No doubt a philanthropist, the Executive Director, Thelema Lion Foundation, Dr. Ifeoma Lilian Agu, is living out her dreams. Having started very early in life to touch lives, she told BRIDGET CHIEDU ONOCHIE that putting smiles on the faces of the poor gives meaning to her life.

Many people around you have spoken about your silent acts of philanthropy. How have you sustained the gesture even in the harsh economic situation?
My focus has always been to touch lives. The urge to assist people, especially the needy has persisted in me till now and I tell people often that any time I stop giving, it means I am about to die, because giving is part of my life; it lightens up my face. The fourth in a family of six children, I received more beatings from our mother for distributing her food among hungry neighbours even when we barely had enough. Knowing that my neighbours were hungry always moved me to the point of giving out whatever food remained at home and receiving beatings in return. Growing up, I had engaged in menial jobs mainly to assist the poor and to support my mother rather than take care of myself as most young ladies of my age were doing.

You were also said to have carried out your gestures unannounced or through an NGO…
Yes. I had declined pressure to register a foundation for a very long time because I didn’t want to make my assistance public for people to thank me. But I eventually registered the Thelema Lion Foundation  to reach out to more people. My husband and I were known in various hospitals in Abuja for free medical outreaches and this further exposed me to the level of poverty in the country – some patients will not use their medications for lack of food; some needed as little as N2,000 to be treated. My regular hospital visit revealed the fact that even N10,000 can keep a patient in the hospital for a long time and that even as little as N2,000 can save a life. This insight motivated me to do more in terms of providing free medical care and empowerment through skills acquisition and take off grants. For years, I paid school fees for students, most of whom I never knew. Someone helped to identify them. All I was interested in was ensuring that the school fees were paid without compromise. Salary for life project began with five people and has currently grown to 15. These people receive a token every month to alleviate their financial problems, and they anxiously wait for the month to end so they can rush to the Rev. Father in charge of the distribution.
But I didn’t stop there. Empowering those at the grassroots was very crucial to me and as much as I could, many of them have benefited from my empowerment projects.

Why did you name the foundation Thelema Lion?
When it became necessary to register a foundation, I needed a name that captures my philosophy – doing the will of God – and I was inspired to adopt the Greek word for ‘doing the will of God.” Thelema is all about doing the will of God. That is what I love doing in this world; every other thing is secondary. Through this platform, we have empowered many people.

In 2022, over 200 women were trained on financial literacy and on completion most of them were given financial support to start their businesses. We felt that fund management was also a factor to most women. Irrespective of how little or huge money is, judicious utilisation and accountability remains key for growth. So, before we give them money, we take them through financial literacy training. In addition, they learnt different skills, including mushroom production, product packaging and poultry farming. On completion, we give them money because it is one thing to teach those skills but another thing to empower them to start off what they have learnt, and a good number of them are doing well.

Tell us about the food palliative initiative.
We began the food palliative initiative in 2022 and this has to do with distribution of raw food to the poor, not only at Christmas period, but also during every celebration in the course of the year, including Valentine. To assuage the hunger in the land, we gave food palliative to over 350 households. Over 40 bags of garri, 30 bags of rice, and several other food items were distributed to less-privileged citizens.

The Women Arise Project was recently launched. How has this driven your desire to reach more women?
This is a five-year programme, which began last year, to commemorate the International Day for Women. It is a clarion call on women to arise and enhance their living standards. The project empowers women through business coach and financial support. It is used to encourage financially vulnerable women to be engaged rather than stay idle at home. We use it to highlight some businesses that do not require heavy financial implications. In the Women Arise Project, we don’t just train and empower them financially to start off; we also monitor to ensure they succeed. I believe in the old saying that when you empower a woman, you empower a community. So, it is basically about women and as I said earlier, it is not for self-enrichment.

Experience has revealed the level of women’s vulnerability in Nigeria. How can society bridge the gap between the rich and the poor?
We can actually bridge the gap if we want to because there are lots of financially buoyant people in this country. I had gone on vacation to the U. S. and since I hate idleness, I did a volunteer work briefly with Operation Blessing, an organisation that was operated by an individual. It operates a warehouse stocked with different kinds of food for the less-privileged. I told God that if an individual can do this, I can equally do so if I have that kind of money because that is my calling. So, if someone like that can do that, there are rich people in this country who can do even more if they take empowerment of women and the less-privileged as priority. If they are sceptical about assisting people in the village for fear of the so-called evil people, what about places of worship? Why can’t they assist their poor members to set up small businesses? There are millions of Nigerians that have not tasted bread for months, not to talk of drinking tea. You can even begin with encouraging your gateman’s wife to start petty trading with as little as N25,000 or N30,000. Most of these women are not lazy. So, assisting one or two persons will go a long way in lifting many people out of poverty in the country.

There is a high rate of domestic violence. Do you also think it has to do with poverty?
Yes, to a large extent. Remember the saying that a hungry man is an angry man. It begins with husband and wife not being able to foot their bills. But if the wife can contribute financially towards feeding the family, the rate of violence will reduce. Imagine a situation where a jobless man returns daily to a sleeping wife; what do you expect? But if a woman is contributing in building the home, no man will be mad enough to start hitting someone that is helping in the house. In as much as there are also mean and wicked men, I can tell you categorically that the wife’s success can change that man’s mindset. But it is worse when the woman is not doing anything. So, I sincerely believe that when our women are engaged in self-reliant activities, domestic violence will abate.

What is your advice to many young girls running after Yahoo Yahoo boys for money and comfort?
It all boils down to not doing anything. I remember growing up; my mother was trading in onions and pepper and if I returned with any gift from a friend, she would go to her parents to find out if they were aware of the gift, and also, thank them for the gesture. She never solicited any help from me at that time because I was only schooling.

But when a woman is idle, she watches the daughter prostitute and even brings returns to her and will gladly accept without asking pertinent questions. This is majorly because she failed in her responsibility to provide the basic needs of her children.

My advice to the young girls, particularly those from a humble background, is to engage in skills and avoid greed. Some girls are so greedy that they go out of their way to get what they cannot afford ordinarily. I succeeded in pulling one girl out of the street recently. She was an orphan and a bread winner of her siblings. She accepted to learn a trade and on completion, I supported in getting her a shop and she is currently doing well. Unfortunately, some of these girls going out with Yahoo boys don’t invest their proceeds judiciously, probably because such money does not yield positive result. Sometimes too, they are killed for ritual in the process. But if they are busy with something meaningful, time spent on social media and chances of falling into wrong hands will reduce. Parents should also encourage their children to learn skills during holidays or while waiting for white-collar jobs. Find out their passion early enough and encourage them to use their hands skilfully.

If given the necessary financial support towards empowerment of women, what will you do in the next five years?
My utmost desire is to empower women, and if given the necessary support, I dream of a situation where those I have empowered will call me daily to say how successful they have become. I wish to see women grow financially to give their children the best of training, build houses and buy cars for themselves and above all, empower others. That is where I want to be in the next five years.