A non-governmental organisation with core objective of providing humanitarian services and aiding human development, Ar-Ridoh Islamic International Foundation, has called for collaboration with government, philanthropists, and organisations for the realisation of its “Vision 2030.”
The Chief Executive Officer of the foundation, Sheikh Muhammad Jamiu AbdulGafar, made the call while highlighting the programmes of the foundation for the month of Ramadan and beyond.
According to AbdulGafar, the foundation aims to train 10,000 youths in leadership, digital skills, website design, artificial intelligence, and Arabic/Islamic knowledge.
He said 300 of the beneficiaries had been successfully trained in Ibadan, Oyo State in August 2023. He urged willing partners to contact join the foundation in the task.
Sheikh AbdulGafar, who is also the founder and proprietor of Ar-Ridoh International Islamic Institute, Ibadan, said the foundation had singlehandedly given 10 scholarship awards to Senior School Certificate Examination (SSCE) candidates across the nation, paid for 20 students who will write the forthcoming Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME), hence the need for partnerships to do more for humanity.
“We have been feeding 150 fasting Muslims daily from the beginning of this holy month. Ar-Ridoh has given out start-up business capital of N10,000 and N30,000 to 50 people across Oyo State to banish poverty and ensure abundant life for people in the society,” he stated.
According to him, the foundation has secured, through stakeholders, 100 hectares of land for farming across the geopolitical zones of Oyo State where cultivation has started already, as negotiations are in progress to acquire more lands for cultivation of food and cash crops in other states.
“Ar-Ridoh is working towards securing international partnership with global food processing companies for easy conversion of farm produce to resolve the problem of food shortage in the country,” he said.
The foundation CEO commended President Bola Tinubu for his bold economic policies which he said will take the nation out of the woods and called for intensified efforts towards ending banditry, terrorism, cybercrime, and other cross-border criminal acts.
On the issue of local government autonomy, Sheikh AbdulGafar urged state governors to allow the third tier of government to perform optimally for grassroots development, saying the state government should only supervise utilisation of the funds for the local government.
He advised the legislature to make masses-oriented laws, and the judiciary to ensure justice, equity, and fear of God as they will render account of stewardship before Allah.
AbdulGafar urged Nigerians to embrace local production and patronise made-in-Nigeria goods to stabilise the economy, saying that no nation is without challenges.