A group of concerned Nigerians took to Twitter yesterday to protest against the controversial Non-Governmental Organisation, NGO regulatory bill which is about to be passed in the House of Representatives, with #StopTheNGOBill.
The controversial bill seeks to set up a federal agency to be known as the NGO Regulatory Commission, to regulate activities of NGO’s and civil society organisations, CSOs, across the country. The bill proposes that NGOs require permission from the Government before they can raise money, spend money and a total restriction on all their activities.
Here’s what the convener of the protest on Twitter, Caleb Somtochukwu Okeke wrote;
“Why are we not talking about the horrible NGO regulation bill about to be passed by the House of Reps?
Perhaps because you think it doesn’t affect you? Perhaps the only thing that comes to your mind when we say NGO is a jobless group of people who give food to smiling children asked to pose for a camera?
I am thankful that we live in a time where the trifling echo of our voices can in some way matter. I am thankful that however marginal our contributions may be, however vacillating our stance to speak, there is a likelihood that we are being listened to anyway.
The NGO regulation bill is one of those things we need to speak against. In this bill, the government would reserve the power to police the activities of all Non Governmental Organizations.
To help you out of your confusion, Non Governmental Organizations include churches, mosques, student associations, August meetings, the sport club you founded with your best friend in your apartment in mushin, Catholic Women Organizations, any organization that’s Non Governmental and of course the generic charity organizations.
Well in our usual hypocrisy the bill is going to exclude religious organizations, but every other institution is at risk.
Why this is crazy is because you’d require permission from the Government before you can raise money, spend money and a total restriction of your activities really.
Would I worry if this was happening in another country? No. There are positive sides to this bill. A startling number of NGO’s have extorted funds and deserve to be answerable to some form of authority.
My grouse here is that this authority cannot be the pot bellied man in Abuja, smacking his teeth in a silly attempt at removing cigarette smoke and disregarding the files of people who have failed to “co-operate.”
It cannot be the lose mouthed government secretary who waves you away and tells you, “Oga is not around, come back tomorrow” day after day as if your entire existence is for shuffling in an out of government offices.
There are people with severe health conditions who rely on the activities of these NGO’s to survive, and the table of an over fed senator in Abuja is not the right place to deliberate life and death.
Scrutiny is good. I believe that sometimes inspection, analysis and accountability does yield good results especially when steered by the right hands.
But I also believe in integrity, transparency, in even handedness, in the awareness that we exist to make another’s journey easier.
I believe in equity, in service, in the infinitesimal actions of kindness and the changes these small deeds can trigger.
But you would not find these qualities in Abuja. Not in that office filled with light, smelling of camphor, a globe spinning on its table and a framed impression of the Coat of Arms hanging on its wall. You would not find it there.”
Here are some tweets;
Credit: Lailasblog
Quincy Jones, a legendary music producer renowned for his collaborations with iconic artists, passed away on November 4, 2024, at the age of 91.
His publicist, Arnold Robinson, confirmed the news. Jones’ family released a heartfelt statement, expressing their grief and celebrating his extraordinary life and enduring legacy.
They said,
“Tonight, with full but broken hearts, we must share the news of our father and brother Quincy Jones’ passing. And although this is an incredible loss for our family, we celebrate the great life that he lived and know there will never be another like him.”
They added, “We take comfort and immense pride in knowing that the love and joy, that were the essence of his being, was shared with the world through all that he created. Through his music and his boundless love, Quincy Jones’s heart will beat for eternity.”
Born in Chicago in 1933, Quincy Jones’s lineage was a complex tapestry of history. His mother descended from slave owners, while his father, half-white, was the son of a Welsh slave master and one of his enslaved women.
Jones’s early exposure to music began at home, where his mother’s singing and a neighbour’s piano ignited his passion. At the tender age of seven, he started learning to play the piano.
Following his parents’ divorce, Jones and his father moved to Washington State. There, he joined his high school band, mastering the drums and various brass instruments.
His musical journey took a significant turn at the age of 14 when he began performing in Seattle bars. A remarkable moment arrived in 1948 when he backed Billie Holiday, sharing the stage with a young Ray Charles.
After a brief stint at Seattle University studying music, Jones ventured to Boston to complete his education. His illustrious career, spanning over seven decades, was marked by groundbreaking collaborations with legendary artists.
He worked alongside Michael Jackson, Frank Sinatra, Ray Charles, and many others. Indeed, one of his most iconic achievements was producing Michael Jackson’s historic album, “Thriller.”
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