A large number of Nigeria’s wealthiest business leaders who pledged more than $400 million last year to support victims of terrorist attacks in Nigeria are yet to redeem their pledges.

Last August, Goodluck Jonathan, Nigeria’s immediate past President, launched the Victims Support Fund, an initiative aimed at providing financial and material relief for individuals who had lost their livelihood as a result of insurgency in Nigeria over the last few years. Jonathan promptly inaugurated the Victims Support Funds Committee and appointed several leading business moguls such as Nigeria’s richest woman Folorunsho Alakija and multi-millionaires Mohammed Indimi and Abdulsamad Rabiu to the board. Oil tycoon General Theophilus Danjuma was appointed as the chairman of the Committee.

During the launch ceremony of the Fund on Thursday, July 31, 2014, Jonathan hosted a glamorous fundraising dinner at the Presidential Villa in Abuja. The event was televised live by NTA. At the dinner, Jonathan, who personally served as the Master of Ceremony, invited many prominent business people to make their pledges public. Many of them pledged huge sums of money: Theophilus Danjuma, $10 million; Africa’s richest man Aliko Dangote, N1 billion; Jim Ovia, N1 billion; Tony Elumelu, N2.5 billion; Mike Adenuga, N1 billion; Wale Tinubu, N1 billion; Arthur Eze, $5 million; Mohammed Ndimi, $5 million; Kabiru Rabiu, N500 million; Dahiru Mangal N500 million; and Folorunsho Alakija, N500 million. In all, a total of N58.79 billion was realised that night – far in excess of the initial target of N50 billion by N8.79 billion.

However, almost one year after the event, only Danjuma and Elumelu have completely redeemed their pledges and did so last year.

A few of the ultra high networth Individuals who pledged huge sums have partially redeemed their pledges while most of them are yet to even make a first installment. Less than a quarter of the pledged funds have been redeemed so far.

“Apart from the TY Danjuma Foundation that has given us $10 million, none of the others who made pledges have completely fulfilled them. And now that Jonathan is out of power, there’s no one to hold them accountable if they refuse to pay up. This is not President Buhari’s project, so we don’t know if he’s going to follow-up with them and make them pay,” the source said.

•Adapted from a forbes.com report. Photo shows Dangote.

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