Dr. Rakiyah Momoh Abaji, coordinates the affairs and programmes of Al-Habibiyah Islamic Society, a religious body involved in finding solutions to some of the mounting social phenomenon in Nigeria. In this interview with AYONI M. AGBABIAKA, she talks about corruption in the land and how women can play active part in eradiating it.
What informed the choice of the theme of Al-Habibiyah Islamic Society 9th Annual Women’s Forum: The Role of Women in Eradicating Corruption?
It’s the 9th edition of the women forum. Once a year we take a contemporary topic, a topic that is raging in the society and deal with it hoping to discuss it and proffer solution to such situation.
So, this year we chose ‘The Role of Women in Eradicating Corruption in the Society’ because we know that women are able to positively affect their children, their home and society in general.
We decided to bring up this theme so it will be in the consciousness of people that women are able to play a role in eradicating corruption.
Many of the speakers talked about the influence women have on their spouses, leading them to corruption. What would you say is responsible for this and how could it be checked?
One way to make women stop pushing their men to corruption is to speak about it as we have spoken about it. It is for them to come to the realisation that you don’t necessarily have to look like the Jones, you can be yourself and still be a perfect woman.
So, once they begin to think like that they are not going to think of being like one minister’s wife, they will always be themselves. It’s one of the things we are trying to encourage.
And perhaps there are some women who even push their men without even realising that they are doing a terrible thing. Now that we have spoken about it, those who have conscience will think about it and will maybe back down on pushing their men like that.
But above all a man should also know when he is being pushed out of his limit. They should stay within their limit and aside of families, they should also be able to caution their wives if their wives are going above board.
So, you cannot really put the blame at the door step of the women alone. The men should consciously also avoid it.
What is Al- Habibiyah core value?
The core values of Al- Habibiyah is spreading the tenet of Islam and we aim to make a society where Islam is better understood, better accepted and not misrepresented.
This is the reason we also take issues in the society and deal with them. It is the reason we also do some of our programmes – We have the four months Quranic classes, at Al-Habibiyah, where you are able to read the Quran.
We want people to aspire to get better in their religion. We have the Al-Habibiyah food bank. The food bank feeds indigent people. We usually feed 1, 500 persons at our Guzape Mosque every day of the 30 or 29 days of Ramadan. We also have other programmes like the Zakat foundation. We collect and distribute the Zakat in a very formal way.
Why wait for Ramadan? What do you do before and in between?
You know right now it’s not Ramadan and we have just done a programme. We don’t actually wait for Ramadan. We even go to Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) camps and give them things but specifically we choose the Ramadan to bless people; don’t let your neighbour go to bed without food when you have plenty and we know that the Ramadan period is a difficult period and because it is an enjoined period in Islam, people do it with or without so much food so the reason we want to give them relieve in carrying out a religious injunction.
Many Nigerians aside the IDP’s are hungry in the country right now, do you have any programme for them?
Yes, we reach as many as we can reach constantly.
How do you do that?
Through this programme and at other times we go to the IDPs; and at other times maybe go to hospitals and orphanages. These are programmes that are constantly running. This happens to be just one of them.
Are you in any partnership with other organisations?
Yes, right now we have an ongoing partnership with Mac Arthur Foundation and the theme of the Mac Arthur is called EATFINE.
What does that mean?
EATFINE is defined as Eradicating Corruption through Faith Based Organisations. That is what they (Mac Arthur Foundation) wants us to support. The Mac Arthur organization they have enjoined us to talk to all Imams. That programme takes us to Kogi state, Osun state, Kaduna state, Niger state etc on eradicating corruption through Faith-based organisations.
How do you go about EATFINE? Do you share meals to tackle corruption or what?
It is by discussing it with them, raising issues like this so that they will in turn influence society. You know that any Imam, any preacher, whether Christian or Muslim has influence. They have the ears of the people in the society.
So, we are engaging them so that they will step down their engagement so that many more people will be sensitized about the evils of corruption and work towards eradicating it.
