NO fewer than 135 people have benefitted from the 2021 edition of the zakat distribution organised by the Elders Consultative Forum of the Supreme Council for Shariah, Oyo State chapter.
At the distribution ceremony held last weekend in Ibadan, the chairman of the forum, Alhaji Lasun Sanusi, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), said the beneficiaries comprised 93 needy persons, 21 indigent students of tertiary institutions and 21 eligible artisans and traders, all selected from across Oyo State.
The beneficiaries, he said, emerged after “proper consultations” with various Islamic organisations and other critical stakeholders.
Alhaji Sanusi noted that the 2020 edition of the programme could not take place due to the rampaging COVID-19 pandemic which occasioned lockdowns and restrictions of movement in many parts of the world.
He said given the relief presently being enjoyed with the administration of COVID-19 vaccine and observance of safety protocols, the council resumed the programme this year in furtherance of its mandate to reduce poverty in the society, especially among Muslims.
According to the senior advocate, who praised Muslims that paid their zakat and sadaqat to the council’s designated bank account, the programme was conceived to alleviate the financial problems of downtrodden Muslims, reduce crime rate in the society and reduce people’s overdependence on others for survival.
He emphasised the need to properly educate and sensitise Muslims on giving zakat and sadaqat to the needy as and when due and in accordance with the injunction of Allah.
Alhaji Sanusi described zakat and sadaqat as applicable means of reducing restiveness, banditry, armed robbery and other crimes that were presently widespread in the country, especially among youths.
He urged the beneficiaries to utilise the cash and “valuable items” distributed to them “as it is a trust from Allah and it is our fervent prayer that in due course, Allah will bless you to pay back to the society by empowering your fellow Muslims in the future.”
At the event, a lecturer from the Department of Arabic and Islamic Studies, University of Ibadan, Dr Ibrahim Uthman, gave a talk on the importance of zakat and its proper administration and application.
Dr Uthman emphasised that to have peace in the society, the have nots must be given their Allah-given share from the wealth of the haves.
The don, who said that “zakat will not be the solution to poverty unless it is administered the way it ought to be administered,” described irresponsible acts on the part of the have nots who misapply zakat or choose begging as a career as one of the impediments to the efficacy of zakat in contemporary times.
Sheikh, Ismail Olaide Yusuf, Magaji Itamaya, Ibadan, represented the Chief Imam of Ibadanland, Sheikh Abdul Ganiy Abubakri Agbotomokekere, at the event which was chaired by the Asiwaju Adinni of Oyo State, Alhaji Mutiullah Oladejo (Onimalu).
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