This ongoing NGO regulatory commission bill kerfuffle

In a democracy, the importance of a Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO) can’t be over-emphasized. Over the years, across many countries, NGOs have formed the fulcrum for complimenting government in actualizing social needs. They have also helped governments to stay rooted and focused on providing proper governance, especially in emerging economies, where some have been known to act as pressure groups. Most NGOs get their funding from foreign donors, after they must have satisfied certain criteria, as stipulated by such donors.

NGOs exist across the third world. It is difficult to find an African country where an NGO does not exist. According to data available from the World Association of Non-Governmental Organisations, WANGO, West Africa alone has almost the number of NGOs as the rest of Africa combined, with Nigeria having about one thousand two hundred and sixty NGOs registered with the Nigerian Network of NGOs (NNNGO). There are thousands more that are not in the NNNGO’s database. This probably gives an indication of how important (or lucrative) the work of NGOs is. This is one reason why the sector should not be left as a killing field. It requires some regulation.

Lately, there has been controversy surrounding a bill being considered by the National Assembly in Nigeria for this regulation. Different opinions, for and against, have been shared. From former ministers, to currently serving legislators, with social media voices weighing in on both sides.

Some, like me, have thrown support behind the bill as a means of sanitizing the space, albeit with some modifications, this has always been my position. Others have asked that it be jettisoned completely, with claims that it is an attempt at stifling dissent. Opposition is welcome. But some others like Femi Fani-Kayode and Chidi Odinakalu have dragged a dangerous religious dimension to it, which is disturbing and shows levels of desperation. All in a bid to gain advantage in the heated debated.

I shall make an attempt to discuss why I support the bill here.

Regulation of Non-Governmental Organisations is not a new thing. There is a need to have a framework in place that stipulates how organisations of that kind should run. Without regulation, there is the risk of abuse, which is already being witnessed in Nigeria amongst some NGOs.

The NGO ecosystem in Nigeria is not a house of saints. There are many NGOs abusing the whole essence of why they were set up, there are many others who are fraught with corruption. Stories of NGOs who get funding and misappropriate same, where the owners build mansions and buy luxury cars, are rife. Donors have been known to pull out and stop funding as a result of this, thereby depriving sectors of society that need the funding of such. It even goes further to embarrass the country and make future donors weary. As some people say in Nigeria “NGO na racket”.

Certain activists have put forward the argument that NGOs are accountable only to donors, so it is nobody business if funds are embezzled or not. Well, I disagree. In the end, it is Nigeria that is labelled a country of heartless, corrupt people.

Others have said that their fear is that they don’t trust the motives of the National Assembly. Well, that is not a tenable reason for asking that the legislature should not do its constitutional job of making laws.

I am aware of an NGO in Abuja currently enmeshed in a potentially messy legal tussle. Records of the NGO at the CAC show it is registered as a consulting company. The NGO has received billions of naira from a top donor agency to date. This is one out of hundreds of NGOs that are just “daily bread” for their owners. The sector needs some regulation.
There is also the potential for some NGOs to be conduits for laundered money and funds to finance crime and even terror. The argument that NGOs self regulate is not enough. If they have been self regulating at all, then they have not done a thorough job of it.

Just so we know we are not alone, there are instances of NGO regulation in the United States, Ghana, Kenya, India, Rwanda, Ethiopia, Uganda, South Africa, Mozambique, Senegal, Tanzania, e.t.c. So anyone saying there is no need for regulation for NGOs is not aware of what is going on globally.

Some of the points raised by the people in opposition to the bill have merits, like the concerns over the governance structure planned for the regulatory commission. These points deserve to be considered and trashed out. The fact that a document of law might have clauses that raise points of disagreement is not debatable. So the NGO Regulatory Commission bill is by no means a perfect piece of proposed law. That is why it is still a draft bill. This is where public hearings and sincere, non-alarmist dialogue come in.

Let us take for example Rwanda, where a proposed law regulating NGO activities also raised eyebrows. There were issues around registration, the period of validity of registration, de-registration, etc. Constant dialogue resolved it to everybody’s satisfaction and the final bill is now waiting to be signed into law by the President.

So rather that deploying underhand tactics like attempting to whip up dangerous, very unnecessary religious sentiments, which provides fillip to people like the former aviation minister who seems to always be in the mood for bloodshed propelled by religious crisis, NGOs and CSOs should organize themselves, articulate their concerns about the bill clause by clause, and present them in a manner fitting of NGOs/CSO, and employ means to lobby their case. At least there exist members of the Senate who are in opposition to the bill and members of the House of Representatives who have shown they are willing to receive positions during the public hearing for the bill.

This is the way to go. NGOs/CSOs are supposed to be beacons of civilised discourse, devoid of heating up the whole place. One thing is certain, the industry needs sanitization, and somebody has to take the bull by the horn.

Henry Okelue is a techie and social commentator. He writes from Abuja.