Emmanuel Ukudolo
November 24, 2015 – Conference of Islamic Organisation (CIO) has called for Public Faith Participation (PFP) in the running of government by engaging Imams to drive home government policy to the people using the pulpit.
Coordinator, CIO, Lagos State, Alhaji Abdullah Shuaib who made the observation when he led members of his organisation on courtesy call to Commissioner for Home Affairs, Mr. Abdullateef Abdulhakeem said that Imams are closer to the people and well placed to inform the people about the policies of government.
He also appealed to government to pay Imams honorarium so that they will have the feeling that they are part and parcel of government.
He said that CIO has assisted Lagos State in various interventions among which was when the former governor of Lagos, Mr. Babatunde Fashola banned Muslims from wearing Hijab in public schools. He said that the Muslim community in Lagos did not take the issue for granted and was spoiling for confrontation with the state until CIO intervened.
He said that Nigeria’s constitution guarantees freedom of worship and that even in the advanced democracies, Muslim women are allowed to wear Hijab right from the nursery schools even to tertiary institutions.
While reacting to the demands of the group, Abdulhakeem said he will present their demands to the Lagos State governor and urged them to furnish the state with database of members which he said will be used for website while each members will be presented with a unique identification number.
He called on faith-based organisations to generate employment by setting up business organisations that will create jobs while government will provide the enabling environment for them to thrive since it will be impossible for government to employ everybody
He also charged them to buy into the ‘adopt a school programme’ of the state government and take the lead in molding characters of Lagiosians.
“Use your pulpit to teach members of the society to be law abiding”, he said adding that this becomes imperative since Nigerians listen and fear religious leaders.
