NGOism: The Non-Republic of Perpetual Poverty

The headquarters of the Institute for Sustainable Dependency stood majestically on a hill near Accra, overlooking the very slums whose photographs adorned its well-formatted annual reports.

It was a magnificent monument to humanitarian concern. Money was certainly not an issue in decorating the well-apportioned edifice. Italian marble greeted visitors at the entrance. The receptionist smiled from behind a desk carved from imported oak. Three huge Land Cruisers, each capable of crossing the Sahara without stopping for fuel, waited patiently outside to transport officials to workshops on “community resilience” held in five-star hotels.

On the wall hung a gigantic banner announcing the organization’s motto: “Ending Poverty… One Conference at a Time.”

The building glowed with prosperity. Battling poverty, one quickly discovered, requires excellent offices.

After navigating three biometric scanners and signing a visitors’ register thicker than the Constitution of Ghana, I was ushered into the office of Dr. Prosper Benefactor, President of the Institute.

His office overlooked a sprawling informal settlement.

“I prefer this view,” he smiled broadly, revealing perfect Ewe dental work. I was impressed. He continued, “It keeps me connected to the beneficiaries.”

Good afternoon, Doctor.
Good afternoon.
Magnificent office. I nearly asked the receptionist what the room rates were.

We believe development deserves a dignified working environment.

Indeed. Looking around, one wonders whether poverty has been abolished inside this building while remaining politely outside the gate.

Very amusing.
Thank you. I’ve been practicing. Tell me, how many people work in your organization?

Nationally, about four hundred. Here in the headquarters, we’re thirty-six.

Excellent. And how many farmers have you helped establish factories?

Factories?
Yes. Places where things are made.
We don’t really manufacture things. We are not into manufacturing, per se.

No?
No. We facilitate capacity-building.
Is that what factories are called nowadays?
Not exactly.
Forgive me. I’m an old-fashioned fellow. I still imagine that development involves producing more than just paper reports.

We produce knowledge.
Splendid. Can I fry one of your pieces of knowledge for breakfast?

Development is more nuanced than that.
So is hunger. Yet hunger has the unfortunate habit of demanding food instead of nuance.

The President of the ISD adjusted his silk tie.

“You journalists, even the developmental journalists, always misunderstand development.”

“I hope to be corrected. That’s why I’m here,” I replied.

“We empower communities.”
“Excellent. By building factories?”

“No.”
“Power stations?”
“No.”
“Steel mills?”
“No.”
“Irrigation systems?”
“Sometimes.”
“Or do you build airplane factories?”

The President laughed uproariously.
“You Africans always think only industrialization is the answer.”

I almost dropped my notebook.
“Forgive me, Doctor. Was it not industrialization that transformed Britain from a damp island into an empire? Was it not manufacturing that lifted Japan after Hiroshima, and was it not engineering that turned South Korea from one of the poorest countries in Asia into an industrial powerhouse?”

“Those are different contexts.”
“They always are.”
My eyes roamed at the enormous bookshelf behind him.

Every volume seemed devoted to words ending in -isation.

Operationalisation.
Sensitisation.
Stakeholderisation.
Gender mainstreamisation.
Institutional harmonization.
I searched in vain for one titled How to Build a Machine. There wasn’t one.

“Doctor,” I asked, “how many workshops has your Institute organized?”

He sat back in his massive desk, “Oops, that’s a tough one. I can’t give you the figure off the top of my head. More than a thousand, I’d say.”

“And has it ended poverty?”
“Unfortunately, poverty remains a stubborn challenge.”

“So, you’d say that your workshops multiply faster than prosperity?”

“You oversimplify, Sir!”
“I apologize. Let me complicate matters.”

I leaned forward, locking eyes with the Director. “Graham Hancock once argued in Lords of Poverty that parts of the international aid system had become self-perpetuating. His thesis was that too often success was measured by the continuation of aid programs rather than by making them unnecessary. Does that observation make you uncomfortable?”

The Director smiled diplomatically, “We don’t dwell on criticism. We actually welcome it”

“I noticed.”
“We focus on partnerships.”
“With whom?”
“The Donors Community.”
“And the poor?”
“They are stakeholders.”
“I see.”
“The donors provide the funds. The poor provide the photographs. Africans continue to adorn UN Pamphlets on Hunger.

He frowned. “That is grossly unfair.”

“Perhaps. But your annual reports do contain many photographs of poor Africans. It’s like selling poverty porn.”

“They inspire generosity.”
“They certainly do.”
“And hope.”
“For whom?”
Silence.
“Doctor,” I continued, “Europe first arrived with missionaries carrying Bibles, then merchants carrying contracts, then governors carrying flags, then bankers carrying loans, then consultants carrying PowerPoint presentations. Five centuries later Africa still waits for the next delegation promising transformation. At what point does the continent ask whether salvation might be found less in another conference and more in another foundry?”

The President shifted uneasily. “Development is a partnership.”

“So is dancing. Yet eventually one learns to stand on one’s own feet.”

Outside, one of the gleaming Land Cruisers purred into life.

Its destination was loudly emblazoned on a banner: A luxury coastal resort hosting a symposium entitled: ‘Reducing Carbon Footprints Through International Air Travel.’

I closed my notebook.
Development, I reflected, had become the only industry in which the product was the continuation of the industry itself.

As we try to point out on this blog: Africa does not need fewer friends; it needs fewer incentives that reward dependency. It needs more engineers than proposal writers, more machinists than workshop facilitators, more laboratories than conference halls, more export factories than donor forums, and more confidence in its own productive genius than in the next well-funded mission from abroad.

The surest path out of poverty in Africa is not an endless procession of donor projects but the hard, unglamorous work of Africans building productive economies, educating scientists and engineers, strengthening accountable public institutions, encouraging entrepreneurship, and ensuring that Africans themselves finance and shape Africa’s future.

That may not generate as many glossy reports, but it is far more likely to generate indigenous prosperity.

©️ Ọdọ́fin Fẹ̀mi Akọ̀mọ̀‌làfẹ̀ (1st Dan, Ọdọ́fin I of Kasoa)

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