Dangote vs Zakkat: My Opinion by Musa A Sufi

Dangote vs Zakkat: My Opinion

By

Musa Abdullahi Sufi

16/02/2016

Social media this week is highly recommended in the Nigerian context on what sister Ajimot   wrote about Dangote letter about Zakkat. Some hours later another letter replying Sister ... By Abba Dantata  from  Dangote family Surfaced out. Both are great expression of status of truths and very useful to not only Muslims but non Muslims! that explore what Zakkat is all about.

However, my opinion about the Dangote Zakkat and his foundation is that yes many great initiatives are done and even on going but he (Alhaji Dangote) and his team needs to know about the under supported and less privilege persons in our communities .

They are the  people with  one (1) square meal or zero a day, children with torn clothes and moving around with no clothes during harmattan ( cold) or rainy  season. They are mostly living  with no information and or access to healthcare services  and neonatal and child mortality is rampant in this group of people.

In fact, mothers who got no economic or decision making power in the family and community  even while very sick continuously taken away during pregnancy, child birth or after delivery by death known as Maternal death. Most often dies with the baby she suffered carrying  for over 9 months with little poor diet (food) and hard work for the household to survive.

From experience with your support to women in Kano during former State Governor Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso resulted to thousands of  women with  poorly business to boost beyond expectations. Similarly,  In similar program  implemented by development partners in some state though on health but using empowerment to improve health.

In this program,  women that were supported  found to be highly health seeking families and supporting the husbands. In fact, marriages stop  broken by over 70℅ and  conflicts between couples dropped by over 90% in the supported communities. Such areas needs support to improve status of many less privilege household.

Some  women during the  project selected from the most poor and voiceless but they turned out to be the best in the group after few months.  In such communities today, individuals and groups are working together to support those who are under supported. Others needs to benefit from Dangote initiatives too.

My call to Dangote and alike  is to deploy experts or build on previous or existing development programs to get  easy access  to support such group of individuals that at times I called them the invisible  members of the society. Such groups are not involved when organizations or government come to support because they are mostly poor, rejected and forgotten due to their status in the society.

Never forget to mention how drug abuse today is rapidly changing the future of present generation more especially younger ones and married women. This area needs urgent attention as it is  t where present  due to  community neglect and poverty among the populace more especially here in the north.

Orphans, widows and divorced mothers  known to be  the victims of rape, trafficking , drug abuse among others mainly because they lack economic power to be secure and independent ( many of then )

It is also proved that poverty is not the only  factor why people find themselves in need of help but some are only requiring moral support through various approaches and strategies to overcome their status of being under supported. . 

While I appreciate Dangote foundation support in many  areas  but his  Zakkat and other initiatives  needs to target the forgotten, absolute poor, broken, third class citizens in our society. If this is taken care then Alhamdulillah but there is needs to spread more on that.

Finally, ,  Dangote, the time to do support them is  actually now. Mentoring, monitoring, coaching and  supportive supervision and the  use of data as evidence to inform initiatives direction, scale up and buys in is  equally vital and necessary to ensure effective project implementation and resources use in an ACCOUNTABLE manner.

Best Wishes

Musa Abdullahi Sufi.

Kano, Nigeria 

From the midst of people who are poorly supported