Island Muslim Community Plans N5b Mega Project for Muslim Cemeteries, Hospitals, Orphanages

By BASHIR ADEFAKA

They are prominent, visionary and deeply religious and to cap it all a humanitarian per excellence who have constantly used their resources. Island Muslim Community (IMC)  comprises of Muslim faithful and eminent Nigerians with mission to propagate Islam while giving social Interventions in areas of healthcare, education and care for dead Muslims. These prominent Nigerians have demonstrated that you can be your brother’s keeper.

But how do you consolidate on this humanitarian endeavours and make its impact felt? It is by collectively support identified projects.

With Muslim Ummah of Nigeria now working intensively to bring its members in touch with modern development, the lsland Muslim Community (IMC) has been part of the leading lights within a few years of its establishment.

Propelled by the milk of humanity, which has continued to flow ceaselessly from its bossom, the association on Tuesday February 25, 2025 organized a press conference which, according to its Chairman Board of Trustees, Alhaji Rafiu Adisa Ebiti, is to give an insight to what the Island Muslim Community (IMC) was about to achieve and for which it is launching a N5 billion mega Social Infrastructure Fund holding at the Oriental Hotel, Victoria Island, Lagos on Saturday March 1, 2025.

The N5 billion according to Ebiti is to accelerate and scale up various projects across Lagos State in line with set goals of the Muslim community, which is another milestone in this committed association whose mission and vision have become a reference point.

Established a few years back having realized  that social amenities and infrastructure which are peculiar to the needs of Muslims and the dictates of Islam are either totally lacking or in short supply on the Island.

As a result of this, the Muslim communities on the Island came together to form what is now known as the Island Muslim Community (IMC), an umbrella body for all Muslim individuals, communities, mosques, and Muslim corporate entities on the Island. The body came to being on August 22, 2022 as a faith-based, not-for- profit, non-governmental organization, its membership straddles the length and breadth of Ikoyi, Victoria Island, Lekki, Chevron, Ajah, Ibeju-Lekki among others.

When it kicked off, the mandate was clear in terms of vision and mission to be the center for promoting Island Muslims’ common good through cooperation and collaboration, and mission to promote unity among the Island Muslims and build social infrastructure and capacity to enhance their welfare.

With its carriage of the motor, ‘IMC intervening for the Ummah’s good’, the Island Muslim Community has had to work for the core objectives of promotion unity and welfare of the communities, provision of Muslim Social Projects and infrastructure, Socio-economic and financial inclusion programmes and projects, protection of Islamic values and interests, youth empowerment and mobility and ensure media presence for strategic national engagement.

The association is led by a renowned accountant and business man, Alhaji Rafiu Adisa Ebiti who is also its Chairman, Board of Trustees, Vice-Chairman, Alhaji Tijani Borodo, a lawyer and President and  Chairman of Governing Council, Institute of Directors Nigeria (IoC), Alhaji Tijani Borodo while the Shurah Council is a standing committee composed of the leading Imams and Islamic scholars from the stakeholders communities. It relates with the Board of Trustees in advisory capacity, guides the organization in its spiritual affairs and promotes the unity of members and communities.

Its members include Coordinator, Finance and Admin, Alhaja Kudirat Moyosore-Brimah; Chairman, Executive Council, Alhaji Adeniyi Akinlusi; Chairman Mega Launch Committee/member, Alhaji Ariyo Olushekun; Chief Imam, Lekki Central Mosque, Dr Ridwan Jamiu; Member, BoT, Alhaji Sherifat Abiola Andu and Member, Executive Council, Dr Basheer Oshodi.

Some of the proposed projects are  Shariah-compliant cemeteries, a 1- 10,000 square meter, Ikorodu Cemetery Land, currently being developed,  Premium Cemetery at Akodo and Cemetery at Ibeju-Lekki. World Class Hospital for women and children: A gender sensitive hospital where the dignity of the Muslim woman is respected in service delivery and men are attended to by male doctors.

Completed Muslim-Oriented Orphanage at Surulere, Lagos, which focus is to protect Deen and sanity of Muslim orphaned children. Another project in the pipeline is Island Muslim Community (IMC) Center, a revenue-generating edifice to house the following among others: Events halls, Office Space for Rent, Commercial activities, Digital Communications Hub (Radio, Studio, etc.) amongst other line up porgrammes.

Addressing the press conference held in the Rear Admiral Jubril Ayinla Hall of Lekki Central Mosque, Lekku, Lagos, on Tuesday, BoT Chairman Adisa Ebiti said, “We are here to give an insight to what the Island Muslim Community is about to achieve and for which it is launching a N5 billion social infrastructure fund at the Oriental Hotel, Victoria Island, Lagos on March 1, 2025.” He said since it not permissible to keep a dead Muslim in the morgue for a long time, something must be done  to his/her  burial without delay just like social interventions are also vital.

“IMC is a not-for-profit organisation, and It’s the umbrella body for Muslims and Muslim organisations on Victoria Island, Ikoyi, Lekki Scheme 1 and Ibeju-Lekki areas of Lagos State.  The organisation was established as an interventionist body to ensure the provision of Islamic social infrastructure that are concomitant to the practice of Islam.

“It is rather pathetic to note that such essential facilities as cemeteries, orphanages, women and children hospital, Halal recreation centers, etc, are either totally non-existent or inadequate in our local jurisdiction. This explains why we are embarking on an arduous task of raising N5 billion for the provision of such essential Islamic social infrastructure for the teeming Muslim population in the aforementioned axis.

“It’s an open secret that the ancient cemeteries on the island, such as Oke-Sunnah, Abari, and Ikoyi are already bursting at the seams. Unfortunately too, the few highbrow cemeteries available hardly meet Islamic standards, quite apart from the fact that their charges are relatively exorbitant. In view of this ugly situation, we have made cemeteries our flagship project,” said Alhaji Ebiti.

Corroborating him, the Vice-Chairman of the association,  Alhaji Tijani Borodo said.  “Island Muslim Community is an umbrella body for all Muslim organisations, for the Muslim Ummah at this Ikoyi, Victoria Island, Lekki, and Ibeju-Lekki axis. That is what the IMC is all about, for us to provide a conducive atmosphere for living, for business and all other activities of human beings that are in  compliance with Sharia.

“in our own thought, just like the Chairman has said, we have three flagship approaches: Number one is the cemetery which he has mentioned, number two us the hospital where people will get befitting treatment.

In her own submission, Alhaja Sherifat Abiola-Andu said, “This is being a major project. One is a cemetery, the second is an orphanage and third is to have a hospital for Muslims. It is inevitable that we are going to die but we don’t know where we are going to be buried. And right now there is paucity of cemetery for Muslims and we thought we want to gave a nice resting place and that is what is informing us to have this mega launch. We need a lot of money to make sure that we have enough resources to do that.”

Alhaji Ariyo Olushekun said, “We have some vital projects that we thought as a community we should work on. The ones that we have identified now are the cemetery, the orphanage and the hospital. As for the cemetery, we are working on three cemeteries; one in Ikorodu, one in Ibeju-Lekki abd another one in Akodo.

“As for the orphanage, we have an orphanage that is about to start, everything is ready, we are only awaiting final inspection by government authority and then it will kick off.

In his remarks, Dr. Bashir Oshodi, who gave a brief analysis about why the intervention in the healthcare delivery system is pivotal in the mega project of the IMC, spoke about the need for a concentrated effort on a Muslim hospital, said, “27 percent of Nigerian kids have stunted growth. Why? Because they don’t have proper nutrition,they are not eating proper food. 20 to 15 million children are out of school. That is the highest in the world.

“Now, if you look at the number of doctors we need, globally it is about one doctor to 600 people. In Nigeria we gave one doctor to 5,000 people. So, for every 5,000 people you have one doctor. How much can be do through that? If you raise N5 billion, N10 billion, N100 billion, it is not going to solve the problem.”

On measures being taken for the sustainability of the organisation in terms of cash flow to execute various projects, Alhaji Borodo, said integrity is the first key for sustaining present and feature projects as proper accountability will always endear donors to their tent. This he said followed by coming together of highly professional Muslims who are committed to a cause for the betterment of humanity.