U.S. President Barack Obama’s Special Representative to Muslim Communities, Shaarik Zafar, was in Nigeria recently as part of his maiden visit to sub-Saharan Africa to meet with government officials and civil society representatives on issues of promoting educational and economic opportunities and accountable governance. At the end of a workshop on anti-corruption tools for religious leaders, Mr. Zafar spoke exclusively with PREMIUM TIMES’ Bassey Udo and Sani Tukur on the role of religious leaders in combating corruption, promoting accountability, and encouraging transparency. Excerpts:
PT: You were in Kano for the workshop on corruption with religious leaders. How did it go?
Zafar: First, let me say it was terrific honour and privilege to visit Nigeria, both in Abuja and Kano in the north. I am the Special Representative to Muslim Communities. I report to President Obama and Secretary (John) Kerry. My job is to engage with Muslim communities around the world. A lot of the 1.6 billion Muslims around the world are here in Nigeria. You can’t be everywhere. You have to prioritize.
So, it’s obvious to anybody why one would want to be in Nigeria. It is an important country, with a large Muslim population, the largest economy in Africa. The visit to Kano was so interesting, because we saw a city that is over 1,000 years old, terrific history and tradition. I had the privilege of meeting His Highness, the Emir of Kano, Mohammed Sanusi II, as well as the state governor, Abdullahi Ganduje.
We had a range of very good conversations with religious leaders. The reason we were there was for a workshop on anti-corruption; engaging with religious leaders. U.S. is a secular government. But we are a very deeply religious country. Nigeria, obviously, is a very religious country. Religious leaders in both of our countries play pretty important roles in society.
This was an opportunity to engage them on the fight against corruption, which is something we identify with Nigeria. President (Muhammadu) Buhari has the kind of vision that is very important, and we want to play a supporting role on that. We also felt the religious leaders obviously have crucial roles to play.
So, it was a pretty successful workshop. They were very animated to participate in the workshop. I am sure from next month we will begin to see some progress
Read full interview here.