‘How we’re empowering indigent students, youths and women’

Okpanachi Yusuf Ocholi, a philanthropist, is the founder of Waves of Success Foundation, a non-governmental organisation that focuses on the educational development of indigent students in the country. In this interview, he shares with SUNDAY EJIKE his views on Nigeria’s educational sector and other national issues. Excerpts:

WHAT motivated you into setting up a non-governmental organisation?

While growing up, I saw the need to lend a helping hand to the underprivileged. I realised that there are parents who cannot pay the tuition fees of their children. So, we decided to talk to some professionals and find a legal way around the issue. That was how we formed the NGO.

What is the vision of Waves of Success Foundation?

We render help to people who are in need. Our focus is on education, health  and sports. We have carried out support projects in Lagos, Enugu and Kogi states. There was a time we did a project in Ajegunle, Lagos, where boys are known for violence. We tried to sensitise them on how to live a peaceful lifestyle and the need to think outside their immediate environment. In Enugu, we had a programme where we visited some schools to share sandals and writing materials to the students.

What is your NGO doing to assist government in addressing the menace of out-of-school children, especially in the northern part of the country?

Based on the figure from the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), we have visited Borno State to intervene. We spoke to the government to allow us intervene. Now, we are stretching our hands to the people we can help.

How has your NGO impacted children, especially at the elementary level?

In 2018, we undertook a project at the Federal University of Lokoja, where we gathered some primary school pupils and secondary school students and organised quiz and debate competitions for them. This was meant to encourage them to take their education seriously. We gave out scholarships to winners of these competitions. The programme was attempted by pulpils/students from different zones in the state and we gave out scholarships to winners from each zone. We also gave out school materials such as bags, books, T-shirts to participants. We spent about N7 million on the project.

The foundation also has a list of people under its scholarship scheme; people whose school fees we are paying. For instance, at the Federal University, Lokoja, we have about 50 students to whom we gave scholarships; ditto with Kogi State University, among others. During the last intervention at the Kogi State University, we were able to reach out to 8,000 students with food and writing materials.

We looked out for those who are in need of financial assistance like school fees and we paid for them, while we placed some on particular stipends on a monthly basis.

How do you identify the people to offer support?

The foundation doesn’t focus on a particular sector, tribe or religion. We are open to everybody. For instance, when we tried to reach out to students who need support in Kogi State, what we did was to access them through a community entry. We sent a message to the various student bodies and also the university management to make known our intentions. We asked them to assist us in getting those who are challenged and are in need of support. We didn’t stop at that. We also did feasibility studies on those whose names were submitted to us to find out how genuine their stories were. Of course, we couldn’t reach out to everyone.

What is the secret of your success?

While I was in Apapa during my school days, I met some people with whom I decided to work. They asked how they could reach Oba of Apapa and I told them I didn’t know him but I knew that of Ajegunle. I took them to his palace and as a result of me being the link between them, they gave me some percentage of whatever agreement they had. At that time, N500 million was a lot of money. That was how I was able to purchase the lands in FESTAC and Lekki, as well as build them. While the building project was going on, we had the off takers who made it easy for us to complete the project.

The secret is of my success is in the fact that: don’t relax; be a leader and not a boss. As long as you carry everyone along and you are awake to your responsibilities, success won’t be far away.

Considering the passage of the ‘Not Too Young to Run Bill,’ and the fact that many youths see you as a role model, are you considering going into politics?

I don’t really like talking about politics. I believe I can help my people without going into politics. This also depends on the pressure from the people. I am human and sometimes one may bow to pressure. I have been hearing that for the past few years, but I feel the present government is doing fine; so, I won’t want to interrupt what the government is doing. That is why I am leading my people off the political office for now.

Insecurity issues in Nigeria are usually blamed on poverty and youth unemployment. What is your take and how do you think we can overcome this?

There is insecurity in every country, but Nigeria’s case is known all over mainly due to the economic downturn. This is nobody’s fault; the climate change is also affecting every other country. However, I think government should encourage the youths more to go into farming. Though governments have been saying they are encouraging the youths but how true is it? These are the questions we need to ask them. In my state, the government is working on empowering the youths because I had discussed with it. I also have my own empowerment programmes too. As we speak, there is an empowerment programme known as Phase of Success, which is coming up this year. Under it, we are going to encourage people, especially the womenfolk, who the society sees as inferior, to understand that they can also achieve as much as men do.

This is the reason why we are making the programme an annual one. We spent about N20 million on it last year. The programme will  also encourage the youths to shun violence and make them realise that we can all achieve more when we embrace peace.

As someone who has passed through an institution of higher learning, looking at the high rate of cultism in our schools today, what is your message to the youths?

My message to the youths who are involved this evil practice is that they should denounce it and embrace peace. There is nothing anyone can achieve with violence. Their parents sent them to school to study, not to join cult and get killed.

How is your foundation assisting government in tackling the corona virus pandemic?

Corona virus pandemic is a global issue and as a concerned citizen, I have ordered for over a million pieces of sanitisers and some temperature scanners, which we will distribute to schools in Kogi State. We are also going to be sensitising people on how to avoid getting infected.

All the projects you are embarking on are capital-intensive. How do you get supports?

We get support from the government, individuals as well as from local and international donors.

Are you doing anything in the area of sports?

There is a football tournament that we organise across the 21 local government areas in Kogi State. We also hope to organise an inter-state competition where a school will qualify to represent each state. The trial version of the national tournament is what we are doing in Kogi State. The tournament will also involve volleyball for female and sprint races.

What would be your advice to people who are also in the position to offer help?

I will encourage them to try to lend a helping hand to people. I have had the opportunity of building a house for an aged couple whose children are not well-doing. We need to learn to lend a helping hand to the underprivileged.

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