The Al-Habibiyyah Islamic Society (AIS), an Islamic NGO, has tasked Islamic scholars and Imams to champion the fight against corruption in Nigeria through sustained sensitization and sermons to their congregation
The executive director and national Chief Imam of AIS, Sheik Fuad Adeyemi gave the admonition on Sunday in Abuja, at the end of 2-day sustainability workshop on anti-corruption organised by the AIS in collaboration with the MacArthur Foundation.
Adeyemi, who decried the endemic nature of corruption in the country stressed the need for a holistic solution to the problem.
He said the anti-corruption training for Islamic scholars which started in 2018 is aimed at changing the narrative in the corruption fight, with the scholars as vanguards because of their revered position in the society.
“The sponsorship of this programme started six years ago and will be coming to an end soon, but that does not mean the laudable programme should end by itself.
“Alhamdulilah, we have made a very big landmark, but also we want to come together and continue the training almost on zero budget, expand it and come come up with new strategies to make it more effective,” he said.
The Imam emphasised that government alone cannot fight corruption while highlighting that the concept of the training was to focus on behavioral change of Nigerians against the vice.
“What the government is doing is fighting the after-effect of corruption, that’s what almost all government agencies are doing, but we are fighting corruption before it’s committed, so that it’s effective.