•Amb. Babatunde Adeyemo, CP Abiodun Alamutu and others during Ramadan lecture on Wednesday.
A lecturer in the School of Languages, Lagos State University of Education (LASUED) Ijanikin, Dr. Salaudeen Munirudeen, has ascribed the causes of the nation’s economic downturn and the attendant hardship to individuals and collective acts of corruption, cheating, wastefulness and indiscipline of Nigerians.
Munirudeen said Allah abhors cheating, mischiefs and corruption, stressing that where citizens engage in corruption and cheat one another, Allah will permit hardship, famine and suffering upon their country in such a way that even the best efforts of the leaders would be of not effect in solving the problems.
The don spoke on Wednesday, March 20, at the Ogun State Police Command Headquarters, Eleweran while delivering this year’s edition of Ramadan lecture titled, ‘ Islamic Way of Reviving the Economy of Our Country Nigeria’ which was organised by the Muslim faithful from the Command.
He urged citizens to pray for the country and their leaders for God’s intervention and mercy, even as he called on them to shun cheating, wastefulness, indiscipline and corruption so that the recovery process for the economy can have a life of its own.
The lecture had in attendance the Commissioner of Police, CP Abiodun Alamutu, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Operations), DCP, Bolanle Muritala, DSP Abimbola Oyeyemi, the Command’s Police Spokesperson, SP Omolola Odutola, Philanthropist Adewale Adesina, Alhaja Kemi Anifowose, the Pelican Valley CEO, Amb.(Dr) Babatunde Adeyemo and a host of important dignitaries.
He identified interest – free financial system, giving of alms to empower the poor and vulnerable people as well as youths employment as parts of the solutions to the current economic challenges facing the country.
He explained that interest-free financial transactions are in agreement with the ethical guidelines of Islam, which reckons money as a medium of exchange rather than an item that can yield income via interest.
According to him, this principle ensures that financial transactions contribute directly to economic activities, individuals and collective prosperity as well as the development of the nation without the choking burden of interest on any person or business.
In his remarks, Amb.(Dr) Adeyemo who is the brain behind Pelican Valley Estate Laderin, Abeokuta, Pelican Brief Estate, Pelican’s Ecostay Apartments and Pelican’s Greenish Acre Farm Estate – at Kobape corridor of Ogun State, commended the guest lecturer for his timely and insightful lecture at a time the country needed a rebirth to bring about the desired prosperity.
The real estate practitioner said that at Pelican Valley; the Nigerian foremost real estate firm is not only conducting its business with Integrity, due diligence and quality delivery, but also doing so with the help of Almighty Allah without taking riba (interest) from clients on any of its properties in the last 14 years whether they bought and paid in full at once or paid by instalment.
He also said that the firm is complementing the state and federal governments’ efforts at reviving the economy through jobs creation by making 98 percent of its workforce youths – oriented, adding that the passion for helping the needy equally informed why he established Okó Opó Foundation, a non – governmental organisation that caters for widows and the downtrodden members of the society.
Earlier in his welcome address, the Chief Imam of Ogun State Police Command, Abdulwaheed Omikunle, said the lecture is an annual event of the Muslim faithful in the Command to come together, hear the word of Allah and be blessed.
Meanwhile, the Commissioner of Police in Ogun State, CP Abiodun Alamutu has described Ambassador Babatunde Adeyemo as a “dependable and reliable personality” who has remained good ally of the police and the Command.
CP Alamutu who commended Adeyemo for being faithful and committed to ensuring that Pelican Valley continues to meet her Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) to its host communities, assured him of police support in the areas of security so that the real estate business can thrive in Ogun State.
“Your integrity is not in doubt, you are a reliable and dependable personality. You have been up and doing fulfilling your Corporate Social Responsibility. We will give you all of our necessary support for the real estate business to thrive.
“You have been a dependable ally of the police and on our part, we take note of it that you have been supportive of the Command,” CP Alamutu said.
The CP spoke when he received the Pelican Valley CEO and his staff in his office shortly after the Ramadan lecture where Adeyemo donated some funds in support of the widows and also a new power generating set for the mosque at the Police Headquarters Eleweran.
Earlier, Ambassador Adeyemo intimated him on the level of work progress going on in all his estates, especially the Pelican Ecostay Apartments and installation of industrial solar lights in the estate, link roads and communities ahead of September 2024 commissioning of the projects.
