Opinions & Letters

The meef Sokoto founder, Engr. Mustapha Mohammed being interviewed by a local news group………

DT: Tell us your name and what you do for a living, please.

Meef: My name is Mustapha Mohammed; I am a mechanical engineer working with a company located in Lagos.

DT: You are young, are you married or still looking?

Meef: I’ve actually found one a long time ago and we already have 1 boy and 2 beautiful daughters. Oh! The boy is handsome too before I get accused of favoring the girls over the boy.

DT: How did you become interested in providing selfless service to the community?

Meef: I basically cannot tell you why because I don’t know it. But I believe, being the child of a poor family living in my father’s remote village in Bodinga local Government with no basic necessities of life and then relocated to the urban slum of Sokoto when I was growing up has contributed to my love for the poors and the less privileges with the desire to help them earn for themselves and be at least economically independent.

DT: How did you get educated being from the ‘’downtrodden’’ if you may permit me to say that?

Meef: It’s ok and that’s the best word, you are just saying the truth and I loved it. Well, my educational carrier was difficult and painful because at some points my parents could not provide anything for me to sponsor the education but I surely have their moral support and encouragement. And that kept me going.
School life wasn’t easy when you cannot afford to buy even a pen, not to think of a beautiful shirt or food to eat. I have extremely suffered all indices of poverty in the course of my educational carrier. My elder brother with all my younger ones gave-up the schooling and I was the only one in a family of 11 children who kept going. Despite these odds I kept my 2nd position in class from secondary 3 to the end. I persevered, Alhamdulillah.

DT: Many people believe that when they suffered in life and latter get respite from their suffering example being rich latter in life from poverty will make them to be people who wants to hold onto their wealth and not to share because they suffered to get it, why are you different?

Meef: First, I am not rich but I thank God as I am better from where I used to be and far better than many of my friends, neighbors, family members etc who are unfortunately still suffering these indices of poverty.

Secondly, that idea of people wanting to hold on to their wealth, I think is a wrong practice but I don’t dispute that people don’t do it and actually that is why in one of my workshops I called on the well-do-to ones to help those in need even if through interest free loans.

Thirdly let me say that I will get no satisfaction in life, peace & even security if my people, the downtrodden are still suffering the lack of the most basic necessities of life. I grew-up as a poor kid and fully knowledgeable on the suffering, desperations and hunger the poor kids and families feel.

DT: Is that why you created the meef foundation, tell us about it and to what extent would you like to take it?

Meef: Absolutely. The meef Sokoto foundation is a foundation for the grassroots, for the poors, for the less privileges & for the youth of Sokoto state with the aim of trying to help them to help themselves so that they could be economically independent & self-reliant.

When they become economically independent they could then improve the quality of their lives and be free from the clutches of poverty to some extent. This is actually the same as the Millennium Development Goals planned to be achieved by 2015.

DT: What extent would you like to take it?

Meef: First I started this foundation as far back as 2000 or there about and the community rallied behind it because of its success. Latter, I expanded its scope, got volunteers and we named it ‘’Kungiyar Attayi’’ using the local language.

The programmes further expanded and now here we are, it has gone IT and we re-named it as Mustapha Economic Empowerment Foundation’’ but the old ‘’Kunkiyar Attayi’’ still exist because we would like to make it another independent foundation.

DT: What are your challenges?

Meef: The greatest challenge I have at the moment is lack of enough funding. There are more poors, more problems, more difficulties in the community and the help I am trying to provide is becoming more and more insufficient and the positive impact in the life of the people is hardly seen due to the high demand of help. Every single amount of money spent since this foundation started came from me alone and……..

DT: What about donations you received?

Meef: I have never received any contribution or donations from anyone, government, local or international bodies and that is really straining my efforts. But I believe in perseverance and we shall over come it. I cannot ignore a hungry daughter having to sleep with an empty stomach when I can afford to help her with at least the meal of that day.

DT: Have you sought for donations but couldn’t get?

Meef: Yes we have, with-in the rich ones of the community but they mostly like to hold-on to their wealth but not to the government and other donor agencies. I am still working out plans towards it and one of the plans is the creation of this website which is now international then the registrations exercises and official launching of the foundation by a high dignitary.

DT: What are your fears?

Meef: Because I cared to help those in need? Ah! I have no fear and I am proud of what I am doing, I work in a company which has inculcated the best practice in me where love and caring for one another are some of the shared values of the company. And because I believed it, practice it for many years, it has stayed in me and I cannot do but to always care to one another.

DT: What are your calls to the government and the people of Sokoto state?

Meef: First, I call on our Sokoto state government to encourage the empowerment of our women by establishing clear legislative frameworks for protecting the rights of women. This should be with advocacy and education to challenge our deep-rooted cultural norms and practices which underlie gender discrimination.

Second, the government should absorb those few empowered to serve as role model to others by increasing the numbers of women in the policy making of the state.

Third, the government should provides targeted support to the male & female entrepreneurs, of the state managing small and micro-enterprises to enable them to expand into the formal sector; creating investment funds which will promote peace and progress to the entire people of Sokoto state.