and a basic understanding of the role of government and that of an NGO or foundation organization in our society. With the help of Ekiti people, I believe this governor can run the government from the baseline and still make an impact.

As he stays the course right now, he is making some progress by challenging the federal government to step up to their responsibilities and earmark money for the reconstruction of the Ado-Iworoko-Otun Kwara border road, where several students were killed. He is making progress on Egbe dam, owned jointly by Ekiti and Ondo States. He is withdrawing and revoking the licenses of those contractors operating in the state, such as the one on Iworoko-Are-Afao-Igbemo Road. These are positive things and this writer will give this governor credit where credit is due.

But, at the same time, we should not conduct the affairs of our state like an NGO or foundation organization by distributing bicycles today and kerosene lamps tomorrow. Ekiti is a state in our republic and Fayose must go straight to the heart of our problems and be guided by public policies that will translate to creating jobs, improving the health of our people, promoting peace in our institutions of learning, earmarking money for research and the exploration of new technology, and creating opportunities for our children. This is what the government needs to do to earn my ultimate respect.

	Fayose's actions on this trip and some of his public policies are signs of a systemic failure of leadership, poor judgment, disregard for the needs of the state and a lack of experience in running the affairs of a state.

Yes, this governor has made some serious, even fatal, mistakes on the issue of the Omega Bank and removing Vice-Chancellor Oyebode. His mistakes can be attributed to lack of maturity, and being unprepared for the position he found himself in. It is different from being the head of his own foundation/NGO. Some of these mistakes can be corrected in a heartbeat and Fayose can be back on the right path. In fact, in the past few months the governor has made progress. This governor is working hard to get things right.

For this governor to win the hearts and minds of the citizens, he needs to learn how to tolerate people of different views, even when they disagree with him. He needs to work with his own opposition party, particularly the only AD in the federal House of Assembly. Invite Hon. Dada to dinner or to social events, and allow him to represent the state at events where neither the governor nor his deputy can attend. Politics should not be a game of do or die. If this governor can do all this, the next few years may be progressive and might make his critics look a bit foolish and the door for re-election may not be totally shut. Who knows.