Jaiz Bank chief tasks FG, states on poverty alleviation

THE chairman of Jaiz Bank Plc, Alhaji Mustapha Bintube, has urged the Federal Government and governments at other levels to speed up the process of creating enabling environment for businesses to thrive.

This, he said, was to aid charity organisations in assisting people with funds to establish businesses.

Bintube spoke on Saturday in Abuja during the grand finale of the annual zakat distribution of Jaiz Charity and Development Foundation (JCDF) for the year 2023.

Cash and items like industrial sewing machines, grinding machines and washing machines, mixer, generator and vulcanising machines were distributed to thousands of beneficiaries at the event.

According to the Jaiz Bank chief, if an enabling environment is in place for businesses to thrive, charity organisations would be encouraged to empower more people to establish businesses through corporate social responsibility (CSR).

Nigeria, he said, has no business being the poverty capital of the world.

“With all the God-given resources and most importantly, hardworking people with a lot of intelligence and entrepreneurship skills, poverty should not be prevalent in our country.

“So, Jaiz is committed to being part of the solution to Nigeria’s problems, especially when it comes to poverty alleviation, empowering our people and also by laying the foundation for the young ones to grow with ethics, hardwork and determination. They can also in turn empower other people,” he said.

The Chief Executive Officer of JCDF, Dr Abdullahi Shuaib, said the foundation had disbursed N431 million to 9,882 beneficiaries across 29 states of the federation and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) since it began zakat collection and distribution in 2016.

Shuaib stated that N66.5 million was disbursed to 1,156 people this year.

He said the foundation felt the pains and agonies of the poor, the needy and vulnerable people in the society due to the economic situation of the country.

He said: “We are more disturbed by available statistics and data which indicate that the tough days ahead may better be imagined than experienced, especially for the poor.

“For instance, according to the World Poverty Clock 2023, our country ranks 37 out of 172 countries while a total of 133 million of the Nigerian population is regarded as multi-dimensionally poor by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).

“The unemployment rate of 37.7 per cent recorded in 2022 is projected to rise to 41 per cent in 2023. Most scary is the continuous acceleration of the inflation rate from 22.79 per cent in June to 24.08 per cent in July 2023. This is the highest inflation rate recorded in the country since 2005, according to the NBS with the highest upward contribution from cost of food and non-alcoholic beverages, oil and fat, breads, cereals, potatoes, yams, fish, meats, vegetables, housing, water, electricity, gas and fuel, transportation, among others.

“It is no longer news that both the middle and lower classes are groaning with excruciating pains and difficulties to make ends meet. No thanks to the removal of subsidy, coupled with the challenges of unstable monetary policy, consistent fluctuation of foreign exchange, accelerating inflation rate and a rise in the multidimensional poverty rate in the country.”

“As a faith-based organisation, we are not discouraged by all the aforementioned challenges. We believe that challenges are meant to be overcome. We also know that the federal and state governments are working round the clock to salvage the situation from bad to good. We are more resolute and committed to the cause of Allah and humanity at this moment of severe hardship for the poor and vulnerable.

“It is also important to note that even the rich also cry. It is sad that we are experiencing a declining trend among some of our zakat payers. They, too, are complaining of the harsh economic situation. We pray Allah continue to enrich their purses and bless their enterprises for shared prosperity.”

The chairman of Jaiz Takaful Insurance Ltd, Hajiya Zainab AbdurRahman, who chaired the event, said the zakat distribution was geared towards improving the beneficiaries’ standard of living.

She urged the beneficiaries to put the items given to them into proper use.

Hajiya AbdurRahman said: “If they are committed and dedicated enough, it will make them successful and they also can help other people.

“They need not to start looking for capital to buy equipment for them to stand on their own. It has already been provided by Jaiz Charity and Development Foundation.

“This puts them on many steps ahead of where ordinarily they would have been. That helps in making them immediate employers of labour. And when they make profits, they can also buy more machines, expand their businesses and help others make a living.”