…LSM: Adding prolific feminine touch to high-impact philanthropy
A twin Catholic organisation well-known for its charitable work in modern-day Nigeria is the Knights of St. Mulumba (KSM) and its feminine arm – Ladies of St. Mulumba (LSM). A Catholic family fraternal service organisation whose main goal is to protect and promote the Catholic faith through education, charity, and service. Their Lagos Metropolitan Councils are, especially renowned for exceptional support for the Church, vulnerable members of society and the less privileged.
At a time when the country is grappling with multidimensional poverty, KSM and LSM of this topnotch metro council have shifted gears to maximise the impact of their various humanitarian efforts. The broad spectrum of inclusive humanitarian activities they engaged in, deservedly earned them the honour of being joint winners of The Catholic Herald Centenary Humanitarian Award. One of the cardinal values of the Order of the Knights of St. Mulumba is “being sensitive to the needs of the poor and giving succour to the destitute, the disadvantaged and the oppressed in society.”
As far as possible, KSM Lagos Metropolitan Council has lived up to these objectives, as reflected by its range of humanitarian activities targeting society’s needy, vulnerable and less privileged. At the same time, it also fulfils its core duty of promoting spirituality and supporting the Church’s growth. The KSM Lagos Metro Council, founded on November 26, 1994, currently has 2,200 members in 32 Sub-Councils across the Lagos Archdiocese, covering Lagos and Ogun states.
It has always been blessed with vibrant, spirit-directed and purpose-driven leadership, which in the past included Metropolitan Grand Knights (MGK): Sir Robert A. M. Ozuzu (1994-1995); Sir E. J. Onyia (1995-1998); Sir Ben E.Nwazojie (1998-1999); Sir John C. Egri-Okwaji (1999-2007); Sir Patrick Ikemefuna (2007- 2013); Sir (Dr.) Charles Mbelede (2013-2018); and Sir William Adebisi (2018-2021). Under its present leader, Sir Don Ezeh (the eighth MGK elected in October 2021), KSM Lagos Metro has redoubled its drive, which has seen the rapid expansion of membership with the intake of an average of 250 members every year; and such growth has been channelled to broaden and deepen the scope of its humanitarian works. As the MGK, Sir Don Ezeh came into the position with 27 years of experience in top business management in the Shell Group.
As well, he also had handy experience in a number of high-level positions in the Order of the Knights of St. Mulumba Nigeria over the past 12 years, including as Metropolitan Secretary, Lagos Metro (2012-2017) and Deputy Metropolitan Grand Knight, Lagos Metro (2017-2021). Little surprise then that the Council under him has added impetus to its drive and scaled up its activities with new impact programmes. In line with the KSM traditional values, his leadership emphasises discipline, growth, innovation, strong support for the Catholic Church and Clergy, and empathy for the needy and the less privileged in our society.
This is manifest in the demonstration of support, with N20 million, for the John Mary Vianney Home for Priests project at St. Agnes Maryland, as well as strong financial support for The Passionist Sisters of St. Paul of the Cross, Festac Town, in October 2023. Aside from taking up the sponsorship of the Annual World Press Conference of the Archbishop on his birthday, KSM Lagos Metro has also been a pillar of support for the Anthony Cardinal Okogie Foundation’s fund-raising activities in past years. A service it is continuing this year as host of the foundation’s 2024 lecture and fundraising on October 10.
The KSM Lagos Metro Council annually provides funding for the training of priests of the Archdiocese, sometimes sponsoring as many as three ordained priests. In the larger society, KSM Lagos Metro supports the funding of education for brilliant, but needy and less-privileged young men and women at various educational institutions in Nigeria. The leadership’s strong commitment to its objectives has ensured a steady flow of individual and collective charity by Knights of St. Mulumba to the Church. As a result, the council has been able to attend to the emerging needs of the Church, the clergy and communities. For instance, in the KSM Year September 2022-August 2023, the Lagos Metropolitan Council spent N451.6 million on various charity activities.
The leadership of Sir Don Ezeh took the Lagos Metropolitan Council’s charity to greater heights with two major projects. The first of these projects is the ‘Feed the Hungry’; charity exercise launched on March 26, 2022, six months after his election as MGK. The novel idea, conceived as a quarterly programme, mobilised the vast humanitarian network of KSM and LSM to precipitate donations of foodstuffs, especially the common staples of rice, beans, yams, pasta and noodles, as well as vegetable oil, palm oil and tomatoes, among others. Donated materials were subsequently and simultaneously distributed to an estimated 7,500 needy persons across the Lagos Archdiocese-in Lagos and Ogun states.
In retrospect, it is a high-impact humanitarian programme, against the backdrop of the sharp deterioration of the national economy of Nigeria, the debilitating inflation and the consequent hardship and hunger that have ravaged citizens since the last quarter of 2023. Speaking about the novel programme at the Church of the Transfiguration, VGC, Lekki, Lagos, Sir Don Ezeh disclosed: “I drew inspiration from the injunction of Christ Our Lord Himself in the Gospel of Matthew 25:35, enjoining us all to feed the poor and the hungry.” The second impact project, a medical mission, debuted on May 1, 2024, at the Catholic Church of Pentecost Parish grounds, Ilasan, Jakande Estate, Lekki, Lagos.
The exercise, unlike any of its kind, featured 10 medical doctors, pharmacists, optometrists and professional nurses who worked in collaboration with the Family Health Initiative (FHI) and the Thomas John Prostate Foundation, to provide free screening, consultations and treatment. Over 8, 000 children, men and women, received medical services that included, checking of vital signs, blood tests (for blood sugar, hepatitis B and C, and HIV), cervical cancer screening for women aged 35 to 55 years, prostate-specific antigen tests for men, free eye tests, and deworming for children and adults. Beneficiaries were also given quality drugs and over 100 free reading glasses.
In total, KSM Lagos Metro Council spent over N6 million on the project. The two humanitarian activities came at a time when Nigerians were facing unprecedented hardship. Just like its male counterpart, the Ladies of the Order of Knights of St. Mulumba Nigeria, have also been up and doing in the past year.
As wives of Knights of St. Mulumba, they support their spouses through humanitarian services within and outside the Church. Despite the worsening situation in the country, their support remains unflagging for the homeless, the sick, widows, vulnerable children, youths and women all over the country. Like KSM Lagos Metro, LSM Lagos Metropolitan Council also enjoys the benefit of strong and committed presidents, since its inception, including Lady Victoria Uzoigwe (2007-2013); Lady Monica Eigbe (2013-2019); and Lady (Dr.) Ify Mbelede (2019- 2022).
Under its current President, Lady Juliet Damian-Osuigwe, a retired banking professional turned top-notch caterer and renowned giver, the Council has deepened its tradition of charity despite the country’s challenging economic matrices. It leverages its vast network, across the 32 Sub-Councils and over one hundred zones, in various communities of both states, to continuously provide food aid, health care, education and clothing to the needy while also supporting parishes’ activities.
In the year 2023, LSM Lagos Metro Council spent N142,889,552 on charity-that speaks volumes about the commitment of its members, under an exemplary leader with the reputation of a top giver. Overall, the Lagos Metro Councils of KSM and LSM have been beacons of hope to a long list of beneficiaries: The sick in hospitals; widows, disabled, inmates of correctional centres and the elderly in society; the poor, through periodic programmes like Christmas charity, Advent charity and Lenten charity; and indigent children, who are addressed through educational charity, among others.
They have been a vital support system for Church projects and priests in the areas of sponsorship of seminarians and reverend sisters; donations to parishes, monasteries, convents and seminaries; and building homes for priests. In the larger society, they provide basic needs like water for communities, food for the hungry and care for the elderly, especially those in old people’s homes. When all their efforts are summed up, the Lagos Metropolitan Council have been steadfast to the fulfillment of the goals of the Order of KSM and LSM.
In recognition of the remarkable transformation they have brought to humanitarian services in Nigeria’s South West region (particularly, across Lagos and Ogun states), The Catholic Herald Board of Editors voted for KSM and LSM as joint winners of its Centenary Humanitarian Award. The Board of Editors recognises the effort of their respective Metropolitan Grand Knight and Metropolitan President in sustaining the legacy of charity and driving the councils to open new vistas at a time when the country
- Neta Nwosu is the editor of The Catholic Herald weekly newspaper
