‘ Our Efforts In Taking Care Of Pediatric Cancer Cases Touches Me The Most’
Multiple Council Chairman, Lions Club International Multiple District 404 Nigeria, Lion Ayobola Samuel's unassuming personality belies his position; until you start a conversation with him. In this interview with TOBI AWODIPE, he sheds light on the Lions Club structure, how his desire to support the less privileged led him to join the club 31 years ago and how he rose to the top position.
Tell us about your position as multiple council chairman, what do you do?
LET me explain the structure of the Lions Club. A Lions Club is headed by a president, next to that is the zone, which is made up of a minimum of five to six clubs and headed by a zone chairperson. Then the number of clubs in one state or part thereof forms what is called a region, which is made up of not less than 10 clubs and headed by a region chairperson. Then you now have a district, which is a collection of not less than 35 clubs and 1,250 members and is headed by a district governor. Lest I forget, a standard Lions Club should have a minimum of 20 members. In a country or geographical area, where you have more than one district, you have a multiple district. The Multiple Council Chairperson is expected to be a past district governor, who now coordinates the sub- districts. So, where you have two or more districts, you have a MCC as coordinator, who makes sure there is a meeting point between the various districts that make up the multiple districts. I supervise all the districts across Nigeria.
How demanding can holding such a position be?
It is very demanding. Supervising district governors leaves you with a lot of responsibilities. It is demanding in terms of time, resources and mental work. For instance, I don't live in Lagos; I'm a member of Ilorin Central Lions Club and I live in Ilorin; but as we speak, I'm in Lagos for a Special Delegates Meeting to ratify a candidate for the position of International Director. We all came from all over Nigeria. The whole of Nigeria constitutes MD 404 ( Multiple District 404); so anytime there is any activity that combines all the districts, be it in Lagos, Abuja, Calabar, Abeokuta, wherever; as Multiple District Council chairperson, I have to be present. Most of the time, I'm on the road covering/ supervising one activity or the other.
How did you get to this enviable position?
Our administrative structure is bottom- up. You have to have served as club president; then zone chairperson; region chairperson, before you can qualify to serve as district governor. It is after serving as a district governor that you can now qualify and aspire to be a multiple chairperson. I joined the club some 31 years ago. Of course, to get elected to such a position, you must have proven your mettle. So, with every sense of modesty, I believe I have shown that I have the capacity to lead. Besides, you must be able to interact freely; in order to get elected, people must know you and know your onions. So once these qualities are met, it becomes relatively easy to climb up the ladder.
Is it true that one must be wealthy before joining the Lions Club, especially because of the projects you embark on?
No, but again, we need to define what it means in terms of endowment to be a Lion. Clearly, you don't need to be a millionaire or billionaire to be a Lion, but there are certain qualities you must possess to be admitted. First, you must have a sustainable means of livelihood. Don't forget that the idea of Lionism is to help the needy; and a needy cannot help the needy. So, you must be gainfully employed, to the extent that you can fend for yourself and have something left, which you can use to assist the less- privileged around you. Number two is to have the heart to share what you have with others. Some people are
multi- billionaires, but to part with resources is difficult.
Is it true that clubs like this gives members network opportunities to grow and attain better job/ appointment opportunities?
If I say we are friends, what are we friends for, if we cannot lend helping hands to each other? Nonetheless, we always tell intending members at the point of interview not to come to the club because of personal benefits, but with a heart of service. Along the line, benefits may come. If you deal in batteries and I need a battery for my car, without doubt, you should be my first point of contact. Same if you're a printer, a medical doctor or any other service you render. So of course, we give our members priority and connect each other when there are opportunities.
You've been Council Chairman for six months; what have you achieved so far?
First, we can only have one MCC in one country, which is myself, although we have six district governors in charge of the six districts. The first activity I embarked upon at the beginning of the Lions Year, was the presentation activities of the district governors, where I also assisted them in raising funds, which they would use in carrying out projects in their various districts. We lost a member last year; he was a past council chairperson; so what we try to do is to insure our members under a welfare scheme, where we get a certain sum from the insurance company, which we share among the deceased's members' family. This same out- gone year, we lost a prominent member, the doyen Lion in Nigeria actually, Pa Akintola Williams. He was the first Nigerian to be a Lion. As an association, we were able to organise a befitting burial service for him in conjunction with his family. This same year, our International President, Dr Patti Hill, visited us in Nigeria with his spouse, and we were able to give him that well- known Nigerian hospitality.
They were here for three days and they took advantage of their visit to see some of the projects embarked upon by Lions here. I have also taken the Nigeria Lions Club to Ghana to participate in the All African Forum; this is where all the Lions in Africa gather to interact and carry out lots of activities. Like every other human organisation, we also have challenges of little misunderstanding; there was a time we had issues between District 404B3 and B4; we successfully met and resolved the issues. We have also successfully had a Special Delegates Meeting, where we endorsed a candidate that'll be presented for the position of International Director at the next International Convention taking place in Melbourne, Australia in June this year. A major slogan of the Lions Club is, ' Wherever there is a need, there is a Lion;' in your 31 years as a Lion, which project have you led or been part of, which resonates with you the most?
Before I answer, let me quickly say that we have what we call Focus Areas. We have eight focus areas including the environment, relieving hunger, sight preservation, youth engagement and pediatric cancer; and I would say it is our efforts in pediatric cancer that has touched me the most. When you have a 5, 6 years old child suffering from cancer, and you know that cancer has no cure; it is very touching.
You were a former Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Youths and Sports, Kwara State; how did that impact on your activities as a Lion?
Normally, your background will always have a role to play in whatever you do. I retired as Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Sports in 2018, but I had served in various other ministries and positions before then. Here, we put youths at the front burner, and that is why we have the youth arm and activities we refer to as the Leos: Leadership, Experience, Opportunities. This is to inculcate in them the heart of service and giving, even before they become gainfully employed. In like manner, as Perm Sec, what we tried to do basically was to find ways to engage our youths - whether through sporting activities, skills acquisition, empowerment and all sorts. Naturally, I tried to introduce this to the association too, to see how we could engage our youths in terms of skills acquisition. In any case, we have a programme known as Lions Quest, dedicated purposely to the upliftment of the youth. Personally, it has been my priority wherever I find myself, to make sure that the interests of our youths are adequately taken care of.
What really inspired you to join the Lions Club?
Back then, my boss in the ministry had been invited as a special guest of honour to their Investiture Ceremony, and he asked me to accompany him. There I saw how enthusiastic they all were about raising funds to help the less privileged, which then aroused a certain feeling in me. And I thought that if people could be so passionate about helping others, why couldn't I be part of that? About Lions Club being perceived as a kind of secret cult; people used to think this, and that is why we meet in hotels and public places and don't meet at night; so that people can have access to us, listen to what is being discussed; just to let people there is nothing secret about us. Let me also use this opportunity to invite public spirited individuals, people of means and sustainable income with the heart to give, to come and join us. Like the Bible says, ' the harvest is plentiful but the hands are few;' in the same manner, the enormity of work to be done is much; so the more the merrier.
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We need to define what it means in terms of endowment to be a Lion. Clearly, you don't need to be a millionaire or billionaire to be a Lion, but there are certain qualities you must possess “to be admitted
How have you juggled your responsibility as the number one Lion with family?
I've been married for 37 years and been a lion for 31 years, which means my family has lived with this way of life for so long. What destabilises the family is when you change your pattern of life suddenly. Besides, all my three children are grown up. Two are married and the last would be getting married soon. My spouse is also a Lion, so she understands everything I do and this way of life.