The Chairman of Ikorodu Federal Low cost Housing Estate Muslim Community, Alhaji Ismail Bello has charged government to pay attention to the poor, educate them and assist them in area of agriculture just as he stated that every leader must give account of his stewardship to Almighty Allah on the day of ressurection.

Bello, a trade union activist made this known during the Annual General Meeting/ Account of Stewardship of the community mosque held at the estate Mosque in Ikorodu, Lagos recently.

He said: “Government must pay attention to the poor. It is the poor that feel the impact of the present situation more.  I implore governmet to tax the rich, and use the proceed to address the critical area of needs of the poor.

“Again, education is critical, goverment needs to invest more in education so that more indigent children will have access to education.

“Yes, the N5000 given to poor Nigerians is good but it will not solve the probem. What is important is to invest in the critical area of the economy such as agriculture so that the poor will benefit immensely.”

He praised the anti-corruption war of the government, adding that politics should not be avenue to loot the treasury.

Mosque management

He stated that both the spiritual and managerial leadership of any mosque must complement each other for success. “The two must complement the other.  If the spiritual leadership is right and the managerial leadershp is poor, it will not augur well for the jamaat.  But if the two go very well and they practice openess and accountability, it will be easier for the jammat to follow and contribute meaningfully towards the development of the mosque.

It will also help to build people’s confidence when parting with their hard earned money. So, we try to do things differently in a more accountable way and to give people the opportunity to ask questions.  We are also by this effort, building leaders of tomorrow and that is why we bring the younger ones and others from outside to see what we are doing.

Economic recession

The period is truly a critical period.  It is about food on the table for the family; people are under pressure to pay their rents and their children’s school fees.  Here in the mosque,we do the little assistance we can, and through zakaat and well meaning members of the mosque, we assist the needy among us; but that is not sufficient, but it is better than not doing anything at all.

Earlier, the Naib-ul-Imam of the Mosque, Alhaji R Ibrahim stated that the community has been rendering account of steawardship for the past 13 years, adding, “it is safer and better to do it here on earth than to do it before Allah on the day of Judgement.