NMFUK: Journey to Diasporic peace broker

Aliyu Musa

No Nigerian in the Diaspora irrespective where they live or the level of comfort they enjoy would be proud of happenings back home. Tales of tragedies that are either accidental or deliberately caused often shatter one’s heart each time they are told. And each time one reads through the pages of newspapers, scans news sites, listens to news reports or watches news pictures the usual prayer is there should be no mention of Nigeria for the wrong reasons.

While one is able to control a number of events in one’s life there are several others one is simply forced to accept and even live with. In my opinion, being a Nigerian which I am very proud of, is one of such things one did not have control over and, therefore, one must accept and work hard to turn all the negatives into positives.

Nearly a decade ago, when I first arrived the UK, one of the few things that positively impacted on me was my meeting with some Nigerians who are uncompromisingly patriotic and incurably optimistic about the country’s future. During my interaction with them I began flaking off some of my pessimisms. On one occasion one of them, Alhaji Garba Sani, invited me to a meeting of the Nigeria Muslim Forum (NMF) in Birmingham.

I had just completed an internship with the BBC Hausa at Bush House, London, where I met quite a few people with similar thoughts. Malam Suleiman Ibrahim was one of those. On the day we were to travel to Birmingham we agreed a meeting point from where we chartered estate vans that conveyed us to the venue of the meeting. While there I realised Alhaji Garba, Malam Suleiman, Professor Suleiman Na’ibi and many other professionals that were either settled or studying in the UK had set up the organisation which such objectives as bringing Nigerian Muslims together, at intervals, to discuss burning issues affecting the people and country and to help new arrivals, especially students, cushion the effects of culture shock.

In the years that followed younger but equally enthusiastic men, mentored by people like Alhaji Garba, Dr Usman Abdullahi, Dr Falalu, Dr Arabo, Professor Mashood Baderin, amongst others, began stepping into the roles of leadership. One of those is the current Ameer Dr Muhammad Jameel Yusha’u. Dr Jameel has always been a confidant. As the Ameer, although with less experience, he demonstrated the sort of selfless leadership that anyone would envy. He was backed by a team of equally indefatigable up and coming Nigerian professionals in the Diaspora.

When Dr Jameel eventually stepped aside in April 2010 everyone was sad to miss him but another similarly hardworking man, Dr Ibrahim Nurudeen, stepped into his shoes and fitted well. It was during Dr Nurudeen’s brief tenure that we were able to register NMF as a charity, in spite of the stringent conditions.

The NMF as a charity has embarked on a number of impressive projects that were initially considered a bit ambitious. For example its orphan sponsorship project has seen it directly providing financial support towards the education of a number of orphans in Nigeria. It has also, over the years, collected and disbursed Zakat-ul Fitr (charity offered at the end of Ramadhan fasting) to needy people in Nigeria. The last disbursement was made in all states of the country. The NMF has also offered direct financial aid to victims of conflict or natural disasters.

But its most striking project has been the mobile clinic it started operating in the country in August. It was flagged off in Kibiya, where its secretary general, Dr Mukhtar Ahmad led the team of doctors that attended to more than 1000 patients within a space of three days, including some needing surgical operations. Presently, two more similar clinics have been planned.

One major problem that keeps most Nigerians edgy today is insecurity. Whereas the Boko Haram uprising appears synonymous to insecurity, there are numerous others to worry about. As a charity the NMF considers it within its scope to contribute towards tackling the problem. And following several months of planning it is holding a peace conference in Leicester in which it hopes solutions would be proffered.

In a globalising world the role of communities in the Diaspora towards shaping events in their home countries is immensely valuable. Whereas the NMF’s conference in Leicester is convened by a group of Muslims from Nigeria, countless requests have been received from non-Muslims wishing to attend. And more importantly, one of the key speakers is Bishop Mathew Hassan Kukah, the Catholic Bishop of Sokoto Diocese. This diversity is what would make the whole effort unique and the results have far-reaching effects.

Postscript:

This article has been published in the Blueprint newspaper of 21/12/12.