Wealth is gift from God for the good of humanity, but not all the wealthy deploy their God-given resources for the good of mankind. But Chief Johnmary Anagolu, the CEO of E & C Logistics Limited, the Eze-sinachi 1 na Olo, in collaboration with his wife, the co-founder, Mrs. Azuka Anagolu, has displayed various acts of charity, benevolence and philanthropy to the less privileged, organizations, and agencies of government through Chudyvindo Foundation. CYRIACUS NNAJI writes.
Chudyvindo Foundation is a Non Governmental Organization (NGO) that provides aid and assistance to the most needy, disseminate timely and useful information. It also has as vision, a world of hope, tolerance, social justice where poverty has been overcome and all persons have the opportunity to achieve their fullest potentials.
“We seek for a world without poverty, development that works, and providing quality care efficiently and effectively for individuals and families.” That is the mission statement.
The mission and vision statements of Chudyvindo Foundation encapsulate in their entirety the activities of the NGO, having come into existence about five years ago. Indeed Chudyvindo has touched and transformed the lives of Nigerians in various ways especially at a time the Coronavirus, baptized Covid-19, pandemic is ravaging the world.
Chudyvindo has made donations of facemasks, temperature check,and hand gloves to Lagos State Police Command, they were received by the State PPRO, DSP Bala Elkana. The group said that most retired Military officers, police, civil servants reside in their environs. It has also made Free Distribution of Facemask in Apapa Wharf with Forwarder Ndubuisi Uzoegbo NAGAFF Chairman.
Chudyvindo also makes House to house food provision to residents of Ojo LGA, its operational base, a priority.
At the heat of the total lockdown of the nation occasioned by the pandemic, Chudyvindo distributed face masks worth millions of Naira to Police and security personnel at various checkpoints from Lagos to Enugu State and from Enugu State back to Lagos in that order.
When the lockdown was cripplingly biting hard, a poor widow was accused of stealing a pot of hot jollof rice being cooked by her neighbour and shared it among her starving children. The woman escaped death by the whiskers, but when Chudyvindo learn of the sad event, the NGO in their usual magnanimity made a donation of food items to the widow and her household, and as such brought smiles to the family once again.
The Chairman of Chudyvindo in his private logistics business has touched many lives giving employment to hundreds of Nigerians who obviously are bread winners in their various homes.
While speaking through their Founder, when Chudyvindo Foundation on Saturday, April 4, 2020, distributed food items and protective materials against Coronavirus to residents of Ojo area of Lagos State, Mr. Johnmary Anagolu, posited that Ojo has more number of low income earners owing to the unaffordable lifestyle in the area. He disclosed that for over five years, he and his wife, Mrs. Azuka Anagolu, have dedicated their lives to empowering the youths and providing for the poor. He said most motherless homes in Lagos State get packages from them every month.
He said they decided to distribute the food items to make sure that it gets to the hand of the right people. According to him “You know that this is a trying period for all Nigerians, and the government. The government is working hard to combat the Covid-19 pandemic, but we must look for a way to assist them. The prices of food items have risen outrageously since the lock down order. So we decided to distribute the items in an organized way with security agents present, but what we saw was heart-breaking. People rushed out from everywhere around the community just to receive food. We are doing this from our own effort and out of our goodwill”.
Anagolu also spoke on what the government should do with billions that are being contributed as a result of the Coronavirus “For the donation going to the government it is good, but my fear is that those donations may not get to the poor masses. Any donation anybody wants to do should be allocated to the poor masses. Giving to the government is very good, I welcome the idea, but for us we can’t afford to donate 20 billion, it is out of our little business we just have to make available the little we are offering today. Anybody making any donation should go to the street to see the way people are suffering and find a way to help them.”
Yusuf Eniola one of the beneficiaries of Anagolu’s goodwill said that the foundation always remembers the community. He lampooned the government for not remembering them.“What Easy Way (Anagolu’s company) is doing is not new to us. Last Christmas he was here to share us food. Valentine day he came too. Easy Way is helping us a lot in Ojo. When the government came what they gave us was six loaves of bread and 6 bags of rice. We could not even share it, because we don’t know how to share it. But look at what Easy Way is doing we have rice, gari, beans, hand sanitizer, and nose covers. God will bless Easy Way for us”.
Another beneficiary, Mrs. Eunice Alonge said: “God will bless the man. God bless Chudyvindo. The government is not helping us. They gave us two weeks to stay at home without considering what we will be eating.”
Recently, Johnmarry Anagolu, donated protective gears against Coronavirus virus to the Executive Chairman of Ojo local government area, Hon {Alhaji) Rasulu Olushola Idowu.
The act of benevolence and magnanimity shown by the philanthropist was centred on combating the dreadful virus in Nigeria, and providing food for the poor. He used the opportunity to bring the predicaments of the people of Ojo to the Council Chairman. He urged the Chairman to solicit the state government to urgently look into the un-motorable state of all the roads leading to Alaba and the hardship it posed to the traders.
Showing his appreciation, The Executive Chairman, Hon. Idowu, thanked Chief Anagolu for providing those items for them to curtail the menace even at this time community spread is on the high side.
He also used the occasion to also thank and appreciate the importer’s best friend for all their supports to the needy and the vulnerable at the peak of the lockdown. He commended him for their love and generosity in always giving back to humanity, saying that their visit to the local government was the first of its kind since the era of this pandemic.
With other elders present at the donation, prayer of blessings were showered on Chief Anagolu, while encouraging him not to be weary in touching lives.
During the pandemic, Anagolu was also at the wharf, in company of Executive chairman of Apapa chapter, National Association of Government Approved Freight Forwarders (NAGAFF), Forwarder Ndubuisi Uzoegbo, to distribute relief materials and protective items against Coronavirus to workers at the Apapa Port in Lagos State.
Mr. Anagolu posited that the Custom Officers on duty were trying and doing their best irrespective of the Coronavirus pandemic. He lamented that carrying out transaction for clearing has remained their major challenge because most banks are not working.
