By Sunny Ikhioya

EVERY time we witness death, of the type of my bosom friend, David Akiri, of the Delta State University and his immediate younger brother, Ogaga, we begin to question the reason for our existence. Is life really an exercise in futility or it has meaning? If it is a futile exercise, why do we have to go through the whole mad rush; hustling and bustling to seek vanity? If there is meaning to life, an opinion, to which I subscribe to, how do we handle it?

It is clear to me that if all you do in life is to build on the ‘me alone’ philosophy, you are on the path of vanity. We only become true human beings by virtue of our interactions which breed love, which in turn breed procreation, that leads to multiplication. Love is sacrifice – the ability to give a part of you. When you do that, you are helping to create meaning for living. The impact that you make while living determines the relevance or real purpose of our existence on earth. Jesus Christ paid the supreme sacrifice of love, 2014 years after, the purpose of his coming to earth is getting stronger. Simply put: Our purpose of existence is Love- Giving, Sharing and Sacrificing – for each other. If we build on this thinking, we will have a much safer and developed society.

Our privileged brothers are too greedy. Wealth is for sharing; when you invest in people, you are building asset, a light most of us have not connected with. We prefer to allow our money to lie idle in banks all over the world, chasing vanities, rather than invest in people. Our politicians, leaders and tycoons are busy piling up assets like the rich fool in Luke’s gospel. Only a very negligible percentage is exempted; that is why activities of the type of the SALIMO-WITS leadership initiative must be brought to light.

I volunteered to be part of a journey of this non-governmental body to bring change to remote communities that are living in denial.

Right in the middle of the forest between Epe town and the Lekki axis of Lagos State, are clusters of villages – Dongo, Ladeba, Abegede, Idi-ori and many others, serene and unaffected by the hustling and bustling activities going on in other parts of Lagos. You have to cross the atlantic waters with a canoe- type engine boat to get here. You will swerve off the Epe expressway at a point after Bogije, beside Fortis Oil station and drive about three kilometres of bumpy road to a village called Oribanwa, from where you will embark on the boat journey to Dongo, the first of these settlements that you will meet.

The journey was both fascinating and pitiable. Fascinating at the discovery; what comes to mind is the village era of Achebe’s Things Fall Apart and Camara Laye’s African Child. Pitiable in the sense that, amidst the grandeur and splendour of neighbouring Lekki, lies villages so remote from civilisation.

This is where the Salimo Wits Foundation, under the leadership of Mr Dan Ekoko, chose to impact lives. How they established contact with these villages was not made clear to this writer but on the governing board of Salimo Wits are missionary pastors like Owoyemi Emmanuel and Kingsley Ewere. Other members of the board present are Roland Eyetu, Vincent Prosper and youthful Akin Adelakun as secretary.

What these people through Salimo Wits and partners,  Divine Treasures, did for these communities on Friday 11th and Saturday 12th April 2014, will not be forgotten for centuries to come. They laid the foundation for human capital growth, which is a must for any society interested in development.

First, because of the prevalence of drug abuse amongst youth in the various communities, caused by extreme poverty and ignorance, a drug sensitisation training was arranged for them, detailing the dangers inherent in drug misuse and abuse. A trained pharmacist of repute gave the lecture; of course, there was an interpreter who translated the message in the local dialect. This was followed by another lecture “From waste to wealth” delivered by Mr Sunny Ikhioya, a trained sociologist and experienced human capital development expert.

A number of youths volunteered for training in different areas of trade and crafts. Those who chose to further their education were promised free scholarship by the foundation.

The icing on the cake, was the free medical services offered to the communities on Saturday the 12th. Tests were conducted by trained medical personnel and treatment administered. The people were joyful, there was excitement in the air, gifts in the form of books and writing materials were freely given.

According to the president, Mr Dan Ekoko, this is just the beginning as “many Goodluck Jonathans and Barak Obamas will emerge from here”. He further reiterated the determination of the foundation to “becoming a foremost non-government organisation, with the specific of berthing quality change globally, starting with Nigeria social, economic and political arena”.

The beauty of the whole programme is the selflessness of the board: None of them is from these villages. In fact, Mr Ekoko, the president, is an Itsekiri man from Warri, Delta State. The only thing missing in the whole programme was the absence of representatives of government, both Federal and Lagos State. Such a noble gesture deserves their attention and support. It is also a programme that is recommended to all men and women of means in the society, to use their wealth to uplift the less-privileged.

When you invest in the Salimo Wits type of initiative, you are impacting on the world, you are helping to leave the world better than you met it, you are helping to establish a reason for living, a reason for our existence – that of love, sharing and caring for one another.

Sunny Ikhioya, a commentator on national issues, wrote from Lagos.