MKAN Economic Summit: Poverty Is Not An Excuse – Fashola

…Ahmadiyya youth seeks end to economic woes

Youth members of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Jama’at, Nigeria (AMJN) has called for an end to issues affecting the physical, economic, moral and spiritual development of man in the 21st century society.

The call was made at Ojokoro in Lagos State at the Annual National Workshop of the group held from Friday 14th to Sunday 16th July, 2017 at the Jama’at Headquarters, Ojokoro, Lagos State, Nigeria on the theme: Achieving the Best of Both Worlds.

Speakers at the event, captains of industry, discussed the salient matters which affect the youths and their development on the platform MKA NIGERIA ECONOMIC SUMMIT with the topic: Achieving the Best of Both Worlds (Economic and Moral Perspectives).

Delivering his Keynote address, Amir Sahib (National President), AMJN, Dr. Mashhud Aderenle Fashola advised youth on self-empowerment that government alone cannot handle its citizen’s needs “as a matter of fact we are talking about millions of jobless youths. They can take on their own initiative for self-empowerment as a body of this council, they can call on those among them who are successful in business to learn from them” Fashola narrated.

He added that “many of those who speak today come from very poor background which means poverty is not an excuse. The essence of today’s program is self-employment, self-reliance, we cannot wait for government on everything.

Dr. Fashola then enjoined all organizations to emulate the Jama’at empowerment and human infrastructure drive “all organization like Ahmadiyya Muslim Jama’at can come together to promote gainful employment for themselves”.

The AMJN national president advised federal government of Nigeria to harp on security and infrastructural development “there are sort of infrastructural decay in all sector, though there are some improvement in the energy sector and some transportation but we still have long way to go. Issue of security has been tackle a little bit which we want improvement on it”

“I will like the government to attend to road congestions at Apapa Port, because that’s our greatest port in Nigeria”.

One of the Speaker at the summit, the Naib Amir, AMJN South West, Alh. (Barr.) Abdul Azeez Alatoye said everybody have his or her own potential to develop something special “make yourself standout from others, develop a product that will make you outstanding in the market”.

A Project Manager, Mr Tajudeen Oladoja, who also gave lecture on the theme topic said all who make profit from their knowledge must give back to the society “talent are being wasted among us, we should have mindset of doing good and adding value to the society”.

Information Technology (IT) Professional, Yusuf Adeyemi, who is one of the discussants said anybody who intend to invest in IT must think of area they can add value “IT is a business you can just jump into. The most important thing and way to make money through IT is how to add value to technology”.

“Young Nigerians are developing software, you also can start from somewhere”.

Another discussant, Environmentalist, Muallim Abbas Agbaje said nobody should go against condition of employment because of religion.

Highlights of the workshop include Health Talk, Book Review, Lectures, Orientation Programmes, Fitness and Sanitation Exercise, Paper Presentations and Group Discussions, all of which are geared towards evaluating participants’ current statuses, coaching and mentoring them on becoming successful in both the present world and the hereafter.

One of the principal objectives of the Majlis Khuddam-ul-Ahmadiyya (MKAN), founded in Nigeria in 1972, is the moral and spiritual training of youth through a mixture of religious and secular activities. It is dedicated to ensuring its members develop and excel in qualities such as piety, honesty and fair dealing so that they can better contribute immensely to the country in which they live. The motto of the Majlis Khuddam-ul-Ahmadiyya is “Model for World Youths”.

As a reflection of this motto, the activities of MKA are not limited to the Muslim community. It serves the needs of all members of the society irrespective of colour, race, religion or creed and promotes interfaith dialogue and cooperation in order to promote peace and harmony.

A highpoint of the event was the grouping of participants into three groups, based on their economic statuses, and issues peculiar to each of the groups thoroughly addressed by the professionals in the trade. About 500 participants attended the event from across the country.

Other dignitaries at the event include, acting Missionary-in-charge AMJN, Maulvi Adnan Tahir; Alh. M. A. Bankole; General Secretary, AMJN, Alh. Abbas Iromini; Civil Engineer, Alh. M. M. Shittu; Mr. BSA Towolawi; Maulvi Abdul Lateef Ilori; and Muallim Sulaimon Ogunkanmi, among others.