Foundation distributes N111.3m among the needy

IN line with the dictate of the third pillar of Islam, the Zakat and Sadaqat Foundation (Z&S), last week, distributed about N111,306, 876 to 21,038 beneficiaries across the Southeast, Southsouth and Southwest regions of the country.

The Executive Director, Zakat and Sadaqat, Imam Abdullahi Shuaib, who disclosed this at the official distribution ceremony in Lagos, said the foundation has impacted the needy in Abuja, Ebonyi, Anambra, Abia, Rivers, Bayelsa, Delta, Edo and Kwara, Osun, Oyo and Ogun states through the scheme in 2015.

Giving the breakdown of the distribution, Shuaib acknowledged an improved performance of 52.8 per cent increase of Zakat disbursed with economic empowerment of the poor and needy people taking 36.5 per cent of the total zakat disbursed while medical support, dawah support institutions and educational support got 18.1 per cent, 12.1 per cent and 9.1 per cent in that order.

He said the economic empowerment of the beneficiaries attracted the attention of the Foundation mostly due to the level of poverty in the country where more than 67 per cent of the total population of over 170 million people earns less than $1 US Dollar per day.

Shuaib lamented that the spate of corruption, unemployment and lack of social security for the poor, needy and aged people have compounded the situation.

The implication of this ugly scenario, he stressed, “is that most of the applicants as well as the beneficiaries of today find it very challenging to meet up with their basic needs of life. Furthermore, the figures also indicate that most of the beneficiaries are extremely deprived of access to qualitative health-care facilities due to their financial constraints among others.”

The Lagos State Commissioner for Home Affairs, Abdul Hakeem Abdul Lateef, enjoined Muslims in the country to endeavour to pay zakat, as the scheme, he noted, would enable equal distribution of wealth and reduce the crime rate.

“Crime is increasing as a result of uneven distribution of wealth and one of the ways of reducing this is zakat,” he said.

The commissioner however enjoined Z&S to partner with government and develop a blueprint on how Muslims could willingly give zakat and sadakat directly from their salaries.

“This is easier than tax because many Muslims have passion to pay zakat,” he said.

The Guest Lecturer and Chief Missioner, Nawair Ud Deen Society of Nigeria, Sheikh Abdul Mojeed Eleha, said the rich who performed other pillars of Islam and ignored zakat would face the consequence in the hereafter, urging Muslims to endeavour to perform the third pillar of Islam (Zakat).

He also urged the Muslim scholars to shun bidi’ah and practice Islam according to the tenets enshrined in the Holy Quran and practicalised Prophet Mohammed (SAW).