Source: nnu.ng

We are committed to education for all, food for all and health for all

– Barr AbdulAzeez Alatoye, Amir Ahmadiyya Muslim Jama’at, Nigeria.

Barr AbdulAzeez Alatoye, Amir Ahmadiyya Muslim Jama’at, Nigeria.

Alhaji (Barr.) AbdulAzeez Alatoye is the Amir (President) Ahmadiyya Muslim Jama’at, Nigeria. Olatoye who is the founder and Senior Partner of Ascension Consulting Services, an Associate Member of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (UK); in this interview says working hard for economic benefits is not worldly, rather non-application of the resources  to the service of Allah and humanity renders the whole activities worldly.  The Ahmadiyya leader who is also a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Taxation of Nigeria (CITN); Fellow, Nigeria Institute of Management says provision of education, food and health for all remained the policy thrust of the group.

Where was Ahmadiyya before your emergence as the Amir, leader of Ahmadiyya Muslim Jamaat, Nigeria and where do you desire it to be in the next five years?

Ahmadiyya is a faith based organisation that has recorded successes at all areas. In the next few years, seven areas of development are uppermost in my mind.  The first is the spiritual development of our people.  This will make us to be closer to Allah, and this will engender acceptance of prayers.

The second is our moral values. We need to continue to inculcate in them sound morally values.  Morality is a very vital aspect of our lives especially from Islamic perspective.  Obedience to the Khalifa is very important.  Our success is not going to come by following our own personal inclinations, but if we obey the Huzur in totality, I believe we are going to succeed.  The fourth issue is respect. The Prophet said: Every religion has its own traits; the trait of Islam is respect. In a very broad term, respect for Allah will lead to obedience to the injunctions of the Quran and respect for Prophet Muhammad (s.a.w) will lead to obeying the Sunnah.  Respect for the founder of Ahmadiyya will make you to follow the path of the Khalifa.  Again, respect for the rights of others, respect for women, children and their rights.  This will guarantee peace in every house and by extension, in the country. We cannot only be talking about it, we need to demonstrate it.

We will also increase the competence of our people. We see people being paid for what they are not competent to do, and when you look for special skills, you don’t find them. We want to focus on their choice of carrier and see how we can improve their competences.  Why are Nigerians doing very well, abroad, why can’t they do very well at home? That has to do with discipline and the right attitude to work.

Trustworthiness is another major area. In Quran, Suratul Qasas, Chapter 28 verse 27 when Hazrat Musa assisted the daughter of Hazrat Shuaib; and when they returned home, they told Hazrat Shuaib that they wanted Hazrat Musa to be hired, describing him as being competent and trustworthy. These are the two attributes required of the Muslim whether working in government or private enterprise.  The major challenge we have in this country is integrity and transparency.  We will continue to teach it and we know it is going to benefit this country.

Lastly is the prayer.  The essence of our creation is prayers. Allah said in the Quran, that Man and the Jins are not created other than to worship Him, and in worshiping Allah, you have to communicate with Him regularly.  The discipline in prayer is quite broad.  Prayers always lead us to timeliness and discipline.  These are what we want to inculcate in our people.  I don’t want to call it 7-point agenda, but all other issues rest on these seven points I mentioned.  They are there before, of course nothing is new, it is the implementation that may be new.  How do we achieve that? It is by increasing their level of understanding about Godliness. This is what we want to do in the next three years, I know you asked for five years, but Ahmadiyya has three years circle of Imarah, after three years, whoever comes in will see what has been done in that direction.

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