As the founder of Triune Foundation, you are into philanthropic activities. What do you consider as the spur and reward of philanthropy in a society?
In the first place, everybody, particularly the rich citizens, should have the desire to promote the welfare of other people, your fellow countrymen, your neighbours, particularly those that are in dire need of some basic things to help their struggle for survival. I believe that this is part of the message in the popular advice in the Christians cycle and generally that you should to be your brother’s keeper. What spurs me on to engage in philanthropic activities is my fervent believe that giving is a great service to humanity. I am also motivated by my belief that giving is more rewarding than receiving. Charity is very good. When you give, you feel good. When God asks you to love your neighbour, part of what He expects you to do to show the love is to give to those in need. It benefits us to live in God’s way. Let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth. Giving is rewarding because the more you give, the bigger your “happiness muscle” gets, and the easier it is to make yourself feel happy. It is, however, important to remember that giving to someone in need doesn’t just make you a generous person, it also makes the recipient a grateful person. When you give, you don’t just give money, you give breathing room. You give people in need the ability to exhale, relax, and reorient to find a way to pick themselves up.
One study published in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology found that people who have received generosity are more likely to be generous in return. But that’s not the case in the Triune Foundation that I founded, we derive joy in giving to people in need.
What do you think should be the focus/priority areas of philanthropic bodies in Nigeria at this time?
Education is the most prominent area of philanthropic activities in all regions across the world. A lot of things are happening in our country today that make many people vulnerable to one unpleasant situation or the other. Look at the insurgency in the northern part of Nigeria that has led to displacement of millions of people, including children of school age. Nigeria is now being reported as one of the countries with the largest population of out-of-school children. When children, the youths who are regarded as the leaders of tomorrow cannot go to school today, you can imagine the type of tomorrow that this country is likely to have. Education is very crucial to national development. For one reason or the other, many children in other parts of the country are also out of school while university education is suffering frequent crisis with regard to the disagreement between the Federal Government and university teachers and workers. Therefore, how to ensure that Nigerian children and youths become educated, to avoid the consequences of ignorance on the society in future, should be one of the areas to focus at this time by philanthropic bodies, particularly in terms of providing necessary support, including funding, for indigent and vulnerable students. It is also good to focus on the health of the people. A healthy population will produce a productive workforce, which will by extension produce a progressive nation. With the astronomical rise in the price of goods and services, many Nigerians cannot afford standard medical treatment of their ailments. The poverty level is rising, disposable income is reducing and unemployment rate is alarming. It can be very dangerous for some people to fall sick now because of inability to afford the cost of treatment. They need help and they ought to be assisted. At a time like this too, there is need to provide mentoring, counseling, economic and social empowerment for the needy to mitigate the effects of the hardships in the country. Another job that the situation in the country has made crucial for philanthropic organisations is the need to dissuade our youths from indulging in criminal activities because of the high unemployment rate. Everyday, there are reports of ritual killings linked to youths who want to become wealthy without and identifiable job at hand. Many of them have become ‘Yahoo boys’ suddenly becoming rich without any work. Dignity of labour is one of the values that are being eroded here. If this is allowed to continue, the consequences may be great for this country. Advocacy to tackle this social menace could also be a focus of any civil society group.
Do you think we have enough groups and individuals assisting the needy in Nigeria today?
We have more than enough groups and individual assisting the needy in Nigeria. The nonprofit sector in Nigeria has been increasingly active in charitable causes. Through the years, charity has progressed from individual charitable acts of helping the poor to more organised philanthropy, such as corporate social responsibility and individual families. Even church leaders are using foundations and other nonprofit groups to contribute their resources toward addressing social problems. Some are motivated by deep interest in solving societal problems, especially in alleviating poverty and provision of free education and healthcare while others are creating a family legacy in philanthropic gestures. Yet, to the best of my knowledge, Nigeria needs more philanthropy than before to really alleviate the suffering of our people and consequently reduce crime rate.
What specifically motivated you to found Triune Foundation and how has it impacted on the wellbeing of people in this country?
It is the belief that God expects us to be our brother’s keepers. He directs me to love my neighbour as myself, so when I have the opportunity of eating three wraps of biscuits, I have a responsibility to make sure that my neighbour who has no wrap of biscuit is not starved to death. If many of us take up this responsibility, Nigeria will be a better place for us all. Triune foundation has impacted on the well being of our people through various projects, including the 5000 litres of industrial borehole donated to Abule Egba community and sponsored by Dr. Siju Iluyomade, the founder of Arise Women Foundation; distribution of books to primary and secondary schools in Lagos, Ogun, Osun and Ondo states; distribution of food items to residents of Makoko, Abule-Egba in Lagos, and donation of food items provided by Kewalram Chenrai Group and Rotary Club of Lagos Island to residents of Ode-Irele in Ondo State. In the area of health, we sponsored a medical team to provide COVID-19 awareness to residents of Abule-Egba in Lagos and also vaccinate them. In the area of education, Magnificent Choice Services participated in renovation of Kings College, Lagos library in honour of Pastor Ituah Ighodalo. Other sponsors of the project are Trinity House and SIAO. Besides, we conduct mentoring for people free of charge. We also host yearly international Christian leadership colloquium. The truth is that, there is no time that you won’t have people and groups swho need assistance in either this or that area. The situation is not peculiar to any particular area, region, state or zone. The non-profit organisations in each area try to alleviate the suffering of people in the area. Those with bigger resources will extend their services far beyond their immediate location. Some can even go national. If all of us will do something to help those in need, we will be building a stronger society.
What advice do you have for Nigerians with regard to the plight of the poor people among them?
I appeal to wealthy Nigerians, corporate organisations, cream De lacream in the society to please assist the less privileged within and outside their domains so that our society will not be polarised by children of the less privileged in areas of health and education. Let us feed the vulnerable, provide free health care, provide potable water and distribute other essential materials that government alone cannot provide for them now.
