The United Nations leverages Oando and other companies influence to raise awareness and funds for humanitarian crisis in the North-East

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The private sector and the country at large are gradually awakening to one of the world’s worst humanitarian crisis in Northern Nigeria brought about by Boko Haram insurgents. In the words of Governor Kashim Shettima of Borno state; “For those of us that are the elites in this nation, it is in our enlightened interest to make things right. It is projected that by 2050 Nigeria will be the third most populous nation on earth, with a population of about 440 million people; and 70% of Nigerians will live in Northern Nigeria. We can continue to view the Boko Haram crisis as child’s play; in addition to deforestation, endemic poverty, desertification, and illiteracy, a perfect storm that will make things difficult for all of us, or we can all work together to do something about it.” Governor Shettima made this statement at the recently concluded private sector tour of IDP camps in Borno State, led by the Secretary of the United Nations (UN) Nigerian Humanitarian Fund- Private Sector Initiative (NHF-PSI), Adewale Tinubu, Group Chief Executive of Oando PLC.

 

 

Boko Haram which means “Western Education is Forbidden”, came to the limelight in December 2003 when they attacked several police stations in Yobe state, near the Niger border. Since then their attacks have grown in length and breadth leaving over 7.1 million people in need of humanitarian assistance in 2019 in the worst affected states of Borno, Adamawa and Yobe.  The severity of the humanitarian crisis and growing need for humanitarian assistance led to the creation of the Nigerian Humanitarian Fund (NHF) by the United Nations in 2017. The body to date, have raised $83 million in contributions and pledges, thanks to the generous support of donor countries; Sweden, Germany, the Netherlands, Denmark, Belgium, Norway, Ireland, Switzerland, the Republic of Korea, Iceland, Canada, Spain, Luxembourg, the Arab Gulf Program for Development, Malta, Azerbaijan and Sri Lanka. The NHF provides an opportunity for donor countries to pool their contributions to deliver a stronger collective response based on the realization that the Government of Nigeria cannot fight this battle alone.

 

 

 

To amplify humanitarian assistance, the UN NHF-PSI initiative was launched in November 2018 at the Oando Wings Event Space.  The NHF-PSI is a groundbreaking global initiative and a first for the UN, that will see the private sector join donor countries in pooling donations and resources together to create a more collaborative and effective response to the ongoing humanitarian crisis in North-east Nigeria.  The NHF-PSI is made up of fourteen leading private sector companies in different sectors of the economy. Setting the pace for the oil and gas industry is indigenous leader, Oando PLC, whose GCE serves as the Secretary of the Steering Group of NHF-PSI as well as Seplat Petroleum. In the banking sector, Zenith Bank, Eco Bank, First Bank and Access Bank have keyed into the project with the Chairman of Zenith Bank, Jim Ovia, serving as Co-Chair of the Steering Group. In the FMCG sector you have the likes of Nestle and Unilever, other companies include the Nigeria Economic Summit Group (NESG) whose past chairman Kyari Bukar is also a Co-Chair of the Steering Group, and Templars Law, who have all elected to ‘Invest in Humanity’ as NHF-PSI founder donors and act as advocates proactively raising awareness of the plight of Nigerians in the North-east. The NHF-PSI is founded on the premise that Nigeria’s private sector not only cares profoundly for its nation’s most vulnerable, but also possesses the vision, resources and natural problem-solving ability to reduce it on an unprecedented scale if harnessed into collective action.

 

Since the start of the Boko Haram crisis, innocent civilians are bearing the brunt of a conflict that has led to widespread forced displacement, abuse, and human rights violations, including disappearances, rape and other forms of sexual violence. More than 27,000 people have been killed in the three North-eastern states, and thousands of women and girls abducted, notable among these, the abduction of 276 female students of Government Secondary School in the town of Chibok in Borno State, some of whom are still in captivity to date. One in four IDPs are under the age of five, and of the 1.8 million IDPs 80 percent are women and children. An estimated 823,000 people remain in areas that are currently not accessible by international humanitarian actors.

 

 

To assess the situation firsthand, on May 14, 2019, the GCE of Oando led a delegation that included Herbert Wigwe, Managing Director of Access Bank and Kyari Bukar to a first ever collective tour of two IDP camps in Maiduguri, Borno. Also a part of the tour and representing the United Nations were Edward Kallon, United Nations Humanitarian Coordinator for Nigeria and Edem Wosornu, Director, Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA). The objectives of the tour was also to raise awareness of the plight of the millions of people in the North-east, and more directly galvanize a new wave of donor support for the initiative from businesses and individuals across the country.  In addition to visiting the IDP camps the delegation also paid a courtesy visit to the Governor.

 

 

Making remarks Wale Tinubu said; “This initiative is about Nigerians helping each other. Today, I have witnessed some of the most vulnerable people; women and children in the direst circumstances. Having seen the magnitude of their humanitarian needs it is obvious that it is not a task that the Government or any one agency can take on alone. Now more than ever there is a global realisation that collaboration, convening and cooperation are the only path to creating the society we desire. The realisation that no one person, group or authority has all the answers, but we achieve so much more when we explore ways of combining forces, innovating and  working together. We as private sector leaders, have a collective responsibility to lend our diverse resources to alleviate the suffering of our fellow Nigerians. The onus is on us to use our position to repair, nurture, build and sustain our society and pave a path for a truly inclusive economy.”

 

 

 

Humanitarians on ground were quick to highlight the surmounting challenges they face in the IDP camps which include overpopulation, poor drainage, insufficient and inadequate infrastructure, lack of water, lack of medical supplies and social services and most importantly limited shelter.

 

 

“The humanitarian community has been working tirelessly to provide shelter, food, health care and other basic needs for families who have been left with little or nothing. To see directors of banks and energy companies show compassion for the mothers and fathers, daughters and sons affected by this crisis brings a new beacon of hope for people who have endured so much. Together with the leading business minds in Nigeria, there is so much more we can do, for Nigeria’s most vulnerable people,” said Edward Kallon, United Nations Humanitarian Coordinator for Nigeria.

 

The food security and nutrition situation remains extremely fragile across the North-east. More than one million children aged six to 59 months across the North-east states are acutely malnourished. Some 230,000 pregnant and breastfeeding women are also acutely malnourished, placing their lives and those of the unborn and breastfeeding children at risk.

 

 

Speaking at the press conference at Governor’s House, Hebert Wigwe buttressed Wale Tinubu’s point by saying: “We cannot keep looking for donor funded agencies from other countries to come and solve our problems. It is important to note that what is happening in the North-east can spiral to other parts of the country, so we need to do what is required to stop it. Each time the private sector in Nigeria has stepped up to do something we have always succeeded. You can count on us that we will raise the money and continue to work with and support you to end this crisis. We know the Government cannot do it alone, we will support the Government.”

 

 

At the press conference Governor Shettima also explained that a lack of education has contributed immensely to the Boko Haram crisis and to poverty in general. He said: “I am glad that people of our generation are working to address these needs and I want to ask you sirs to help us in education. With your support we can address our short term needs but what about our medium to long term needs? Without education the future is very bleak. Africa missed the agricultural age, we missed the industrial age, we are in the knowledge driven – post-industrial age. We need to be proactive, we need to take the interests of people at heart and we need to act fast. I am very passionate about girl child education. As the popular saying goes; if you educate a boy you educate an individual but if you educate a girl you educate a nation. Through education you can empower a girl to take decisions that affect her life, decisions that relate to marriage and child bearing, unfortunately today she’s powerless. These young men that we have abandoned, in 20 years’ time where will they be? There will be a point in time that this will consume all of us, so whether we like it or not we owe it to humanity to act now.”

 

Wale Tinubu went on further to encourage all corporates not just the 14 companies that currently make up the NHF-PSI and individuals alike to join the fight to put an end to the humanitarian crisis. He said; “Philanthropy is at the heart of everybody in Nigeria. It is a societal norm, practiced in all families, there’s no reason why corporates and individuals should not be able to step into the fray to do what is necessary to alleviate this situation.” He went on further to explain that the other CEOs and members of the NHF-PSI would also be coming to assess the situation as well.

 

 

Mr. Kyari Bukar, past chairman, NESG and co-chair NHF-PSI, further echoed the comments of the Governor and other CEOs. He said; “What we are witnessing here is a humanitarian disaster of a magnitude that is unexplainable. But with corporate Nigeria stepping up, not only in terms of financial commitment but also offering creative solutions to these unique problems, I strongly believe that this partnership with the UN as well as other humanitarian entities will hopefully tackle this crisis.”

 

 

Governor Shettima had glowing remarks for the two CEOs especially – Wale Tinubu and Hebert Wigwe. He explained that Wale and Herbert are men of integrity, “Anybody can stumble unto money but character and integrity is what really counts.”  He said he was glad that the private sector is at the core of driving this cause and in the UN they have a partner who has integrity and are committed to making things work.

 

When asked about the significance of the NHF-PSI initiative, Edward Kallon said; “This is a first of its kind globally, to actually get the private sector to work hand-in hand with the UN and other partners including the Government of Nigeria. To me this is an intervention that can set the pace for future collaboration between the private sector and United Nations and other partners to actually support humanity in times of difficulties and that difficulty is why the CEOs are here today. Our people are trying to make a living under very difficult conditions. And what we expect from the private sector is to work with us, help us advocate, bring in their best practices, technologies that could help us provide good services to this African population.”

 

 

In his closing remarks, Governor Shettina said; “We have a duty to humanity, we have a duty to posterity, we have a duty to our people.” His remarks take a cue from Nelson Mandela’s quote “Overcoming poverty is not a task of charity, it is an act of justice. Like slavery and apartheid, poverty is not natural. It is man-made and can be overcome and eradicated by the actions of human beings. Sometimes it falls on a generation to be great. You can be that great generation. Let your greatness blossom.” This call to action applies to not just the private sector but every individual who can in one way or the other invest in humanity because this is Nigeria for Nigerians and Nigerians for Nigeria.


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