July 9, 2002
There is an obvious proliferation of Non-Governmental Organisations in the country. The rate at which such organisations are springing up is quite alarming. . It is unfortunate though to note that the activities of some of these NGOs are fast leaning towards sycophancy unlike what they used to be. There is of course a growing distrust by members of the public as regards their real intention. How does one for example explain the intense mortality among the NGOs in the country?
A lot of reasons have been advanced as being responsible for this high mortality rate. One of it being that most of the NGOs operating in the country are ill-conceived and ineffectively managed. So, what makes an effective NGO? How is it conceived and operated? Does the society really need these NGOs? These are pertinent questions that need answers. And these are the questions that Midwives of Change: A Manual for the Effective Operation of an NGO by Georgiana Ngeri-Nwagha seeks to answer. And coming at a time like this and from no less a personality than an officer of an organisation like the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), the book cannot but be taken serious. There is no doubt that NGOs are playing an increasingly active role in the nation's development process. And it is hardly debatable that numerous indigenous NGOs have made significant contributions as catalysts of development in areas such as healthcare, water supply, education, nutrition, skill acquisition, eco-safety, road safety, among others. While some have made their impact felt in intangible developmental areas like, advocacy, awareness campaign, community empowerment, promotion of civil liberties, human rights defense and advocacy, among others with the help of international donor agencies.
NGOs have come to stay or so it seems. They are essential ingredient in any developmental process. And as the author notes, "NGOs have become an important constituency for the activities of development aid agencies." Governments around the world, aid agencies, the United Nations and other bilateral agencies work mostly through international and local NGOs to reach their target, especially relief to crisis areas, because they are considered to be generally more efficient than government in rendering emergency relief assistance and even in the implementation of developmental projects.
These roles have placed the NGOs at a pedestal that they have assumed the role of catalysts of development worldwide. The author notes that "NGOs have a vital role in promoting sustainable national development and in bringing much need assistance to the less privileged and the marginalised population."
According to her, the concept of NGOs as civil society organisations operating as intermediaries between donor agencies and communities is a fairly recent development in the country. However, she pointed out that the trend became increasingly pronounced in the past two decades adding that before the advent of these NGOs, development at the grassroots was mostly spearheaded by Community-Based Organisations (CBOs),which as she notes, "were organised along ethnic, kin or communal lines."
With the increasing pluralism in the polity occasioned by the recently created democratic climate, numerous NGOs are emerging on the scene in all the nooks and crannies of the nation. Regrettably however, the author observes that notwithstanding their enthusiasm and good intentions, "the majority of indigenous NGOs face a number of challenges in their quest to operate as catalysts of sustainable development." She identifies some of these challenges to include: clear conceptualization of their mission, effective organnisational and administrative structure, management and resource mobilisation capabilities, networking and coalition building, among others.
These are issues that fired the creative pulse that produced this Midwives of Change: A Manual for the Effective Operation of an NGO which is not just a manual, but a Do-it-Yourself treatise for existing NGOs, those that are still in the incubating stage and individuals conceiving the idea of an NGO, donor and aid agencies, governments and the general public.
In four chapters, the book provides the reader with a wealth of knowledge on what is an NGO, steps to be considered in setting up one, how to effectively operate an NGO, relationships between NGOs and donor/aid agencies and NGOs and governments at all levels, among others.
Chapter one defines an NGO as "a private, voluntary, non-profit organisation that is established for service, religious charitable or welfare purposes by some members of civil society." It also provides alternative terms used to describe NGOs in the development literature and the differences between CBOs and NGOs. More importantly, it gives the characteristics of NGOs to include the following, not-for-profit, no-governmental, non-political, voluntary, possesses a constitution, has a legal framework, has a plan of action, has a contact address and an evidence of financial accountability among others. In addition, it tells the reader who can set up an NGO and ideas that can motivate the setting up of one.
Chapter two prescribes steps that can be adopted in the process of setting up an NGO. They include, (1) an area of focus which whether, broad or narrow, must be anchored on what motivated the move to set up the NGO in the first place; (2) a name by which the organisation must be known and addressed; (3) a constitution setting out the framework for the operation of the NGO and; (4) must be duly registered by the appropriate authorities.
Chapter three entitled, "Operationalising an NGO or Making your NGO Work" reads more like a Do-it-Yourself manual. It provides insights into the establishment and administration of a successful NGO. It touches every aspect involved in the effective running of an NGO from the perspectives of its administrative and management structure, effective programme implementation, resource mobilisation and capacity building. More importantly, it treated the issue of resource mobilisation exhaustively, because, according to the author, very little can be done to operationalise an NGO without the resources particularly, financial, human and other resources. For her, the philosophy behind resource mobilisation approach is that "the Right Project (one which addresses needs and results in real benefits), presented to the Right People (those identified by research and personal knowledge as being most likely to respond), using the Right Approach (a professional and well-planned method) will always get a response."
Chapter four is an expose on NGO/Donor and NGO/Government relations. It offers some very important points to note when fostering an effective NGO/donor relationships as follows: familiarity with the mandate and operational modalities of donor agencies, adherence to the approved project proposal, adoption of a participatory approach in the project implementation strategy, accountability, and monitoring and regular feedback among others. For NGO/government relations it notes bureaucratic bottlenecks as some of the factors to watch out for while fostering relations with government agencies.
The book also provides footnotes for further readings and annexes, a bibliography on NGO resource materials and an index all providing additional information on the state of NGOs in the country.
This book, to use the words of the Minister of Information and National Orientation, Prof. Jerry Gana in the foreword to the book, "could not have come at a better time than when there is an upsurge in the number of NGOs springing up in Nigeria and in other parts of the world." Readers will find it very useful, especially those that are conceiving the idea of setting up an NGO or existing NGOs that are finding it difficult to operate.
However, subsequent editions could do with better editing to cut down on the typographical and structural errors in the book.
More Information on Credibility and Legitimacy of NGOs
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