A faith-based humanitarian organisation, Zakat and Sadaqat Foundation (ZSF), has disbursed the sum of N6.5 million to 68 beneficiaries in Oyo State for the year 2021.
At the distribution ceremony held last weekend at Bodija Islamic Centre in Ibadan, the coordinator of the foundation in the state, Dr Nofiu Musa, said the 68 beneficiaries – who received items like sewing machines, generators, deep freezers and laptops – were selected from among 215 individuals that applied to the organisation for aid this year.
Dr Musa noted that in June, the ZSF had supported about 15 widows in the state with the sum of N750,000 to commemorate this year’s International Widows Day, a United Nations-ratified day of action to address the challenges faced by millions of widows and their dependants in many countries.
According to him, the annual zakat distribution ceremony affords the foundation the opportunity to showcase the yields of its efforts in a year and to encourage its subscribers to continue “to entrust their hard-earned money to us.”
The ZSF coordinator said the programme also provides a platform for the foundation to demonstrate its sincerity, accountability, transparency, trust and integrity which are encapsulated in its core values with which it pursues and discharges its programmes.
Dr Musa said “the foundation was established in 2000 chiefly to reawaken the institution of zakat among Muslims, assist the rich to enrich the poor, provide succour to widows and orphans and prosecute programmes and projects that are beneficial to humanity at large.”
The guest lecturer, Imam Luqman Abdul-Rofi’i from The Muslim Congress (TMC) Da’wah Centre, Oyo Town, spoke on the theme of the distribution ceremony, ‘Taking the Rough Path to Aljannah’.
Imam Abdul-Rofi’i urged government at all levels to be alive to its responsibilities, especially in the area of poverty reduction and making life meaningful for the populace.
The cleric lamented that COVID-19 had worsened poverty in Nigeria, even as he regretted that many citizens could no longer afford the basic things of life “because the wealth of the nation is being withheld by a few privileged individuals, leading to mass suffering and exodus from the country through legitimate and illegitimate means.”
He noted that wealthy individuals, particularly Muslims, also have a role to play in ensuring a prosperous and egalitarian society through conscious and regular payment of zakat.
The representative of the Chief Imam of Ibadanland, Sheikh Abdul Ganiy Abubakar Agbotomokekere, Sheikh Ashim Atere, commended ZSF for reviving the neglected culture of zakat payment among Muslims.
He urged organisers of Ramadan lectures and other related programmes to henceforth use the opportunity of the holy month to further sensitise Muslims by including zakat in the subjects of their discussions.
Professor Badru Durowoju from the Ladoke Akintola University of Technology (LAUTECH), who chaired the event, also spoke on the imperativeness of prioritising zakat for the good of the Muslim ummah and the larger society.
He urged all and sundry to aid the cause of ZSF by inviting wealthy people around them to subscribe to the “reputable body” to manage their zakat for the benefit of poor and needy Muslims and other members of the society.
The Executive Director of the ZSF, Prince Sulayman Olagunju, commended the foundation’s subscribers for continuing to have faith in the organisation.
Prince Olagunju, who was represented by the foundation’s Operations Manager, Alhaji Ma’ruf Ahmad, praised the Oyo State ZSF for the improvement recorded in the amount of funds mobilised this year and urged them to do more so as to be able to accommodate more disadvantaged Muslims.
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