Islamic centre empowers 100 imams with leadership, vocational skills

Al-Habibiyyah Islamic Centre, Lagos in conjunction with the Ikorodu Division Muslim Community (IDIMCO) has empowered over 100 Imams including some other Muslim leaders in the state with leadership and employment skills to enable them perform optimally in their spiritual and temporal duties.

With ‘leadership and empowerment’ as theme, the one-day conference held at the NASFAT Islamic Centre in Ikorodu on Wednesday drew participation from across private and public sectors with emphasis on financial independence, leadership skills, training and resources related to job creation, as well as vocation skills development and general upskilling. 
   
In his opening remarks, Coordinator of Al-Habibiyyah Islamic Centre, Abdulrahman Thabit, noted that the event represented the commitment of the organisation in creating a genuine leadership for the Muslim community through various programmes that support the growth and development of Imams and other Islamic leaders across the state.

Thabit said, “Despite being established as a result of their role, the Imams still need to be guarded because there are more to life than what they think. This platform gives them the opportunity to see things from different views rather than seeing it from one perspective which offers limited opportunities.    
“They have so many untapped opportunities that come with their positions as Imam which include what they can do to benefit themselves and their congregation.”
   
Speaking further, Thabit urged the Imams to be a servant leader who listen and act according to the practice of prophet Muhammad as well as the teaching of the holy Qur’an. He said: “Imams are established because they are appointed as leader. And most of these leaders emerge either through situational or accidental means. Many people wrongly assumed that because they are Imams, they are already leader. This is not so. For them to be effective as leaders, this is why we are emphasising that they must be trained.  So, this programme was just to enhance their performance and give them more insights into the position of leadership.”
   
While stressing the important role Imams play in the Muslim community, he enjoined them to be a good ambassador that promote positive things about the religion so that their followers can become better through their teachings.
   
In his lecture, Executive Secretary, Lagos State Scholarship Board, Abdurrahman Lekki, identified poor leadership as one of the major challenges affecting the country’s growth.
   
To address the crisis, Lekki called for the creation of a national curriculum on leadership skills across all spectrum from Primary to tertiary institutions.
 
 He said: “We have a preponderance of people in the country who are potential leaders that need to be trained and that is why we need to design a national curriculum on leadership which will entail leadership development, capacity building, among others right from the cradle to the tertiary institution level.”