By Aare Afe Babalola

PHILANTHROPY as a tool for development in Nigeria: Nigeria is at the moment faced with several problems ranging from dilapidating infrastructure in every facet of public life. As stated earlier, no single government can be expected to provide a solution to these problems and more. It is in recognition of this that several well-meaning Nigerians have risen to the challenge and made it a duty to commit their resources to the amelioration of the problems with which their fellow country-men are daily forced to grapple with.

However, no aspect of our national life is more problematic and deserving of urgent attention than Nigeria’s educational sector. Our universities are obviously ill-equipped. Most of the first generation universities in Nigeria still utilise structures built several decades ago at the height of the oil boom in Nigeria. Most of our public universities are universities only in name. However, some Nigerians and corporate entities have by their initiatives demonstrated that they can without necessarily waiting for governmental intervention contribute their quota towards educational development. 

Some of these initiatives have been in the form of scholarships and endowment to outright donation of infrastructure to assist universities. During my tenure as Pro-Chancellor of the University of Lagos, several well-meaning Nigerians made immense contribution to the endowment of the university. This endowment today continues to provide funding for students who but for the existence of the endowment would have had their educational aspirations truncated.

On my part, I founded the Afe Babalola University, Ado-Ekiti with a vision to lead education reform by example. My major motivation was a desire to ensure qualitative educational opportunity to the present generation. When I commenced construction, over 5000 workers were employed by the various contractors. Although construction work has reduced, yet we still employ over 1000 workers daily. The immediate effect on the community was a decrease in crime rate. Persons who out of idleness would have strayed into crime found themselves gainfully employed. The university today is in its 13th year of existence and has been ranked as number one in all Nigeria universities and number 321 in the world by the Times Higher Education Impact Ranking 2022.

Who can be a philanthropist? Let me say straightaway that philanthropy is not restricted to a particular set of people or a particular clime. Everyone who has something worthy of sharing is a potential philanthropist. What this simply translates into is that one does not need to be a millionaire or a billionaire before he qualifies as a philanthropist. The most important requirement or element is the possession of spirit of giving – willingness and readiness to help others in need, especially the poor and the less-privileged. Everybody prays for uncommon favour.

What most do not, however, realise is that they can themselves give uncommon favour to their fellow men. Two men standing side by side in a church may be praying for different things. One may be praying for the success of his multi-million dollar contract bid with a multinational oil company whilst the man praying beside him may simply be asking God for a miracle in the form of his supper that evening or breakfast the following morning. Without a doubt, the former is very well placed to provide the uncommon favour or miracle which the latter seeks. As funny as it sounds, this to my mind is a scenario that plays out often not only in our places of worship but also virtually in every minute of our daily existence.

It is, therefore, imperative that we take it upon ourselves to identify areas where we can contribute meaningfully to the lives of others and in so doing perhaps we might just be giving a miracle. No matter your earnings, you can, as from today start as a small donor by giving only N10 to a person who needs a meal. For the wealthy, it must be said that beyond certain point, money has no real value. It only gives transient happiness but can save many lives or transform many lives.

Alumni of Nigeria universities: Alumni is the plural of the word alumnus. An alumnus is a child which one has nursed. An alumnus could also be a foster child. It is for this reason that one who is educated at a college or seminary is called an alumnus of that college. This definition is of paramount importance to the point I want to make. A university or a college is by reason of the definition above, analogous to a father.

Therefore, teachers are said to stand in-loco-parentis to their students. In most civilised communities, a reasonable and responsible child always cares and supports his parents when he is able. As a matter of fact, parents expect their well-to-do children to bear some of the responsibilities. For the same reason, responsible members of an alumni association all over the world do remember their colleges and contribute to their development, always remembering that they were nurtured to their present status by the said colleges.

I expect the alumni association of a university to have a befitting alumni headquarters which will keep record of members and also communicate news letters annually with all members, informing them of developments in the hospital, including its achievements and problems. The alumni through their contribution can invest deposit accounts in bank or in stocks and other commercial ventures, thereby yielding lot of income to the institution.  

There is no reason why an alumnus should not dedicate a percentage of his income, may be 2½  to 5 per cent, to the institution, just like a responsible child ought to be able to give nothing less than 2½ to 5 per cent to his parents monthly. A classic example of the good that an alumni association can do to its alma mater can be found in the case of Harvard University. Upon my appointment as the Pro-Chancellor of the University of Lagos, I undertook an assessment of the facilities available at the university. I discovered that most of the buildings were dilapidated and that most classrooms were ill-equipped. Based upon my conviction that government alone cannot be expected to fund education, I decided to call on the alumni of the university. I held meetings with them at different centres in the country. I immediately asked for the list of all students who had passed through the institution.  To my surprise, the university did not have such a list.  However, with much effort, we were able to contact several people who had passed through the institution.

Through their contributions we were able to provide some of the facilities needed for the proper impartation of knowledge. Today, the alumni association of University of Lagos has a befitting office. The annual contribution to the development of the institution runs into millions of naira annually. The Harvard endowment is today worth over $50 billion. A large percentage of this is derived from the generosity of the alumni of that great institution. A statement from the Alumni Affairs and Development Office of the Harvard University reads as follows: “Tuition does not represent the actual cost of a Harvard education, but instead covers only a portion of the institution’s expenses. 

A long legacy of alumni generosity toward the endowment has helped to bridged the gap between Harvard’s operational costs and income from tuition. Furthermore, alumni support through immediate-use, unrestricted gifts helps to provide Harvard with the resources it needs to fund our financial aid progamme. With two-thirds of all students receiving financial assistance from some source and with nearly 60 percent receiving need-based institutional grant aid, fund raising continues to be critical. 

Net revenue form tuition has declined in recent years and the financial aid budget has increased to meet Harvard’s commitment.  In FY10, 38 per cent of the financial aid budget was supported by unrestricted funds.  Alumni gifts continue to represent a major source of support for scholarships.”

Conclusion: Philanthropy is rooted in love and compassion. It is of immense benefit not only to the person who practices it but also to the beneficiary and the society at large. Mankind stands to benefit on the long-run from acts of philanthropy. It is said that no man is to himself an island. We are all part of a larger picture. Love is our eternal duty. It is the creed by which we are expected to live our lives and in so doing contribute our quota to humanity.

The rich in our society should imbibe the culture of giving as it appears that the present crop of rich men in our society are rather interested in watching their financial portfolio grow and nothing else matters to them.  C.H. Spurgeon in his book, “John Ploughman’s Talk” stated as follows: “Every man should leave a monument behind him in the recollection of his life by his neighbours.

There’s something very much amiss about a man who is not missed when he dies. A good character is the best tombstone. Those who loved you, and were helped by you, will remember you when forget-me-nots are withered. Carve your name on hearts, and not on marble. So live towards others that they will keep you; memory green when the grass grows on your grave”.