By Aminu Mohammed
Going by the vision and commitment of NCC-LIT, and provided the rest political parties of Nigeria would make similar commitments to the nation building lead of NCC-LIT, the 2023 elections could be a lot more peaceful, endearing, uniting and memorable for Nigerians than generally feared and expected.
This is because NCC-LIT, a national and global political movement which acronym stands for Nigeria Cannot Continue Like This (pronounced NCC-LIGHT), has spent the last quarter putting finishing frame to a major, pace-setting and heart warming event throughout the country that would involve the participation of all agreeable political parties, leadership and masses of Nigeria’s major religions, Christianity and Islam, compassionate Diaspora, the corporate world and diplomatic community of Nigeria.
This involves a novel, all-Nigeria music artistes and foreign collabs holding nationwide the biggest ever social-conscience concerts in Africa which have been christened “We’ve Not Forgotten You (WENFOY)” charity concerts. The concerts are being framed together to raise sharper national and global awareness, funding support and compassion for the harrowing plights of Nigeria’s terrorism displaced refugees throughout the country.
According to the Global Coordinator of NCC-LIT, a veteran journalist of 38 years standing, Evangelist Comrade Tony Akeni, the WENFOY Concerts, with the operative slogan “Working out an Excellent Nigeria for Ours & Yours,” therefore wearing the same acronym, is designed to bring the country together in unity of peace and appeal against terrorism, social-economically disruptive herder-indigene disputes and violent agitations of various kinds.
According to NCC-LIT’s planning officials, the expected proceeds of the concerts from well-meaning Nigerians, private and public sectors, Diaspora, local and international community donors shall be scrupulously administered by an independent Board of Trustees comprising nationally renowned Christian and Muslim faith leaders, observer-representatives of the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR), the performing music artistes themselves and other reputable stakeholders drawn strictly from outside the political movement.
To guarantee integrity and transparency, NCC-LIT says it is this widely respected board of Nigerians and international community personages of unimpeachable character who shall scrupulously administer the charity funds and sundry aid from the concerts to Nigeria’s IDP camp, orphans and widows of Nigeria soldiers, police and sundry security personnel killed in active service in the frontlines of Nigeria’s 12years war against terrorism.
The reach of succour from expected donations and proceeds of the WENFOY concerts is all-embracing and a breath of good news for virtually all categories of refugees in Nigeria.
According to NCC-LIT’s coordinator Comrade Akeni, “Through the project we hope to attract sustainable compassion, practical help and long-term relief-to-reintegration needs for all of the three main categories of internally displaced victims of terror and violence. These are refugees of IDP camps set up within Nigeria, terrorism uprooted refugees of Nigeria origin still trapped and marooned in distressful conditions outside Nigeria, for instance on the fringe lands of Chad Republic bordering Nigeria’s North-East states and the rapidly growing in-camp childbirth populations of both categories.
Finally, the concerts’ charity intervention proceeds shall also cover victims in old refugee zones such as the displaced and landless Bakassi people of southern Nigeria who have been vastly neglected or under-assisted by successive federal and state governments since their plights began with the ceding of their lands and ancestry to Cameroun in August 2008.
Measures to guarantee public confidence in transparency & accountability of donor proceeds
The NCC-LIT organizers and coordinators of the concerts assured that strict and credible modalities for honest, disbursement and distribution in cash/kind of proceeds of WENFOY Charity Concerts to the designated IDP camp beneficiaries.
According to NCC-LIT, these include a 7-man Board of Trustees & Signatory Mandates. The board shall operate a single Joint Bank Account to be opened for all proceeds of the concerts and donations nationwide.
The Trustees/Signatories shall comprise the following seven categories of citizens. (i) A major nationally renowned Muslim Cleric based in Abuja, FCT.
(ii) A major nationally renowned Christian General Overseer based in Abuja, FCT.
(iii) A major nationally known participating Music Artiste based in or his/her Appointed Representative based in Abuja FCT.
(iv) A major nationally known participating Nollywood Actor/Actress based in or appointing a Representative based in Abuja, FCT.
(v) A senior Representive of the United Nations High Commission on Refugees (UNHCR).
(vi) A major recognized participating Nigeria Diaspora Representative participating in the Project or his/her Appointed Representative based in Abuja, FCT.
(vii) A Designated NCC-LIT Coordinator for the project.
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