Collins Onyenze on his passion for charity

Collins Onyenze, first class scholar, executive director, Good Governance Monitor, and president, Rotary Club of Festac Town, Lagos, speaks on his organisation’s efforts to promote the rights of individuals and shares his views about charity.

By Chuks Oluigbo

When you are scheduled to meet a scholar of Collins Onyenze’s calibre for an interview, your best bet is to equip yourself with the right arsenal or risk being intimidated by his very wide knowledge. So, when I spoke with him on phone last week and he confirmed an interview appointment for 8am on Friday at his Festac Town, Lagos residence, I went into research. But as I sat with him that morning and we had preliminary discussions, it became clear to me there was a lot more I ought to have included in my list of questions if I had all the space. 

Onyenze

Onyenze, the executive director, Good Governance Monitor, a non-governmental organisation that promotes the rights of individuals, studied Political Science at Panjab University, Chandigarh, India, graduating with first class honours, and subsequently obtained a Masters degree in Public Administration from the same university. He later attended Central European University (CEU), Budapest, Hungary, as a George Soros Foundation scholar, and is currently awaiting the defence of his PhD thesis which centres on intra-ethnic conflicts and conflicts resolutions.

Onyenze received training in Peace Building and Good Governance for United Nations’ African Civilian Personnel at the Legon Centre for International Affairs (LECIA), University of Ghana. While at CEU, he also trained in the use of Alternative Media at the Centre for Media Studies in Budapest. A Paul Harris Fellow, he is also the president, Indian Universities Alumni Association of Nigeria, an association of Nigerians who studied and obtained degrees in the various Indian universities. He is a member of Nigeria India Chamber of Commerce and Industry (NICCI) and the CEO of Premier Union Limited, a company involved in outsourcing business of printing.

Looking at his impressive academic records, one would have wished that Onyenze were in an academic environment imparting the knowledge he has acquired over the years to the younger generation. He wishes so too, he says, but thinks he missed the mark at the beginning. “I actually did my one year National Youth Service in an academic environment, in the University of Benin. I would have stayed back there, but then there was an embargo on employment in the universities. At some point I was offered a part-time opportunity, with the hope that my appointment would be regularised in due course, but the lure of Lagos was too much for me. I came to Lagos. So far so good. We thank God for what we have achieved, but looking back, I still feel that that aspect of me is missing,” he says.

His organisation, Good Governance Monitor, was founded in 2006 when he came back from Budapest after the submission of his PhD thesis, he tells me. “It’s about government impacting on the people,” he explains. “It was established within the rights of individuals to enjoy the benefits of government – the right to social benefits, such as quality medical attention, education, such things that are often neglected. We concern ourselves with how government is providing these things. Oftentimes in Africa, most of these things are ignored. People talk about human rights – right to life, freedom of association, and so on, but not the right to safe drinking water, electricity, and other social benefits. When you look around, you discover that some Nigerians do not really feel like citizens because nothing about the government touches their lives, because it is what government provides that makes you a beneficiary of government activities, that makes you feel like a citizen.”

Because the organisation operates more at the intellectual level, contributing to policies and debates that relate to the rights of individuals, such things that may be considered intangible, Onyenze tells me it is not easy to measure their successes. However, he is positive that their contribution in the past eight years has been immense. “After one year of its establishment, we had a coalition of NGOs in Abuja and I was made the chairman. There, we articulated the rights of Nigerians and submitted the document to the government. But oftentimes most of these things do not come to the public sphere. But little by little we make most of these things come true. We strongly believe that someday somebody somewhere will look at what we have done and take it up from there,” he says.

“We have been getting across to governments at all levels – federal, state and local governments. Currently, we have got a letter from Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Hilary Njoya, who is in charge of anti-corruption in Africa, has invited us to join in the campaign to enlighten Nigerians on their rights in the fight against corruption. We believe that as everybody comes from different angles, the impact will continue to filter in. You may not see it happening. It is not like building roads or bridges or other social infrastructure. But we need to do a lot more. We cannot say we have done enough,” he adds.

Passionate about charity, Onyenze joined Rotary International over 10 years ago. He tells me that all his life he has never seen an organisation as organised as Rotary. Today, as president of Rotary Club of Festac Town, Lagos, he says he has articulated, since his investiture last year, the projects that he will execute for the year since Rotary operates a yearly presidency. “And I’m working towards achieving almost all of them because it has to do with sincerity of heart – what you have told people that you would do, are you doing them? We may not be privileged to have all the money promised during the investiture ceremony, but within the resources available to us, we are doing our very best. We are working towards sending two children with hole in the heart for corrective surgery in India; we are purchasing lab equipment for the Daughters of Father Tansi, a congregation of Reverend Sisters who work in rural areas; we organise health talks where we enlighten people on health issues and run free tests to help them know their health status, just to mention these,” he says.

It’s not been very easy, he tells me, but commitment remains a driving force. “Rotary is a voluntary organisation, but once you are in, it becomes mandatory for you to do those things you said you would do,” he explains. “That’s exactly what we are doing. It has been very challenging because it is an organisation where individuals contribute, and we help the communities where we live. We sink boreholes, we train individuals in skill acquisition, because oftentimes you discover that people are idle because they do not have any particular skill that they can hold on to so as to employ themselves.”

He tells me how good it is to be charitable, but adds, however, that charity is best when it is articulated. “That is why I like Rotary. There are many people who want one thing or the other, but you have to look at how you can reach the greatest number of these people. As you move along the road you see many people asking you for one thing or the other, it is good to reach out to them, but if you can do it in a more organised way, it becomes more effective. That’s what we do. For example, we do microcredit. We give small credit to people selling in the market. It doesn’t have to be big money. For instance, if we give N50,000 each to 10 market women, that money will have multiplier effect on the 10 families affected, and many more lives will be touched. It may look small to those in rich areas, but for these struggling families it is a whole lot and it goes a long way,” he says.

“So, my concept of charity is to have a proper organisation to channel it where these things will have greater impact. If you give a beggar N100 today, he will still ask you again when he sees you tomorrow. As it is said, when you give a man fish, he will eat the fish and come back tomorrow to ask for another one, but if you teach him how to fish and give him a fishing net, he will always go back to the stream to catch the fish himself,” he adds.

As a student at Panjab University in India, Onyenze says he was in the sporting team of the university as a boxer. For three years he represented the university in boxing competitions, and his excellent performance in boxing earned him the university’s scholarship. “I studied as a scholarship student at Panjab,” he tells me. “Before I went to India, I had little knowledge of boxing. But somebody saw me and felt I had the height and the build. The university was looking for people to box in the heavyweight, and that was how I was introduced to boxing and I became part of the university’s boxing team. The experience was wonderful and I continue to cherish it.”

One of the things he cherishes about boxing, Onyenze says, is that it teaches the noble act of self-defence. He tells me that he still watches boxing matches, and he knows why some people don’t win challenges, even in Olympics. “You see someone jumping around the ring throwing his hands about, but he is not making the points. They merely throw jabs and miss the punches. A punch is different from a jab. A punch is counted but a jab is not. Aggressiveness of the boxer is also a factor of success in boxing,” he says.

Sharing on his boxing icons, Onyenze first mentions the legendary Mohammed Ali. “Everybody will tell you that Ali was a very successful boxer,” he says. “I also admire Mike Tyson. He has a small body, but his punches come right from his stomach, that is why he can bring down a mighty iroko with a single punch. Evander Holyfield, I love his resilience. I watched Dick Tiger and I think he too was a very good boxer. But today, not much of challenge is going on.”

A man of many parts, Onyenze was also part of Nollywood’s little beginnings, featuring in movies like ‘Nneka the Pretty Serpent’, ‘Tycoon’, ‘Black Arrow’, and a number of others. Looking back, he agrees that Nollywood has come a long way from what it used to be. “When we started, our concentration was on the stories. But along the way, attention shifted more to the commercial value of the movies. Glamour came in too. Moviemakers began to showcase the beautiful aspects of Nigeria, which the world also wants to see. Of course, it’s driven by commerce – an investor needs to recoup his investment and make profit. If you write the best scripts and they are not selling, Nollywood will collapse. So, I think so far, there is progress. Nollywood is now a megabucks industry, continuously selling the good image of Nigeria abroad. But we need to do more,” he says.

A jolly good fellow, Onyenze says he likes to relax with friends. “You know, in Rotary, we also share fellowship with one another in a lighter mood. I also engage in sporting activities. I have some gym equipment in my house where I work out. I also jog within the house. I play table tennis almost every day. And at the Indian Universities Alumni Association of Nigeria, we come together to relate and share,” he says.

In his spare moments, he also watches football. But does he support any club? “I won’t really say I support any club,” he replies, “but I have sympathy for Arsenal, basically because I have been to their arena. I feel good about their successes and feel bad about their failings.”