DELEGATES of The Companion, an association of Muslim men in business and the professions from districts and branches in Abuja, Lagos, Kwara, Oyo, Osun and Cross River states, last weekend, converged on Ibadan, the Oyo State capital, for a three-day national conference designed to proffer solutions to challenges facing the country.
The event also featured a public lecture and inauguration of new national officers of the organisation.
The Special Adviser to the Oyo State Governor on Economic Affairs, Professor Musibau Babatunde, speaking on the topic, ‘Forging a Cohesive Country Amidst Existential Threats of Insecurity and Poverty’, underscored the need to develop a functional system where people’s welfare will be given utmost priority.
Professor Babatunde, who identified embezzlement as one of the factors responsible for insecurity, advocated the creation of employment opportunities for the growing population of graduates and other energetic young Nigerians.
This, according to him, is capable of reducing poverty and insecurity and enhancing the development of the various sectors of the country’s economy.
Also, the Dean, Faculty of Arts, University of Ibadan, Professor Afis Oladosu and the head of the homicide section of the Nigeria Police Force Criminal Investigation Department (FCID) Annex, Alagbon, Ikoyi, Lagos, S.O. Akinfenwa, a Deputy Commissioner of Police, said it is imperative for people in power to, at all times, take responsibility for the positions they occupy and give room for genuine collaboration with law enforcement agencies in the quest to overcome the threats of insecurity and attain a cohesive nation.
In his welcome address, the immediate past National Amir of The Companion, Alhaji Thabit Wale Sonaike, emphasised the need to urgently address the problems of disunity and insecurity which he said have resulted in a decline in country’s economic prosperity.
Sonaike then admonished the newly appointed national officers not to lose focus but keep the body at the vanguard of advocacy for the Muslim community and the underprivileged.
The new National Amir of the organisation, Mr Kamil Olalekan of Kwara district, said, on behalf of the other officers, that The Companion would forge a strategic alliance with other Muslim organisations to develop a system that would ensure that Muslims function well in their endeavours.
Olalekan called for the support of all members of the organisation and promised to uphold the cardinal points of the association which include propagation of Islam, enlightenment, education, economic empowerment and community engagement.
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