Zakat funds lift hundreds from poverty in Nigeria

By Rafiu Ajakaye

LAGOS, Nigeria

Hundreds of poor Nigerians were on Sunday given various machines, tools and money totaling $335,000 which accrued from modest collection of Zakat (charity), Islam's third pillar, in a bid to fight mass poverty.

Dozens have also had their medical bills paid from the modest fund, while indigent students were given money to see them through school, according to the executive director of the Zakat and Sadaqah Foundation (Z&S) Sulayman Olagunju.

The nonprofit foundation is the pioneer local group championing formal collection of the statutory charity from wealthy Muslims and working class to bridge poverty gap in the country.

Olagunju said Zakat remains the most effective means of tackling poverty in Nigeria, where poverty rates stand at 61% of the nearly 180 million population, calling on wealthy Muslims and middle class to cultivate the habit of paying Zakat.

Muslims make up at least 50% of the population and are considered the poorest.

“Disbursement started with immediate attention given to health issues that cannot be delayed. We have supported surgeries, kidney treatment, hearing problems, eyes problems and a whole lot of other illnesses,” Olagunju said at the ceremony in southwest Lagos.

He said the fund has benefited 700 people in Lagos and a total of 20,800 others across Nigeria in 2016 alone.

Following rigorous application processes, beneficiaries got grinding machines, tricycles, motorcycles, photocopying machines, laptops for education support, deep freezer, industrial sewing machines, and cash.

“As in November 2016, the total Zakat collected stood at N102,251,490 ($355,000) despite the poor state of our economy.

"While this is still a far cry from the target and expectation of the foundation to take care of the eight divinely mentioned Zakat beneficiaries, it nonetheless indicated that the culture of Zakat payment is already rooted among Nigerian Muslims,” he said.

Imam Abdullahi Shuaib, executive secretary of the Jaiz Zakat and Waqf Trust Fund Nigeria, called on Muslims to be committed to the institution of Zakat as a way of lowering poverty rate and promoting communal peace.

“Muslims are rich but most of the Muslims are poor because we have abandoned Zakat. It is time we revive the culture of giving in the interest of the community,” he said in a lecture at the event.