Oct. 4, 2025
Prof. Afiz Oladosu, a lecturer in the Department of Arabic and Islamic Studies, University of Ibadan, has urged the leadership of faith-based organisations to refrain from converting to personal use donations meant for vulnerable people in society
Oladosu gave the advice at an inter-faith sensitisation meeting titled “Faith and Philanthropy”, organised by Al-Habibiyyah Islamic Society and sponsored by MacArthur Foundation, on Saturday in Ibadan.
The Islamic scholar said that a lot of people in society were experiencing hardship, and religious organisations – Islamic or Christian – through which well-to-do people channel charities, should ensure that the donations get to the intended targets.
“These religious organisations must fear God and not convert the charity meant for the masses to their personal use.
“Philanthropy act is key in Islam for the progress and prosperity of the larger society,” he said.
The lecture further urged religious organisations to focus on specific areas of needs of the masses that would benefit the present and future generations.
Also speaking, the Oyo State Chairman of Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), Rev. Eliza Olukayode, said every religion understands the importance of assisting the vulnerable in society.
Olukayode said that giving out charity must be a continuous effort in order to make life better for the needy and alleviate their suffering and reduce poverty in society.
“Being generous to the needy is like sowing seeds which will germinate on this earth and earn the giver the reward in the hereafter.
“The tithe collected in Churches is not to enrich the Pastor but to be share to the suffering masses in society,” the CAN chairman said.
He called on philanthropists in the society to give genuinely, with compassion, empathy and love and continue to impact people’s lives before the tables turn around, adding that nobody knows tomorrow.
The Al-Habibiyyah Coordinator for Faith and Philanthropy Project, Mallam Ibrahim Idris, said the aim of the programme was to share ideas, knowledge and experience on giving from various scriptures.
Idris said that the event further aimed to set up a structure on how religious organisations could raise funds in assisting the less privileged in society without relying on foreign donors or contributions from Mosques and Churches.
The coordinator said that Islamic and Christian organisations must come together, mobilise resources and build structure to fund humanitarian gestures in society, adding that global fund for philanthropy was gradually shrinking.
In his remarks, Consultant for Al-Habibiyyah on Faith and Philanthropy, Dr Lukman Adefolahan, said faith-based organisations must mobilise resources to complement government’s effort to reduce poverty in society.
Adefolahan said that Al-Habibiyyah aimed to provide technical support for faith-based organisations for them to be more structured, accountable and build confidence of donors and continue impacting the society.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the event was attended by both Islamic and Christian organisations in the South-West (NAN)