•Fed Govt delegation, Lagos Muslim Community parley for resolution
By Tajudeen Adebanjo
The Committee set up by President Muhammadu Buhari on the lingering crisis between the officials of the Department of State Services (DSS) stationed at Dodan Barracks and the Jamaatul Muslimeen Council (otherwise known as Lagos Central Mosque) over the disputed Obalende Muslim Prayer Ground was in Lagos on Friday for site inspection.
Led by the Chief of State to the President, Prof Ibrahim Gambari, the committee members including Minister of Defence Major General Bashir Salihi Magashi (rtd); Works and Housing Minister Babatunde Fashola and some heads of security agencies met with the representatives of the Jamaatul Muslimeen Council led by the Baba Adinni of Lagos/Executive Chairman of Lagos Central Mosque Sheikh AbdulAfeez Abou; Executive Vice Chairman of Lagos Central Mosque Alhaji Sikiru Alabi-Macfoy; former Federal Commissioner for Works Alhaji Lateef Femi Okunnu; President, Muslim Community of Lagos State (MCLS) Prof. Tajudeen Gbadamosi and member of the Lagos Central Mosque Executive Council Dr. Abdullah Jibril Oyekan.
President Buhari, during a meeting with the leaders of the Jamaatul Muslimeen Council in Aso Villa, promised to resolve the age-long tussle over the ownership of Obalende Muslim Prayer Ground between the Lagos State Jama’atul Muslimeen (Muslim Community) and security agencies.
The Muslimeen Council, in their presentation to Mr President during the Abuja meeting, alleged that the DSS Officials stationed at Dodan Barracks were about to refuse them access to and control of the Obalende Eid Prayer Ground for Eid prayers.
They said the authorities may have taken such a decision due to lack of information about the true ownership of the Obalende Prayer Ground.
According to them, the Government of Nigeria made an “Absolute Grant” of land to the Jamat-ul-Muslimin on 9 August, 1931, decades before Dodan Barracks came into existence.
They, however, requested President Buhari to direct that all Federal Government agencies, particularly the ones stationed at Dodan Barracks, recognise and respect the fact that the Obalende Eid Prayer Ground legally belongs to the Jamaatul Muslimeen Council of the Lagos Central Mosque; direct that the desecration of the Obalende Eid Prayer Ground by its profane use as a helipad and as a dump site should stop, with immediate effect; direct that the Dodan Barracks authorities should remove all containers and debris at the Obalende Eid Prayer Ground before the next ‘Eid-ul-Fitr Prayer, expected to fall in the third week of April; direct the Dodan Barracks authorities to ensure that the Muslim Community and their agents have unrestricted access to the Obalende Eid Prayer Ground at all times; and establish a Joint Committee, headed by an Official of the Presidency and including representatives of Dodan Barracks Authorities and the Jamaatul Muslimeen to ensure the implementation of the above prayers after Mr. President would have graciously approved them.
The Lagos meeting between the committee and leaders of the Muslim community was more of friendly affairs as Alhaji Okunnu and Prof Gambari went on a memory lane on the history behind the land.
The duo was seen laughing intermittently. Alhaji Okunnu, who was a Federal Commissioner for Works, when part of the land was ceded to the General Yakubu Gowon-led government, enlightened the committee members.
Members of the committee later took a walk around the Obalende Eid Prayer Ground.
Speaking with reporters, Fashola said the committee was constituted by the president to review the petition of the Lagos Central Mosque regarding the encumbrances on the Obalende praying ground.
Fashola said: “We have two weeks to submit a report to the president. We thought that haven listened to everybody, it is also useful to come and have a site inspection here to actually see things for ourselves especially for those who are not familiar with the place and who are not also familiar with the history.
“Thankfully, we have been blessed today with the presence of Alhaji Femi Okunnu, who was Commissioner of Works at the time General Yakubu Gowon was relocated to this place and when the military relationship with the land of the Central Mosque Jammah started. So, he provided some insight. We had the good fortune of having the presence of Baba Adinni who also has a lot of historical perspectives to share dating back to when the first Minister of Lagos, Yar’Adua, father of late president Yar’Adua used to also worship with them on this same prayer ground.
“It tells us that things perhaps will not have been delayed for this long but for the coup of January 1966 and that was when instead of dealing with administrative issues, they were dealing with preserving the nation and so things just moved from one administration to the other but we are at a very important junction now. Mr President said he wants to resolve this in two weeks and so we will file and report to him.”
Alhaji Alabi-Macfoy, the Bashorun of Lagos, said the matter of praying or not praying Eid next week has been resolved, affirming that the Muslim Community would pray Eid at the ground.
According to him, the visit by the committee shows that we have the right to this place. “The petition we send to the government is to give it back to us. The president is very attentive, he set up a committee and he told us that they will do justice. We have an Indenture that gives us this land but they have encroached on some of it. The committee brought a surveyor who will do the survey of the whole place.
“From my close contact with Mr President a few weeks ago, I discovered that he is a man that knows what he is doing and you cannot rush him into taking a decision. He will listen to you attentively and give a very brief and concise reply. He is somebody that makes up his mind and fulfills his promise. He is an action man,” Alhaji Alabi-Macfoy said.
Prof. Gbadamosi described as heartwarming that after so many years of letter writing, there is light at the end of the tunnel.
He said: “The presidency has turned up to resolve the matter once and for all and I believe that the president is sincere. He has set up this high-level delegation; that cannot be for fun and they have taken their job seriously. They have come to Lagos to inspect the site and they have met with leaders of the Muslim Community in Lagos State. I believe we can now look forward to an end to this issue.”
Muslim Umma of Southwest (MUSWEN) Deputy President I, Alhaji Rafiu Ebiti said the matter would have been resolved before 1966 but you know the military was in power for quite a long time.
“It is good to know that the president is committed to resolving this issue and that is a very positive thing. I think he is very sincere about it. It is not possible in any human organisation not to have conflict. This is not a dialogue thing and I hope and pray that everybody will be satisfied at the end of the day,” he said.