Nigerians have internationalised begging due to poverty — NAHCON chairman

THE chairman of the National Hajj Commission of Nigeria (NAHCON), Alhaji Zikrullah Hassan, has decried the poverty being exhibited by some Nigerians overseas.

According to him, poverty has led some Nigerians to internationalise begging, especially those travelling to Saudi Arabia.

Speaking at the seventh edition of the annual Zakat Distribution Ceremony (ZDC) of the Jaiz Charity and Development Foundation in Abuja, Hassan reiterated the need to reduce poverty and re-orientate some Nigerians to create wealth for themselves with their little earnings rather than resorting to begging as a livelihood.

Commended the foundation for empowering the people and improving their lot, he described zakat as a viable tool for poverty eradication.

The chairman of the foundation, Malam Adamu Bello, said his team always looked forward to the disbursement day “because it is a thing of joy to wipe tears off the faces of our Muslim brothers and sisters facing one challenge or the other.”

Bello described the living conditions of many people in the society as unpalatable and decried the high cost of commodities which, according to him, had made it difficult for average Nigerians to enjoy three meals per day.

He said: “We are deeply concerned about the tough life of the underprivileged and vulnerable brothers and sisters. More pathetic is the case of those battling with ailments, who find it very challenging to access medical treatment.

“As a faith-based charitable organisation, we are inspired by the injunction of Islam to rise up to the occasion, give voice to the voiceless, become the beacon of hope to those in need and lend a helping hand to the underprivileged.”

The Chief Executive Officer of the Foundation, Dr Abdullahi Shuaib, said a total of N18,985,439 was disbursed to 202 beneficiaries across the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

He put the total zakat disbursement by the foundation this year to 625 across six states and the FCT at N59,949,439.

Shuaib said: “As you are all aware, the mother of all social problem, poverty, seems not to abate despite several efforts of the federal and state governments to tackle it frontally. The situation has got even worse than the previous two years.

“The country has not been friendly to both economically well-off and worse-off persons, no thanks to inflation, climate change, widespread insecurity and steady increase in the prices of food, fuel, gas, transportation, housing, among others.”

He explained that zakat has the capacity to reduce the number of low-income people contending with the challenge of poverty and has the potential to close the gap between the rich and the poor in the country.

“We are committed to utilising this Islamic social finance instrument to ameliorate the sufferings of Nigerians,” he said.

The beneficiaries went home with cash and items, including sewing machines, grinding machines and deep freezers.