Dr Kehinde Kadiri is the Head, Department of Mass Communication, University of Ilorin. She is also the founder of The Grassroots Aid Initiative (TGAI), an NGO that provides water facilities to people in rural areas. In this interview by TESTIMONY ISHOLA, she speaks about the fun and challenges that come with being a university teacher and running her non-governmental organisation.
In a society where women are struggling to break through, what is your advice for women?
My advice for women is that they should always believe in themselves. If you don’t believe in yourself, no one will believe in you. You need to work extra hard and be determined. You need to be focused and know what you want. Above all, be very prayerful. Another thing I have learnt over the years is that the kind of companions or friends you keep will determine how far you’ll go. So, you have to surround yourself with people that will motivate you.
Do you have an interest in politics?
Several people have been asking me about my political ambitions, but I am not a politician. I have never been a politician and will never be one. It is not in my DNA. As they say, politics is a very dirty game. I sincerely don’t understand the game. I don’t have any long, medium or short-term political ambitions. It’s not one of the reasons I started The Grassroots Aid Initiative (TGAI).
What motivated you to start TGAI?
It was an idea I picked while teaching Photojournalism in 2016. Before that, I’d gone for my PhD programme in Malaysia, where I became interested in photos. When I came back to Nigeria, I started teaching Photojournalism and the idea grew in me. I was originally taking pictures that I wouldn’t know what to use them for throughout the entirety of the first session. The second session came and I was in my bed when I suddenly thought about taking photos to tell stories.
I started going to rural areas in Kwara State to document their lifestyle, activities and challenges. As time went on, people became interested in what was doing and encouraged me. Then, one day, I documented the challenges people were getting with water in a rural area and someone reached out to me to donate a borehole for the community. Another instance was when someone reached out to pay the fees of a six-year-old who was sent away from school. So, I took it as a calling from God to do more for people in rural communities. That was how TGAI started.
What has your experience been in running the initiative?
Running TGAI has been a bitter-sweet experience. Sometimes, we do things and people don’t appreciate us. There are instances where we have been stoned for trying to help and there are other instances where we have received awards in recognition of what we do. We have made people smile and it makes us happy. Things like that can’t be bought with money. I have come to be grateful for all we can do.
What are the challenges you face in running TGAI?
The projects can get heart-wrenching at times. As I mentioned earlier, some communities can be quite hostile, even if you’re trying to help them. For example, on two different occasions, we pumped our water tanks and they fell off the scaffold and tore apart. We had to buy another one even though we had exhausted our budget. There was another project where both the scaffold and the tank were destroyed. We had to work on it even though we had a deadline to meet and we were able to do it because we were focused. However, it wasn’t easy. I have come to accept that all these challenges and experiences are part of the job.
What achievements have you recorded with TGAI?
One of my greatest achievements that I am proud of is that, since the inception of TGAI in 2017, we have been able to build 20 boreholes in five states in Nigeria: Oyo, Ogun, Osun, Lagos, and Kwara states. Another achievement is that we have gotten several awards, up to 15 of them. The highest of them all was the GaniFawehinmi Award in 2019 and the Young Woman Award of Ogun State in 2021.
If given the chance, what would you like to bring to the notice of the government regarding grassroots areas?
I would like to bring to the notice of the government the fact that rural communities remain one of the untapped zones in Nigeria. It is more or less like the proverbial golden geese that lay golden eggs but still choose to eat crumbs. Rural communities can be seen as an untapped goldmine waiting to be tapped.
If the government can focus on the rural communities, there are several potentials, like agriculture, that could be harnessed. The government can empower them in terms of agricultural knowledge, capital, and the provision of technology to cultivate and process food. This will, in turn, help the economy at large.
I was once opportune to see a woman producing palm oil and it was a very rigorous procedure. I even learnt that, at the end of the day, all they get is peanuts for all their struggles. If there is proper machinery in place, the work will be faster. They will be able to do more, and the cost of production will decrease. This will benefit both rural and urban communities.
What projects are you currently involved in?
TGAI is looking at a few projects before the year runs out. We are interested in communities in Oyo, Ogun, Osun, and Kwara states. However, we have not been able to get one that we will be donating water facilities. The reason for this difficulty is that the communities are not ready for the counterpart funding required and this is causing a hindrance in many communities. Financial constraints have made it hard for us to fund our water projects 100 per cent.
So, we encourage communities to contribute as much as they can as well. It’s also good because if their money is involved, they tend to take care of the projects more.
What do you wish to do but do not have the resources for at the moment?
Right now, we need more money. For example, if we can construct solar panels in the communities we donate water to, there will be no need to get generators and buy fuel weekly. But we can’t afford that.
Also, the team of TGAI needs to be more IT-driven so that we can remotely make evaluations and monitor instead of going there to check. Sometimes, we have to travel far to make sure that everything we have donated is still intact. If we are more IT-driven, we will be able to remotely make these assessments and evaluations before going physically in person.
As a lecturer, as well as the Head of the Department of Mass Communication, how do you combine teaching and TGAI? Does your family support you?
If my family wasn’t supportive of me, I would not be able to achieve anything meaningful. My family is my backbone. Most of these projects can be emotionally exhausting, and physically and mentally draining. So, if I have no family or no one to fall back on, it won’t be possible to go on.
Combining these two, especially as the Head of Department, has been very tough for me. It was easier when I was just a lecturer. Now, I’m mostly swamped with HOD duties and can’t move freely like I could before. Also, I have to think about the security challenges in the country. I can’t just go anywhere with the bad roads and whatnot. I have to pray and think a lot before embarking on any journey.
What are your plans for the rest of the year?
For the rest of the year, we have a few other projects we want to do. We have initiated plans on how to execute water projects. Like I said earlier, we have not chosen a community yet because of the reason I mentioned earlier but we will be announcing the project soon.
What would you like the public to know about TGAI?
I would like to say that TGAI is not just a water NGO. Although a large part of what we do is the donation of water, it is not all we do.
For example, we have built a house for an old woman in Oja, Kwara State. She was living in a dilapidated muddy house that was already falling apart and we were able to build a new house for her in 2017. We have also paid the fees of several students in primary, secondary and tertiary students − about 100 people benefitted from this grant. We also donated school materials to primary and secondary school students in Kwara State. Over 1,300 shoes were also donated to primary school pupils in Osun, Ogun and Kwara states. We have also donated welfare, food and relief materials to various communities.
It was during the COVID-19 period that the NGO repositioned as a water NGO because we realised that water was one of the best weapons to fight the pandemic. We have been able to do a lot in these past years, and we hope that we will be able to do more in the coming years.
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