Islamic organisations in Nigeria have been urged to expand their activities beyond religious preaching and focus on community development, social welfare and humanitarian services to address the needs of vulnerable people.
Dr Tokunbo Salam, a human resources expert with the Islamic Education Trust and Da’wah Institute of Nigeria in Minna, Niger State, made the call during a capacity-building programme organised by the Ogun State Muslim Council in Abeokuta.
Salam said Islamic organisations needed to move beyond mosque management, religious lectures and spiritual programmes to become more actively involved in addressing social challenges affecting individuals and communities.
“The essence is to see that Islamic organisations are deeply involved in community conversation and social services. Not only the spiritual aspect, they need to be directly involved in dealing with people’s social support problems,” he said.
He explained that the training was designed to strengthen participants’ ability to develop and implement community-based initiatives that produce measurable results.
Salam said the programme encouraged organisations to rethink their approaches to religious outreach and identify practical ways to improve the lives of people in their communities.
He observed that some organisations ran numerous programmes without establishing clear priorities, making it difficult to achieve meaningful results despite the resources invested in their activities.
According to him, organisations that implement 10 or 20 programmes annually may struggle to demonstrate their impact if their activities are not properly coordinated.
He therefore advised participants to identify at least one distinctive programme around which they could build their expertise, mobilise resources and measure their achievements.
Salam described this approach as a “Tower of Priority”, saying a clearly defined focus would help organisations deploy their limited resources more effectively and improve the quality of their interventions.
He added that organisations with well-planned programmes and demonstrable results would be better positioned to attract financial support from donors.
The facilitator said the participating organisations were expected to spend the next three months reviewing their existing activities and applying the lessons from the training.
He explained that online follow-up sessions would be organised to assess their progress, review their plans and encourage them to develop programmes that respond more effectively to community needs.
Salam also disclosed that the capacity-building initiative would be followed by another programme on strategic fundraising, tentatively scheduled for December or January, depending on the timing of Ramadan.
He said the proposed training would help organisations understand how to secure financial support for projects that were properly designed and capable of delivering tangible benefits.
However, he stressed that organisations must demonstrate competence, accountability and the ability to manage funds effectively before expecting financial support.
“Nobody wants to waste money on non-activities,” he said, emphasising the need for organisations to develop credible programmes with clear objectives and measurable outcomes.
Salam expressed satisfaction with participants’ engagement during the training, noting that the discussions had encouraged some organisations to reconsider their existing approaches to programme planning and community development.
He said the ultimate goal was to ensure that the knowledge acquired translated into practical changes in the activities of participating organisations.
The programme brought together representatives of several Islamic organisations in Ogun State, including the Muslim Students’ Society of Nigeria, the Federation of Muslim Women’s Associations of Nigeria, The Muslim Congress, the Muslim Corpers’ Association of Nigeria and the Ogun State Council of Islamic Affairs.
Dr Tokunbo Salam, a human resources expert with the Islamic Education Trust and Da’wah Institute of Nigeria in Minna, Niger State, made the call during a capacity-building programme organised by the Ogun State Muslim Council in Abeokuta.
Salam said Islamic organisations needed to move beyond mosque management, religious lectures and spiritual programmes to become more actively involved in addressing social challenges affecting individuals and communities.
“The essence is to see that Islamic organisations are deeply involved in community conversation and social services. Not only the spiritual aspect, they need to be directly involved in dealing with people’s social support problems,” he said.
He explained that the training was designed to strengthen participants’ ability to develop and implement community-based initiatives that produce measurable results.
Salam said the programme encouraged organisations to rethink their approaches to religious outreach and identify practical ways to improve the lives of people in their communities.
He observed that some organisations ran numerous programmes without establishing clear priorities, making it difficult to achieve meaningful results despite the resources invested in their activities.
According to him, organisations that implement 10 or 20 programmes annually may struggle to demonstrate their impact if their activities are not properly coordinated.
He therefore advised participants to identify at least one distinctive programme around which they could build their expertise, mobilise resources and measure their achievements.
Salam described this approach as a “Tower of Priority”, saying a clearly defined focus would help organisations deploy their limited resources more effectively and improve the quality of their interventions.
He added that organisations with well-planned programmes and demonstrable results would be better positioned to attract financial support from donors.
The facilitator said the participating organisations were expected to spend the next three months reviewing their existing activities and applying the lessons from the training.
He explained that online follow-up sessions would be organised to assess their progress, review their plans and encourage them to develop programmes that respond more effectively to community needs.
Salam also disclosed that the capacity-building initiative would be followed by another programme on strategic fundraising, tentatively scheduled for December or January, depending on the timing of Ramadan.
He said the proposed training would help organisations understand how to secure financial support for projects that were properly designed and capable of delivering tangible benefits.
However, he stressed that organisations must demonstrate competence, accountability and the ability to manage funds effectively before expecting financial support.
“Nobody wants to waste money on non-activities,” he said, emphasising the need for organisations to develop credible programmes with clear objectives and measurable outcomes.
Salam expressed satisfaction with participants’ engagement during the training, noting that the discussions had encouraged some organisations to reconsider their existing approaches to programme planning and community development.
He said the ultimate goal was to ensure that the knowledge acquired translated into practical changes in the activities of participating organisations.
The programme brought together representatives of several Islamic organisations in Ogun State, including the Muslim Students’ Society of Nigeria, the Federation of Muslim Women’s Associations of Nigeria, The Muslim Congress, the Muslim Corpers’ Association of Nigeria and the Ogun State Council of Islamic Affairs.