For A Northern Nigerian Islamic Centre In London

Perhaps as you read this, today at the London Central Mosque and Islamic Cultural Centre, your Columnist is participating in the 2018 Annual Conference and AGM of the Nigeria Muslim Forum – United Kingdom (NMFUK, www.nmfuk.org and [email protected]). The theme of this year’s conference is “Advancement of Communication and Media in the Muslim World”, and I have been invited as one of the speakers. My topic is “The Media as a Tool for Promoting Cohesion Among Muslims” while my one-time student and lecturing colleague at Bayero University, Kano, Dr. Muhammad Jameel Yusha’u (now Lead Communications Specialist at the Islamic Development Bank, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia) is speaking on “Islam and the Media in This Century.”

Embedded in the Conference/AGM is also an Appeal Fund Launch for the NMFUK Centre Project, where the organisation is hoping to raise Four Million Pounds to acquire property in London for two million and convert it into a Mosque and Islamic Centre with the other two million. The NMFUK also invited me to function as MC for this fundraiser though, as we all know, this is a herculean task as convincing people to part with money will not be easy.

The NMFUK was originally formed in 1992 to help Nigerian Muslim Students principally from Northern Nigeria who come to the UK settle, maintain their identity and identify places of worship and holding study circles to acquire knowledge and interact with colleagues. Its Vision is to “Bring succour and support to the less privileged in the society” while its Mission is “To be the best in bringing benefit to the rich, the poor and the less privileged in the society by facilitating fair and equitable distribution of wealth to humanity”.

It is a charity organisation under the Charity Commission of England and Wales, and is an affiliate of the Council of Nigerian Muslim Organisations (CNMO), which in turn is a member of the Coordinating Council of the Muslim Council of Britain (MCB). As the NMFUK became bigger, it introduced projects to help back home, including repatriation and burial of members who die in the UK. The Trustees of the Forum have registered a charity, Network for Nigerian Muslim Initiative (NNMI) with the Nigeria’s Corporate Affairs Commission to handle any project it executes back home.

Current Amir/President of the NMFUK, Dr. Abdullahi Ahmed, told this morning’s gathering that “This Conference and AGM is an opportunity to come together as a community to re-double our effort towards achieving the objectives of the charity. The AGM is also an opportunity for the Trustees and Management to report progress as well as challenges faced by the Management Team to the membership, as this will ensure proper accountability that is necessary for long-term sustainability of the organisation.

Speaking further on the NMFUK Centre Project (where £4m is being appealed for), the Amir said: “The NMFUK Centre will provide a platform that will cater for the needs of our community in the UK, and have the potential to raise funds to support future NMFUK charitable activities. The effort towards realising a financially-sustainable centre started almost three years ago, and it is reasonable to report that limited progress has been made, such as a detailed plan of the vision of the centre. However, this journey has to start from somewhere. Therefore, the current leadership of the NMFUK Centre Project is proposing a staircasing approach that will lead us to the final goal. This approach requires initial resources to start some activities in the short term.

“Incidentally, one of the reasons for hosting this year’s Conference in London is to revive the effort of establishing the NMFUK Centre, and I enjoin NMFUK Chapters and all members to pledge to support this objective by setting up standing orders and organising fundraising events for at all other NMFUK programmes. Finally, NMFUK National has committed 10% of all unrestricted income it gets to this Centre Project.

“There are many risks that could inhibit the growth of NMFUK or expose it to potential legal challenges. According to media reports, between 2015-2017 over 300 UK charities have been closed (see, for example. This problem has significantly affected Muslim charities, leading to bank accounts closures with years of crippling financial consequence. NMFUK suffered a similar fate over three years ago, and is still struggling to recover the losses of income from long-term standing orders.

“The second biggest risk for the organisation is the lack of financial support from the membership. While NMFUK has more than 200 members across the UK, so far only a handful are contributing the monthly membership dues to the organisation. We all have a stake in the organisation’s success; I therefore enjoin all members to set up monthly standing orders Fi sabililLah.

“The final risk is the limited involvement of young people and women in the management and various committees of the organisation. This is causing inertia of ideas within the management and various committees, and poses a potential risk of leadership gap in the near future. Therefore, the management will be active in seeking new leadership and members for all the committees of Nigerian Muslim Forum, as this will help inject new ideas as well as prepare future leaders for the organisation.

“Finally, I will like to use this medium to announce to the membership the successes and recognition that Allah has bestowed on our brother and leader Dr Abdullahi Shehu, our Chairman Board of Trustees who, within 2018, has been conferred with two honours by the Queen of England, first as the Deputy Lord Mayor of Coventry and most recently with an OBE for his immense community service.

“Special thanks to our brother Dr Ahmad Al Dubayan, Director General of the London Central Mosque and Islamic Cultural Centre who not only gave us this Conference Hall for free, but is also giving us a Goodwill Message as well as a Fundraising Motivation Talk.

“It is instructive to know that 95% of the day-to-day running of the organisation is shouldered by volunteer Trustees and Management Team, and this is unsustainable for the life of the Forum. Therefore, your contributions will be of immense help.

“For those in the UK, the Account Name is NMF UK while the Account Number is 01325401. The Sort Code is 30-00-83 and the Reference Code is 209 (NMFUKCP). The Bank is Al Rayyan Bank. For those in Nigeria who want to contribute, the Account Name is ‘Network for Nigeria Muslim Initiative’ while the Account Number is 20131073428 and Reference Code is 209 (NMFUKCP) at First Bank Nigeria Plc. Contact persons are Amir of London Chapter Shaikh AbdurRazzak Ibrahim (+447943449036) and Centre Committee Chairman Brother Adam Abubakar Gumel (+447984092005).

“JazakumulLah khair as you donate.”