– It’s a neglected but an important pillar of Islam, says NAZAS’ GM
The NASFAT Agency for Zakat & Sadaqat (NAZAS), a body responsible for the collection and distribution of zakat, has distributed over N600m to beneficiaries since its inception in 2014.
This was disclosed by the Chairman of the Board of Directors of the agency, Alhaji Hafiz Bakare, during its AGM held on Sunday at Alausa, Ikeja, Lagos, where the sum of about N103m was disbursed to over 200 beneficiaries for the year-end 2022.
The beneficiaries of the donations include Internally Displaced Persons (IDP), health support and outreach patients, disadvantaged students, empowerment beneficiaries, Train for Fund Scheme awardees, food and clothing recipients, e.t.c
Muslim News gathered that the items disbursed include sewing machines of various types, deep freezers, grinding machines, etc. Cash was also spent to cover scholarships, empowerment, health, debt relief, stipends for older people, amongst others.
Alhaji Bakare said the agency has so far disbursed the amount in cash and kind to about 50,0000 beneficiaries, making an appreciable impact on the lives of the less privileged in the society.
“In terms of growth, the agency has grown every year in its zakat and sadaqat collection and gained appreciably increased awareness among the Muslim Ummah.”
According to him, “The operational results of the agency show that for two consecutive years, the agency attained an annual target of about N100 million in the collection of zakat & sadaqat. This feat was achieved by the consolidation of accounts of all the operating units and branches of the agency worldwide
“With the continuous efforts, consistent achievement and growth of the agency, we paddled through the tides of the challenges around our operating environment for the performance during the year under review, as we have successively crossed the N100m mark in our annual zakat & sadaqat collections for the second time in the history of the agency,” he said.
In his remarks, the President of NASFAT, Mr. Niyi Yusuf, who attended the AGM with other critical stakeholders, commended the directors and management of the agency for the achievement and further challenged them to attain a milestone of over N150m initially conceived by the BOT in a short time.
Alhaja Shareefah Abiola Andu, Nazas Director presenting Deep Freezer to a beneficiary
“AlhamduliLlah, we thank Him for His blessings and for the opportunity He has afforded NAZAS over the last six to seven years. Every year we disburse above a 100 million naira and now we have done over 700 million naira.
While relating the impact on the yearly zakat disbursement on the beneficiaries, the NASFAT president said, “There is someone who started from selling a bowl of puff puff and had now gone big in the business. She added moi moi to the business and she has built a house (a bungalow) for herself. And all these started from a zakat support that was less than 100,000 naira. And for me, that is part of the blessing we have seen from this initiative.
In a further explanation of the new initiatives of the agency, the General Manager of NAZAS, Mufutau Omosola Adelotan, said that the agency has recently introduced the ” Train-To-Fund Scheme (TTFS)”, a platform to offer training and skill acquisition programme followed by financial empowerment of few beneficiaries in different categories. The beneficiaries will therefore be given a considerable amount and monitored periodically to evaluate their progress and performance to provide further mentorship and be allowed to grow in businesses, such that they also become zakat payers.”
The General Manager also reminded all eligible Muslims to always pay their zakat, saying it is an important pillar of Islam that’s though neglected.
According to him, “Although, it is somehow neglected by even some of the Ulamaah (Islāmic scholars), it is an important pillar of Islam. We pray that Allah will touch the mind of those that are not paying yet. And we appeal to them, because there are consequences for not paying zakat. Let’s encourage them. We pray that Almighty Allah makes them good Muslims and good zakat payers.
Adelotan also used the occasion to clarify that the beneficiaries of NAZAS disbursements are Muslims, regardless of their ideological or societal leanings, despite the fact that it is an initiative of NASFAT – known as Nasrul-lahi-li Fathi Society of Nigeria, a Muslim prayer group founded in the mid 90s.
He said, “Our donors and beneficiaries cut across Muslims all over the world. This is the more reason NASFAT came up with NAZAS in 2014 to expand the scope of zakat collection, administration and management. Before, we used to have zakat committees. So, our beneficiaries cut across Muslims worldwide, not necessarily NASFAT members alone.”
Some beneficiaries expressed joy and gratitude to NASFAT and NAZAS for the opportunity and kind gesture. They also promised to make judicious use of what they have benefitted as they prayed that by the next annual disbursement, they would be among the donors.
Dignitaries present at the AGM included Mr. Niyi Yusuf; the Chief Missioner of the society, Imam Morufu AbdulAzeez Onike; Chairman Council of Elders, Alh. Saliu; Engr. Kamal Bolarinwa; Directors of NAZAS Alh. W. AbdulRahman, Imam Lateef A. Bello, Alhaja Shareefah A. Andu (Arabel), Dr Nosiru O. Onibon, Mr. Olalekan Tijani, FCA, Dr AbdulRasheed Asamu and Engr. Muhyideen A. Yusuf.
Others were Alh. Isiaq Ajibola, Chairman of NAZAS FCT, Abuja and Alhaji Mohammed Kabir Adisa, Chairman of NAZAS Lagos Zone 1.
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