By Goodluck Ikiebe
The UN Refugee Agency, UNHCR and the Al-Habibiyyah Islamic Society, a faith-based organisation in Nigeria, are partnering to galvanize support for internally displaced persons in Nigeria till June 2024.
The National Chief Imam, Al-Habibiyyah Society, Imam Fuad Adeyemi, says in a statement that currently, over 3.3 million people are internally displaced in Nigeria.
“As a part of this partnership, Al-Habibiyyah Islamic Society will organise fundraising activities to mobilise resources to support internally displaced persons in Nigeria”
According to Imam Adeyemi, “This partnership with UNHCR is an expansion of the work Al-Habibiyyah is doing to support the less privileged in the society”.
He states that during the Ramadan, “we feed at least 2,000 people every day with our food bank program in Abuja.
Moreover, we have over 20 years of experience in fundraising as evident in our annual distribution of Zakat”, Imam Fuad Adeyemi added.
The National Chief Imam of Al-Habibiyyah explained that
the over 3.3 million internally displaced persons (IDPs) in Nigeria cut across different regions of northeast, northwest, and north central.
“The perennial farmers-herders clashes in the northcentral as well as the banditry & kidnappings in the northwest have added to the displacement emergency in the northeast caused by non-state-armed groups”, he noted.
Imam Adeyemi said, “These displaced communities are in dire need of support for basic amenities such as shelter, health, education, access to clean water, and protection from sexual violence”.
UNHCR has been at the forefront, responding to the needs of these IDPs, but the increasing number of displaced persons in Nigeria has exacerbated resources.
“This partnership between UNHCR and the Al-Habibiyyah Islamic Society intends to mobilise support from Nigeria’s Muslim community and galvanise the spirit of Islamic philanthropy as a tool to support some of the most vulnerable populations amongst us”.
Al-Habibiyyah Islamic Society is a faith-based organization in Nigeria whose mandate includes the propagation of Islam in Nigeria and beyond, Islamic & secular education, inter-religious dialogue, provision of social services such as health care, education & welfare assistance to people in need as well as the advancement of Islamic culture in all facets of human activities.
On the other hand, the UN Refugee Agency,
UNHCR, leads international action to protect people forced to flee because of conflict and persecution.
Since its formation by the United Nations General Assembly in 1951, UNHCR has helped millions of forcibly displaced people restart their lives and has received the Nobel Peace Prize twice.
In line with its global mandate, UNHCR in Nigeria works to safeguard the rights and well-being of refugees and asylum-seekers, refugee returnees, internally displaced people (IDPs), and stateless men, women and children.
