The Al-Habibiyyah Islamic Society (AIS), an Islamic NGO, has tasked Islamic scholars and Imams to champion the fight against corruption in Nigeria through sustained sensitisation and sermons to their congregation.
The executive director and national Chief Imam of AIS, Sheik Fuad Adeyemi gave the admonition on Sunday in Abuja, at the end of 2-day sustainability workshop on anti-corruption organised by the AIS in collaboration with the MacArthur Foundation.
Adeyemi, who decried the endemic nature of corruption in the country stressed the need for a holistic solution to the problem.
He said the anti-corruption training for Islamic scholars which started in 2018 is aimed at changing the narrative in the corruption fight, with the scholars as vanguards because of their revered position in the society.
‘The sponsorship of this programme started six years ago and will be coming to an end soon, but that does not mean the laudable programme should end by itself.
‘Alhamdulilah, we have made a very big landmark, bu
t also we want to come together and continue the training almost on zero budget, expand it and come come up with new strategies to make it more effective, ‘ he said.
The Imam emphasised that government alone cannot fight corruption while highlighting that the concept of the training was to focus on behavioral change of Nigerians against the vice.
‘What the government is doing is fighting the after-effect of corruption, that’s what almost all government agencies are doing, but we are fighting corruption before it’s committed, so that it’s effective.
‘So we are trying to preach against it (corruption), we are saying don’t be involved in corruption, if you do these are the repercussions from Allah.
‘We appeal to their conscience through sermons, religious books, we use behavioral change to sensitive them not to indulge in it at all, and if some go ahead, then government agencies like the EFCC can take it from there,’ he said.
Adeyemi said that the Abuja training had about 40 Islamic clerics from Kaduna, Kog
i and the Federal Capital Territory. (FCT).
He said that the workshop will also take place across the six geo-political zones of the country, starting next week with the south-west and then the North-west of the country.
Adeyemi expressed optimism that with all hands on deck, the anti -corruption message will begin to yield positive impact across the country, which will in turn galvanise the development of the nation.
Earlier, Dr Rekiya Momoh Abaji, Project Coordinator, Project said the all-encompassing training has gone a long way in sensitising Islamic scholars and the youths on the dangers of corruption.
‘With the training, the Imams are now more emboldened to talk about issues of corruption and preaching against it.
‘Along the line, we also educated our youths on the dangers of corruption and how to be good citizens, maximize their digital skills and so on,’ she said.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the workshop had as its theme ‘Creating Resilient Faith-Based Community for Sustained A
ccountability’.
Source: News Agency of Nigeria