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IN THE NAME OF ALLAH, THE BENEFICENT, THE MERCIFUL

IBADAN CHAPTER - BIANNUAL EXCO REPORT

Assalam Alaykum,

April-2009 / Rabi-Awwal 1431

Highlights

Old programs sustained with improvements
New programs added to improve overall members’ welfare
Partial Completion of Secretariat Upgrade Project
Minor progress on Cemetary Project

Programmes

Old

Monthly meetings: Monthly general meetings continue to hold consistently each month on the 3rd Sunday of the Lunar calendar month. The meetings start with Adhkar and recitation of selected portions of the Qur’an, followed by a lecture or discussion and then by the general meeting proper where various topics of interest are discussed.

The improvements implemented to the meeting include reviewing start/stop time to 12noon – 3pm to make punctuality more effective and restructuring seating arrangements to encourage sisters’ active participation. The overall theme for the year is ‘’ ‘’ building on the previous years theme of ‘’ ‘’. Alhamdulillah many members are hosting the meetings in their new houses.

Photo 1 – Meeting at …….. Photo 2 – Meeting at …………………..

Rural Dawah: This is a major breakthrough area for Unifemga Ibadan in the past year. The rural dawah programme usually holds the Saturday before the monthly general meeting. It was rotated between various rural communities across the Local Government areas of Oyo State with a plan to reach a particular community at a maximum of once/year (or less).

It was previously characterized by almost consistent poor attendance by members and host community alike and limited to <2hr interaction with the community which did not allow for proper penetration and value-adding. Although Unifemga used to contribute some money which was donated to the community (usually the mosque), the impact of this was very limited.

Also, the community used to demand for more support for dawah (like ‘ile kewu’), but there was no structure in place to support this. As such, in may of the communities, we experienced a decline in the ‘perceived level of Islam’ each time we visited. All these issues were assessed and the chapter came up with a ‘redesigned’ Rural dawah programme to address the above outages.

The most important points of the change is that we chose to keep visiting the same community for between 4-6 months and we spent the whole day (10am – 4pm) with the community delivering programmed lectures, short ‘assalatu, counseling (particularly for the children), medical treatment from our medical team and also discussing with the community elders about their needs which forms the basis of community development programme – both for their spiritual growth and their economic/social wellbeing.

Projects done include mosque repairs/upgrade (5 mosques), purchase of materials like blackboard, ‘qoidat’ and other materials for the ile kewu, rehabilitation of wells for economic work of the community, etc. With these changes, we have witnessed very impressive turnout by both members and host communities (including muslims and non-muslims), more attention by the attendees, greater impact on the people and a sense of pride injected to the communities muslims from the impact the programme is delivering.

The change is a source of pride for Unifemga and may form the basis of a transition to an NGO. Till date, two communities have been completed. Major challenge outstanding is getting reliable teachers for the ‘ile kewu’ and of course funds to sustain the programme.

Find embedded the rural dawah strategy document for possible re-application.

Rural Dawah at Jagun Village Iyana Offa LGA

Photos: Rural Dawah at Olode Village Ona Ara LGA

Ramadhan Iftar: As is our tradition, Ramadhan iftars hosted by members is a big event for Unifemga. This year was no different with 8 iftars hosted by volunteer members. The attendance at each of this sessions was at maximum capacity with members >25 attending each session. Also, external parties (neighbours,, mosque jama’at) of the hosts usually attends. Some of the hosts (ess) for last year include Bro Abass Oladoja, Engr Sodamade, Alh Balogun, etc. Pls find attached some photos of the events below.

Muharram Prayer / Hujjaj Welcome: Every new hijrah year, Unifemga Ibadan chapter gathers to thank Allah (SWT) and supplicate for more blessings in the new year. This programme is usually held at the Oyo State General Eid praying ground in the open. We also use the opportunity to welcome the new Hujajs amongst us and ask them to supplicate to Allah on our behalf with their new ‘spiritual state’. We had about 10 new Hujaj last year, some of which include Alhaji & Alhaja Akande (‘Kalu’), Alhaja Sodamade, Alhaja Adabanija, Alhaja Olabinjo, etc.

Children’s Camping: This year’s annual children camping took place at TAAS college, Omi Adio from Friday 10th April to Monday 13th April 2009. Turn-out was impressive with yet again another 20% increase in attendance versus previous year with 247 children registering.. The major highlights included a debate competition by the children and the special ‘ummu’s forum’. This year’s programme however witnessed some challenges with utilities although arrangements were later made to compensate for this.

Photo 1: Children at Sports field Photo 2: Prize awards to best delegate.

Family Picnic: Ibadan chapter family picnic took place on Sunday 19th April 2009 at IITA sports field. It was organized in the form of a fun sports event focused at reminding muslim families of the need to keep fit and have some fun periodically. Families were treated to exercises, football, volleyball, table-tennis and board games like chess, scrabble, Ludo, etc amidst a supply of snacks, etc.
This is the first time the event was designed in this manner and it received very good response from the members as a welcome innovation. A total of 29 families (about 120 people attended).

Photo 1 Photo 2

New additions

Annual Medical Screening: This was suggested during our Muharram prayer and Insha Allah is scheduled to hold in the last weekend of May 2009. It will feature comprehensive medical check-up for families including cancer, Hepatitis B & HIV (optional) screening. About 25 families have registered for the event so far. More details will be shared at the May 2009 general meeting.

Photo 1 Photo 2

Empowerment/Leadership Workshop: Also a new idea planned for July 2009 Insha Allah. The objective of this is to develop leadership potential for members particularly young members to give them a head start in gaining useful employment and/or start a business of their own. The programme will de designed after the Lagos chapter model and will hold for 3 days.

Projects

Chapter Secretariat Upgrade – Partially completed. Need to complete purchase of office equipment and furniture.

Cemetary Project

Others

Biannual Re-union Conference

Hosting of NEC Weekend Retreat

Cooperative Society

Business Committee

Welfare Support

Members Successes / Successful programmes – Qiblah School, Treasure Trove School, Ace farms, New houses for members, New Hajjis/Hajjas, etc. Alhamdulillah!

AFO – Apr-09

IN THE NAME OF ALLAH, THE BENEFICENT, THE MERCIFUL

REPORT OF ACTIVITIES (JANUARY 2007 - APRIL 2007)

GENERAL MEETING

The branch holds its general meetings once a month, specifically on every third Sunday of the lunar month between 12.00 noon and 2.00 p.m. The hosting of general meeting is rotational among members and is normally in accordance with the roster prepared at the beginning of each year. The hosts entertain members according to their financial capacity.

Activities at a general meeting include Dua, Quranic recitation, Spiritual Diet with paper presentation and meeting proper.
During the periods under review, four general meetings were held and the hosting schelude was as follows:

S/N	DATE	HOST	ADDRESS
1	07/01/2007	Bro. & Sis. Mikail Olaniran	2, Mako Drive, Oni & Sons Area, Ring Road, Ibadan.
2	04/02/2007	Bro. & Sis. O.A. Musa	Ogungbade Area, Adegbayi, New Ife Road, Ibadan
3	11/03/2007	Bro. & Sis. Abdur Rahman Balogun	8, Are Oyebola Street, Decart B/S, Ring Road, Ibadan
4	01/04/2007	Bro. & Sis. Abdur Rahman	Bolarinwa House 3, Road 4, ODK Street Alakia/Isebo, Ibadan

RURAL DAWAH

This programme is one of the efforts being made by the chapter to propagate Islam in the neighbourhood. The programme is in accordance with the Quranic injunctions and the practice of the Holy Prophet (S.A.W.)

It comes up on every Saturday preceding the general meeting at a pre-selected village around Ibadan between 4.00 p.m. and 6.00 p.m. A lead lecturer is chosen in advance to admonish the community on a certain aspect of the Islam and may be supported by other UNIFEMGA member and members of the host community.

The lecture is followed by comments, questions and answers. The programme is rounded up with fund raising for the maintenance of the hosting mosque or welfare of the host community. The programme so far has enjoyed the support of the host communities.
During the period under review, the names of the host communities were as listed below:

S/N	DATE	COMMUNITY
1	06/01/2007	Aba Ibikunle, Akinyele Local Govt. Area.
2	03/02/2007	Olorunda Ogunsola, Akanran.
3	10/03/2007	Erunmu Central Mosque.
4	31/03/2007	Olorunda Ogunsola, Akanran.

3. COOPERATIVE SOCIETY

In order to give our members economic empowerment, a Shariah-compliant cooperative society which gives interest-free loans to members, was formed a few years back.
During the period under review, the society recorded a significant improvement in terms of membership and members’ deposit.
The society meets every Sunday following a general meeting and the meeting is normally held at Abdul Azeez Arisekola Mosque, Iwo Road at 10.00 a.m.

4. FAMILY/ MEMBERS’ WELFARE

This branch is always conscious of its members’ wellbeing and that of their families. During the period under review, the welfare committee was reconstituted with additional responsibilities.

The terms of reference of the new committee were:
To officiate (or co-officiate with other Islamic group(s)) in any Aqiqah, Nikkah or related ceremony involving a UNIFEMGA member in accordance with the injunctions of the Holy Qur’an and the Sunah of the Holy Prophet (S.A.W.)
To proffer solutions to issues referred to the Problem Clinic and make recommendations to the EXCO.

To address other welfare matters as they affect our members.
The Problem Clinic addresses members’ problems in areas such as Accommodation, Employment, Match Marriages, Business Partnership, Office Problem, Embarking on a Project, Spiritual Guidance, Family Problem, Dispute Resolution and Neighbourhood/Relatives Problems among others.

5. PUBLICATION / PUBLIC RELATION

The branch has a Publications Committee which edits the lecture paper presented at each general meeting and prepares it for publication in the relevant newspaper column. During the period under review, many of such papers were published in the religion column of the Nigerian Tribune. The committee is in the process of compiling the past lecture papers into a book form.

6. KIDDIES CAMPING

UNIFEMGA, Ibadan Chapter held its second Kiddies Camping between April 6 and 9, 2007 at the Hajj Camp, Olodo, Ibadan for UNIFEMGA children between the ages of 3 and 15.
The programme, which was generally believed to be a huge success, featured lectures, spiritual guidance, sporting activities, quiz competition, family dawah among others. There was media coverage of the programme by the Broadcasting Corporation of Oyo State (B.C.O.S.).

The programme was sponsored from the donations received from members of the chapter and few corporate bodies.
The programme, which was a great improvement over the previous one, was attended by about 180 UNIFEMGA children.

7. UNIFEMGA IBADAN CONSULT

Ibadan Chapter, in line with the vision of the National Body, recognizes the need to have its own business outfit to generate fund for financing some of its programmes. To this effect a committee was set up to work on the registration and modus operandi of the consult last year.

During the period under review, the committee presented its report to the association and registered the consult with the CAC under the name UNIFEMGA Ibadan Ventures. The committee is now in the process of raising the needed capital for full take off of the consult.

Ismail Adeniyi Kamil
Secretary
14 June, 2007

IN THE NAME OF ALLAH, THE BENEFICENT, THE MERCIFUL

REPORT OF ACTIVITIES (JANUARY 2007 – APRIL 2007)

Introduction

This report covers the highlights of activities carried out by Ibadan Branch from May 2006 to - date.

Biennial Conference:

During the reporting period, the 7th Biennial Conference was held on Sunday, 30th September 2007 (19th Ramadan 1428 AH) at Jogor Centre, Ibadan and at the event the new Executive Council, which emerged from a selection process conducted by the Shurah Committee under the Chairmanship of Alh. Abdul – Ganiyy Sodamade, was inaugurated.

A Public lecture titled “Uniting the Disunited – Lessons for Muslim of Today” was delivered by Alh. Abdul – Hakeem Akanni Alli. The Chairman at the occasion was Alh. Abdul – Waheed Olajide while the Chief Host was Alhaji Nurudeen Olarinde. The occasion was also used to launch and present a book titled “Al – Hujjah” to members of the public.

Al – Hujjah is a collection of the Branch Publications on Islamic Issues. Some deserving members of the Branch were also given awards for their commitment to the Association’s activities and contribution to Islamic development in general. Among them were Bro. Ismail Ibikunle, Bro. Lukman Kharashi, Bro. Abdul – Kabir Adedoja, Bro. Abdul – Wakeel Dele and Sis. Modinat Rufai.

The newly sworn – in executive members were:

1. Alh. Abdul Fattah Olanlege - Chairman
2. Bro. Lukman Kharashi - Vice - Chairman
3. Sister Siliah Akanbi - Sister’s Coordinator
4. Bro. Maruf Oyedele - Secretary
5. Bro. Abdul – Rahman Bolarinwa - Asst. Secretary
6. Bro. Daud Olayiwola - Public Relations Officer
7. Alh. Musa Olabinjo - Financial Secretary
8. Sis. Anifat Bolarinwa - Treasurer
9. Bro. Zakariyyah Sulayman - Dawah Coordinator
10. Bro. Abdul – Ganiyy Oladokun - Ex – Officio I
11. Bro. Maruf Folorunso - Ex – Officio II

General Meeting:

The general meeting of the branch comes up once in a month on every third Sunday of the lunar month between 12.00 noon and 2.00 p.m. The hosting of the general meeting is rotational among members and is normally in accordance with the roster prepared at the beginning of each year. The hosts entertain members according to their financial capacity.

The main activities at a general meeting include Dua, Quranic recitation, Spiritual diet with paper presentation and meeting proper. During the period under review, twenty three meetings were held and attendance at general meetings witnessed some improvement.

This improvement was not unconnected with the updating of Membership Directory and the use of text messages to invite members to every general meeting. However, the problem of generational gap remains unsolved as recent graduates and elderly members have not been attending general meetings.

Rural Dawah

This programme is one of the avenues through which the Branch propagates Islam in the neighborhood. It comes up every Saturday preceding the general meeting at a pre-selected village around Ibadan between 4.00 p.m and 6.00 p.m. A lead lecturer is chosen in advance to admonish the community on an aspect of Islam and may be supported by other UNIFEMGA members and members of the host community. The lecture is followed by comments, questions and answers.

The programme is rounded up with fund raising for the maintenance of the hosting mosque or welfare of the host community. The programme so far has enjoyed the support of the host communities. During the reporting period, about twenty three rural dawah programmes were held at different locations.

The Association presented gift items to the host communities and made donations to assist the communities or individual members of the communities as the need arose. The new EXCO had expressed her intention to reform the rural dawah programme with a view to making it result oriented and achieving better impact.

The reformed programme would concentrate efforts by limiting activities to not more than four locations in a year and it is expected to be holistic in its intervention approach covering spiritual, economic empowerment, education (Islamic and Western), health, capacity building etc

Cooperative Society

In order to enhance the economic potential of our members, a Shariah compliant cooperative society which gives interest – free loans to members, was formed a few years back. During the period under review, the Cooperative Society was re-organized and refocused to meet some of the yearnings of members. The society recorded a significant improvement in terms of membership and members’ deposit. The Coordinator of the society presented memoranda to members to acquaint them with the operations of the society from time to time.

Iftar

In line with the practice of the Holy Prophet (S.A.W.), members are given the opportunity of hosting other members for Iftar (Breaking of Fast) during the Ramadan period. The programme comes up between 4.00p.m and 7.00p.m. throughout the weekends of the month of Ramadan. Activities such as Dua, Tafsir, and Spiritual Diet take place during the programme.

During the period under review, the hosting of the programme received a remarkable support from members as the number of intending hosts was more than the number of Saturdays and Sundays in the month of Ramadan. The association is proposing to include Fridays in future.

Welfare

The chapter is always mindful of its members’ well-beings and those of their family members. A standing Welfare Committee is usually in place to shoulder this responsibility.
During this period, Aqiqah & Nikkah Committee was formed and saddled with the responsibility of conducting Aqiqah and Nikkah rites involving UNIFEMGA members and their families.

In an effort to strengthen the welfare committee for necessary improvement on its activities, the Committee was reconstituted from the Aqiqah & Nikkah Committee under the Chairmanship of Bro. Mikail Olaniran who voluntarily offered to serve in the committee.

Cemetery Project

During the tenure of the last EXCO, it was recognized that there was a need to have a befitting final resting place for members. It was then decided that four (4) acres of land should be acquired for this purpose.

Through the fund-raising drive spearheaded by Bro. Abdul Ganiyy Sodamade; the EXCO and a few other members, donations were received from members, the larger portion of which came from the older members of the association. The present EXCO continued the fund-raising effort which finally led to the acquisition and surveying of two (2) acres of land at Ile-Igbon in Lagelu Local Government Area of Oyo State.
The land had been surveyed and a new committee, made up of relevant professionals, had been raised to prepare a position paper on the utilization of the land.

Public Relations / Publications

The chapter has a tradition of reaching out to other organizations both Islamic and non-Islamic whenever the need arises. Courtesy visits are also paid to notable Muslims within and outside UNIFEMGA fold.
During the period under review, solidarity visits were paid to some UNIFEMGA members in government.

UNIFEMGA Ibadan Chapter has a Publication Committee which edits the lecture papers presented at each general meeting and prepare it for publication in relevant newspaper column. The committee; in conjunction with the PRO, is also saddled with the responsibility of making press releases on Topical/National issues.

During this period, many lecture papers were published in the religion column of the Nigerian Tribune after passing the editorial scrutiny of Bro. Abdul Rasheed Fasasi-led Publication Committee. went further to compile the lectures into a book.

UNIFEMGA Ventures

Perhaps the greatest achievement recorded by this chapter under the last EXCO members was the formation of the UNIFEMGA Ventures.
In line with the vision of UNIFEMGA on the need to have a business outfit to fund some of the Association’s programmes, a committee was raised with the responsibilities of establishing, registering and preparing modalities of running UNIFEMGA Ibadan Consult.

The business - like manner in which the committee handled its assignment led to the formation and registration of a business outfit known as UNIFEMGA Ventures with the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) within a very short period.

The committee proposed to do business in phases in three key areas namely: Farming (fishery, poultry and cassava farming), Pharmacy, and Islamic Materials / Gifts Shop. The Ventures commenced operation in September 2007 in Fish Farming with an initial capital of #1.35million and the shares of the Ventures were put on sale to interested members.

Information Dissemination

During the period under review, the chapter keeps members informed from time to time whenever an issue concerning the association or any of its members arises through the use of phone calls and text messages. This approach has led to an improvement in members’ welfare and implementation of Association’s programme.
It must be mentioned here that this activity was largely funded personally by the outgoing Amir – Bro. Abdul – Ganiyy Oladiokun. May Allah reward him (Amin). The new EXCO had assumed full financial responsibility for this activity.

More than ever before, the Association made use of the e-mail facilities to send information to members from time to time. However, a large percentage of our members still do not have functional e-mail addresses, and this restricts the information flow to such members.

Kiddies Camping

A Children Camping programme was organized between 11th and 14th April 2008 at TASS College, Omi Adio, Ibadan for UNIFEMGA children between the ages of 3 and 15. The programme featured lectures, spiritual guidance, sporting activities, panorama, and quiz competition among others.

There was press coverage of the programme by the Broadcasting Corporation of Oyo State (B. C. O. S) which was attended by 200 participants 120% index vs past year. The programme was sponsored mainly from the donations received from members of the branch and efforts were in pipeline to seek corporate sponsors for the future Children Camping programme.

Finance

In order to improve the financial position of the association, one of the steps taken by the outgoing EXCO was the upward review of the monthly due to N500.00 per family. This review so far enjoyed the support of many members who were also concerned about the perennial lean purse of the association.
The present EXCO is working out a modality for recovering the outstanding monthly dues from members. The cooperation of our members in financing of the programmes was commendable. We sincerely hope that this gesture will continue.