Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) have been around in Nigeria since independence. Over the years, the country has birthed hundreds of them with genuine intentions and good reports to show. But lately, the NGO landscape has become a charade with many fake organisations being championed by some individuals to attract local and international grants. In some cases, the NGOs have also become tools with which a few individuals are throwing spanner in the works of governments and promising business organisations. Some opinion writers have linked the proliferation of NGOs in Nigeria to the failure of the states to provide specific services and opportunity for citizens and the constant need to bridge the noticeable gaps. I beg to disagree.
Yes, governments at various levels have failed in some areas, but it is incumbent on responsible citizens to think out of the box on how to join hands with their leaders to solve problems, not to aggravate them. A situation where some Nigerians form themselves into groups and allow others to use them to kill the economy is not in the interest of anyone. Again, one cannot rule out the excesses of some companies, but the way to correct them is not to launch attacks that will wreck the economy. There are records of how a few responsible companies have been taken to the cleaners simply because some individuals believed they deserved personal gains.
From banking to aviation, telecommunications to manufacturing and so on, faceless organisations have sprung up from time to time on the bill of a few moneybags to de-market promising brands. The latest theatre is the tobacco industry where some people have become overnight anti-tobacco fighters in the name of NGOs. Against all the good reasons for the existence of NGOs, these groups appear to have overstretched their luck in attempts to sponsor campaign of calumny against tobacco manufacturing companies. In planning and execution, their approaches are purely against international laws and standards.
Take, for instance, the interpretation given to the provision in the Tobacco Control Act (TCA) which recommends that there should be a Tobacco Control Unit desk in the Ministry of Health to be manned by a staff of the ministry. As I write, that desk is manned by someone from an NGO. It is fundamentally wrong for an NGO to use taxpayers’ resources to run its activities.
But there are other recent examples that buttress the insincerity of many NGOs in the country. A few years ago there was a clash between two big brewers in the country over market control in some locations in Lagos, especially Oluwole Estate in Ogba and National Theatre premises in Iganmu. Suddenly, out of the blues appeared an unknown NGO to campaign for one of the warring parties. After that saga, nothing has been heard about the organisation. In the end, it was discovered that it was hired by one of the companies to fight dirty.
Recently also, a national commissioner and member of the Information and Voter Education Committee at INEC, Mohammed Haruna, while briefing journalists after a meeting of the leadership of the commission, alleged that an NGO identified as West African Network of Election Observers, made up of retired INEC officials, was used to bribe INEC staff to influence the outcome of the 2015 general elections.
In the case of tobacco, it is a known fact that tobacco control advocacy is a heavily-funded activity, hence an extremely attractive venture for many anti-tobacco lobbyists. While majority of the stakeholders involved in tobacco control policies agree that industry regulation is extremely important, the success recorded in the tobacco control debate over the past decade is often at variance. In some instance, studies have shown that tobacco consumption, especially in the western world, has decreased and focus has now shifted to the developing world. In other studies, it has been found that tobacco smuggling has negated the effects of tobacco control policies. Even more frightening is the fact that tobacco smuggling is controlled by those who perpetrate acts of terror.
While the whole world waits eagerly for solutions to the perceived tobacco scourge, it has been proven without a shadow of doubt that industries like tobacco and alcohol are part of the solution and not outside of it. But anti-tobacco lobbyists adopt smear campaigns, believing that the uglier the industry looks the more difficult it is for them to operate.
Indeed, it appears the issue of tobacco control has suddenly been hijacked from government by some individuals and organizations for selfish interests. Much as we all know that anti-tobacco campaign is a global issue, Nigeria’s version appears too confrontational and combative with no focus on the very people they need to protect – the young ones. Among others, the campaign for immediate imposition of a minimum of 150 percent special levies on all tobacco products is unimaginable, just as the call that tobacco should be totally excluded from grants and other government incentives.
The tactics of the anti-tobacco lobbyists negates the intent, motives and expected outcomes from their campaigns. The lack of depth of their seemingly spurious media allegations underscores the amount of funding which is often at their beck and call.
One of the main funders of the anti-tobacco lobbyists says a particular recipient of the donations got a total of $657,960 (about N100 million) between September 2007 and November 2009 meant for “a consolidated campaign for passage of FCTC Implementation Bill”. In August 2007, the same organisation got $32,225 (or N5.2 million), and in the period 2010-2012, it received a total of $297,456 (or N47.6 million) for the same purpose. This perhaps explains why NGOs are falling over one another to add their voice.
The time has come for Nigeria to rise up and challenge the source of funding of these organizations. As things are, it appears the NGOs in Nigeria have tactically ignored the World Health Organisation (WHO) Framework Convention on Tobacco Control treaty, which was adopted over a decade ago “to protect present and future generations from the devastating health, social, environmental and economic consequences of tobacco consumption and exposure to tobacco smoke”.
Given the prominent role of NGOs in shaping and influencing government policies, it is therefore necessary at this stage of our national development to provide direction when it seems they are not getting it right. On their part, government and its agencies should be cautious in their relationship with NGOs. Before giving attention to some organizations, it may be necessary to first scrutinize their profiles and know the motive behind their moves.
JOSEPH ANYEBE
Anyebe, a public affairs analyst, writes from Lokoja, Kogi State.
