Category: Friday

“Do you not see how Allah has set forth a parable of a wonderful ‘WORD’   like a fruitful tree with formidable roots that are firmly planted in the belly of the earth while its branches sprout magnificently into the firmament of the orbits, yielding edible fruits every season by Allah’s grace? Allah gives wonderful parables to men (of reason) that they may ponder over their existence and be mindful (of the wonders of the world)…” (Q. 14: 24).

 

The world is full of wonders. But those wonders cannot be fully enumerated by mortal beings because their enumerations will be limited to their times. Whatever might have been termed as wonder in the primordial or contemporary time could only be limited to certain generations. For instance, the wonders of the ancient times are quite different from those of the modern times. Yet they bear no names other than wonders.

Thus, when men of philosophical sciences or religious charlatans who claim to be ‘men of God’ talk of wonders or miracles, it can only be according to their myopic view of life in their immediate environments. The only globally permanent WONDER in human life, which is not limited to a particular time or place, is the Message of Allah called the Qur’an.

 

Irony of life

It is rather ironic that even in this age of internet, some ignorant people still perceive Islam as a mere dogma like many other religions in which fabricated stories, abominable rituals and satanic superstitions thrive. This is quite far from the spiritual reality of Allah’s divine religion.

But it takes only people with functional eyes to perceive the light. Ignorance is a disease which only knowledge can heal. It is some of those ignorant people that are currently wondering on why Muslims should engage ceremoniously in a competition on the recitation of the Qur’an as it is now happening in Lagos, Nigeria. Such people can never understand until the cloaks on their faces are lifted to enable them see the genuine light of life.

 

The meaning of Qur’an

The word Qur’an means continuous recitation. It is so defined because of its inimitable origin which makes it a compelling daily recitation throughout the world, across nations, continents   and centuries. For those who do not know, only the Qur’an, among all revealed Books, contains the unsurpassable words of Allah not only in the grandeur of its diction and splendour of its rendition but also in the depth of its meaning, substance and profundity.

 

Qur’anic revelation

The revelation of this sacred ‘Book’ to mankind through an unlettered desert Arab, named Muhammad (SAW), the son of Abdullah and Aminah, began in 610 CE and lasted for 22 years and three months (12 years in Makkah and 10 years plus three months in Madinah).

This sacred  Book contains 114 chapters and 6236 verses (not 6666 verses often erroneously quoted by most Nigerian Muslim clerics).

Of these 114 chapters, 86 were revealed in Makkah and 28 in Madinah. But the 28 chapters revealed in Madinah constitute over two thirds of the Book. And this is because the Makkah chapters are short and rhythmic while those of Madinah are long and prose-like.

 

The preservation of the Qur’an

Although the Qur’an was revealed orally, its writing began as soon as its revelations commenced. The writing was however done initially on primitive materials such as wood, animal hide, back of trees, tablets of rock and others of the like which were then readily available.

However, it was not until one year (633 CE) after the demise of Prophet Muhammad  that those writings were compiled into a book form not in a foreign language as in the case of the Bible but in Arabic which was its original language of revelation.

And one of the wonders in documenting the Qur’anic revelations is the classification of those revelations into chapters and verses by Prophet Muhammad himself despite his unlettered status.

 

Memorisation

Meanwhile, it must be noted here that one of the vital ways of preserving the contents of the Qur’an was memorisation which made the confirmation of the written chapters and verses possible. No other religious Book has been so memorisable in human history. And that alone is a clear evidence of the divine origin of the Qur’an.

 

Manner of presentation

The manner of presenting the Qur’anic revelations is simple and direct. It employs neither artifice nor conventional poses. Its main appeal is to man’s intellect, feelings and imagination. It does not only touch the anecdotes of previous Prophets and nations in different ages, it also catalogues the accounts of earlier revelations and covers the entire period of human existence from the beginning of creation to the very last Day of Judgment.

 

Authenticity of the Qur’an

It is an indisputable fact that the Qur’an remains the only revealed ‘BOOK’ in the world today that has consistently retained the originality of both its contents and the language of its revelation for over 1440 years.

And that alone is enough a testimony to the proof of its divine origin. It also confirms not only the genuineness of the prophet-hood of Muhammad as the arch-Messenger of Allah to mankind but also the lucidity of Arabic as  the oldest sustained language of divine revelation in the world till today.

Thus, just as there can be no proof of the identity of a messenger without the authenticity of the message he is ordained to deliver so can there be no proof of the   genuineness of the prophetic mission of Muhammad outside the proof of the originality of the Message contained in   the Qur’an.

 

Features of the Qur’an

The features of sacred Book called the Qur’an  have no comparison among all other revealed books. For instance, it is only the Qur’an that leaves no aspect of life untouched just as it leaves no secret unrevealed.

Problems and solutions; history and lessons; crimes and penalties; truth and justice; governance and equity; morality and righteousness; discipline and courage; friendship and trust; leadership and guidance; education and methodology; marriage and divorce; widowhood and orphanage; childhood and inheritance; poverty and wealth; opinion and logic; facts and figures; darkness and light; war and peace; power and magnanimity; angels, jinn and man; life and death; heavens and earth; all these and many other  matters relating to man and his environment form the subjects of discussion and guidance in the ‘Divine Diary of Life called the Qur’an’.

 

Qur’anic referential insights

Unlike other revealed Books that preceded it, the Qur’an gives insight into some natural phenomena like sphericity of the orbit and revolution of the earth (Q. 39:5) the formation of the rain (Q. 30:48); the fertilisation of the wind (Q. 15:22); the migration of the sun, the moon and the planets in their fixed orbits (Q. 36:29-38); the aquatic origin of all creatures (Q. 21:30); the duality of the sex of all living organisms including the plants and other creatures (Q. 36:35); the collective life of animals (Q.6:38); the  living mode of the bees (Q. 16:69) and the successive phases of the child in its mother’s womb (Q. 22:5 & 23:14). Yet, the purpose of this Book is not to teach history, astronomy, philosophy or sciences but to pave man’s way towards understanding those phenomenal aspects of human life.

 

Proof of the Qur’anic revelations

Some religious charlatans who perceive Islam through the conducts of certain malfeasant Muslims and see that   sacred path of Allah as a dogma continue to ask for the proof of the genuineness of Qur’anic revelation as if other revelations before the Qur’an do not require proof. In reason and logic, asking for the proof of the Qur’an is like asking the sun to prove the vividness of its rays.

Can anybody reasonably ask for the proof of the hair growing on his head? It is the nature and character of unbelievers to deny the truth and refute the manifest. But does it ever bother the sun in any way that some blind men or women deny its rays? Or can a brook be affected in any way if some herds boycott its water?

 

Doubting ‘Thomases’

During the revelation of the Qur’an, Allah had foretold the reaction of certain pathological doubting ‘Thomases’ across generations of races whose hymns of denial would come from the abyss of falsehood even as they would cling remorselessly to the chord of ignorance. To such ‘Thomases’, the Qur’an owes neither explanation nor apology. They are free to live, die and be buried with their ignorance.

 

The similitude of the Qur’an

The Qur’an is like gold which most fashionable people seek to possess directly or indirectly because of its material value but which only a few can recognize in its raw form. It takes geologists to identify the soil in which gold is incubated.

It takes miners to mine it out just as it takes smelters to smelt it before the goldsmith can transform it into a beautiful ornament. In the same manner, it takes categories of pious intellectuals to pursue the memorisation, the recitation, the comprehension and the interpretation of the Qur’an to a loftily appreciable level.

 

Testimony

To Muslims who understand the teachings of Islam through the Qur’an, all the genuine Messengers including Prophets Ibrahim (Abraham), Musa (Moses) and Isa (Jesus) are from Allah and all the divinely revealed ‘BOOKS’ written in the languages of the Messengers that brought them are series of the same Allah’s ‘MESSAGE’ to mankind.

Those Messages are like envoys of a nation to another nation. Changing those envoys from time to time does not change the constitution of the nation they represent or the foreign policy of that nation. This fact has been firmly established in the Qur’an itself thus: “The Messenger of Allah (Muhammad) believes in what has been revealed to him from his Lord; and every true believer also believes in Allah, His Angels, His revealed Books and His Messengers.

We do not discriminate against anyone of them (those Messengers) as they say we hear and obey (the contents of the revelation). Oh God! We seek your forgiveness. To You is our return.” Q. 3:285-286.

 

Discipline

It is evident that true Muslims are not known for maligning any Prophet or genuinely revealed ‘BOOKS’ that are devoid of traces of human tampering. Right from its very first day of revelation, the Qur’an has come with undeniable proof.

But it takes only a divinely cleansed heart to comprehend such proof and acknowledge its authenticity. If anything, it is the Qur’an itself that should be called the master proof of all other celestial messages that preceded it.

The Qur’an is the final divine revelation which has no human interference or tampering in any form. And that is why this sacred Book does not harbour any contradiction like most other books.

Neither Prophet Muhammad, who brought this Sacred Book to mankind, nor any of his companions (or disciples), had a say in its contents.

The Book contains no chapters or verses according to anybody. And unlike some other books, no one speaks in the Qur’an on behalf of Allah in the name of revelation. Even the personal expressions of Prophet Muhammad which are meant to explain the contents of the Qur’an and called  Hadith cannot to be mingled with the verses of the Qur’an despite his endowed divine inspirations.

And where such expressions seem to contradict any part of the Qur’an they automatically become superseded by the contents of the Qur’an.

 

The mirror of life

Qur’an is the extraordinary compendium in which the activities of man from the very beginning of human existence to the end of human life are chronicled. It is the eternally concrete ‘MIRROR’ through which the descendants of Adam and Hawau can see life in its past, its present and its near and far future. This ‘MIRROR’ is the spectacle that heals the blind, the natural manure that fertilizes the human brain and the greatest treasure in the possession of mankind.

For the rightly guided mind, the Qur’an is the eye with which to see; the ear with which to hear and the sense with which to reason.

It is the bridge across the valleys of life; the insurance against any satanic damnation; the passport with which to obtain permanent divine visa for salvation and the only reliable redeemer of mankind from the evil machinations of this ephemeral world.

For any divinely tamed mind therefore, life begins and ends with the Qur’an, Allah’s own tradition and the only authentic fountain from which man can draw and sip the living spring of wisdom. The sense that reasons with the Qur’an makes no mistake.

Any mind that thinks with the Qur’an can never be devilled. Any eye that sees with the Qur’an can never be blind. Any tongue that talks with the Qur’an can never stammer. Any power that genuinely rules with the Qur’an can never fall.

Meanwhile, the Almighty Allah warns in this glorious Book (the Qur’an) thus: “But whosoever deviates from My guidance, verily for him is life of subjugation and We shall raise him up a blind person on the Day of resurrection” (Q. 20: 124).

 

Controversy

There is a raging controversy among Muslim scholars over the first and last revelations in the Qur’an. Much as this controversy is unwarranted, it may be necessary to clear the coast here (without claiming authority) if only for the purpose of authenticating history in its normal perspective.

It is an incontrovertible consensus that the first revealed chapter in the Qur’an is Suratul ‘Alaq (Chapter of the Clot). But the very first revelation reaching Prophet Muhammad (SAW) through Angel Jubril in 610 CE when he was 40 years old, was ‘BASMALAH’ (In the name of Allah, the Compassionate, the Merciful) which precedes every chapter in the Qur’an except one (Suratut-Tawbah). Basmalah is not just a whole verse in Suratul Fatihah, it is the very first verse in that chapter of the Qur’an that was revealed twice in the duration of the Qur’anic revelations. That chapter which is tagged ‘MOTHER of the BOOK’ was first revealed in Makkah and again in Madinah.

 

The last revelation

As for the last revelation in the Qur’an, majority of Nigerian Muslim scholars believe that it is chapter 5, verse 3 of the Qur’an which says: ”Today, I have perfected your religion for you and completed my favour on you. And, I am pleased with Islam for you as religion”.

That verse of the Qur’an that was revealed to Prophet Muhammad at ‘Arafah while he was performing his farewell Hajj in 632 CE couldn’t have been the last revelation because it came about 81 days before the demise of the Prophet (SAW).

Rather, authentic research confirms that another revelation came about nine days before the Prophet’s sickness and eventual demise. This can be found in Qur’an 2: 281 which says: “And fear the day when you shall all return to Allah; the day when every soul shall be requited according to its desert and none shall be wronged”.

That is the Qur’an for you, the Diary of life for those seeking divine guidance and the Mirror of life for those expecting Allah’s equanimity on earth and His eternal pleasure in the Hereafter. Whatever is in human possession beyond the Qur’an is mere ephemerality that will end up with its possessor in vanity.

 

Conclusion

With the closing session of the 34th edition of National Competition of Qur’an Recitation in Lagos tomorrow (Saturday, January 4), ‘The Message’ column hereby joins millions of Muslims around the world, who have been watching the glorious event, in congratulating the cerebral contestants, the dedicated organisers, the committed stakeholders and the faithful guests who participated in making that historic occasion a success.

We pray Allah to further shower His interminable blessings upon you all with His eternal guidance and protection against diabolism of Satan and his evil archers among humans and Jinn. AMIN!

By Femi Abass

Today, all national and international roads lead to Lagos, the main hub of Nigeria’s economy. In that State of Excellence, a grandiose event of historic remembrance that will be watched live on different cable network electronic media globally takes place. The event is being graced by the President General of Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs (NSCIA) and Sultan of Sokoto, His Eminence, Dr. Muhammad Sa’ad Abubakar as Special Royal Guest.

The President and Commander-in-Chief of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, His Excellency,  Muhammadu Buhari is expected to be the Special Guest of Honour at the occasion while the 4th Republic’s pioneer Governor of Lagos State, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the Jagaban Borgu, will be the Chairman.

Other high caliber guests expected at the event include some serving State Governors, foreign delegates and Ambassadors as well as a galaxy of distinguished personalities across the continent of Africa.

The occasion is for the 34th National Qur’an Recitation Competition, the formal opening of which will be declared today. Participants in the event will consist of the representatives of all states of the Federation.

 

Sultan’s Attendance

The attendance of this occasion by Sultan Abubakar is a confirmation of the fact that this millennial Sultan is rather of Nigeria as a country and not just of Sokoto as often cited in the media. Looking at the random itinerary of His Eminence very carefully and the intention behind that itinerary, no sensible person will dispute the fact that he is truly of the nation and not of a particular region. Ever since he assumed office in 2006, this Sultan has had cause to touch virtually every part of Nigeria repeatedly not only to ascertain the unity of the Muslim Ummah but also to ensure peaceful coexistence of all citizens irrespective of their tribes and religions. Even in the past three months, he has visited the Southwest alone about five times. He was in Ondo, Ekiti, Oyo, Ogun and Lagos states for various events. And he visited some of those states twice or more within the period. Just yesterday, December 26, he was in Ibadan, Oyo State, where he attended the grand finale of Islamic Vacation Course (IVC) of the Muslim Students’ Society of Nigeria (MSSN). It was from there he moved to Lagos to attend today’s great event. In the history of Sultanate in Nigeria, no Sultan has ever been so dynamically committed to unity, peace and harmony.

 

Who is this Sultan?

Time flies. It has been 13 years since Sultan Abubakar, CFR, mni, ascended the Sultanate royal throne as the 20th Sultan. The specific historic date of his ascension was November 6, 2006. Until then, the lofty man’s name did not ring any bell in Nigeria. And he was probably not conscious of the royal blood in him. If he was ever conscious of that at all, his humble nature did not reflect it. But the thinking of man is quite different from the will of Allah. And when the thinking of man clashes with the will of Allah, the latter automatically prevails.

 

His ascension to the throne

For Sultan  Abubakar, ascending the throne of the great Sokoto Caliphate was like the rise of the sun ‘anon meridian’. Whenever it beams its rejuvenating rays over the world, all the stars in the galaxy take their bow with reverence. History and man are like Siamese twins. The one cannot do without the other. History makes man just as man makes history. And the reciprocal baton continues to change hands between them as long as they mutually remain in existence.

Thus, the sudden emergence of a 50-year-old Brigadier General called Muhammad Sa’ad Abubakar as the successor to the exalted throne of the great Sokoto Empire without controversy in 2006 came as a surprise to many Nigerians. His own father, Sultan Saddiq Abubakar ascended the same throne at the age of 37. Surely, the name ‘Muhammad Sa’ad’ played a significant role in the emergence of its bearer as Sultan.

 

The mystery in name

There is something mysterious about name which humanity is yet to comprehend fully. A puzzling secret seems to exist in the vocabulary of life which sticks to every man like a second skin. That secret, pearled in the yoke of name, is an effective evidence of destiny in man. Our names are the light that glows at night to lighten up our ways towards the glare of the days through the threshold of life. And when the dawn comes to render the glowing light ineffective, the bearer bows out into the recluse of death leaving behind an indemnified signature on the sands of time. This was the case with Prophet Muhammad (SAW), the greatest man that ever lived on the surface of the earth. Even as an unlettered son of Arabia who was born in an era of blatant ignorance, Prophet Muhammad (SAW) introduced into the world, an unprecedented civilisation that opened the eyes of humanity to everlasting guidance.

 

Qur’anic backing

In recognition of Prophet Muhammad’s human exemplariness, the Almighty Allah said of him in Q 33: 21 thus: “You (Muslims) have a good example in Allah’s Apostle for anyone who looks to Allah and the Last Day and remembers Him always”.

That verse of the Qur’an is a divine template for all rightly guided Muslims in the conduct of their common lives as groups and communities just as it is in their personal mannerisms as individuals.

 

Peculiarities in names

Sultan’s first name is Muhammad which he bears in emulation of the Prophet of Islam. His second name is Sa’ad meaning ‘Good ‘Luck’ which makes him a name-sake of one of Prophet Muhammad’s companions (Sa’d Bn Abu Waqqas) who was a great Army General of Islam. And his (Sultan’s) surname is Abubakar which means ‘father of youths’, an inherited name which he shares with the first Caliph in Islam (Abubakr Siddiq). In every one of these names is a profound meaning with profound influence on the personality and conduct of the current Sultan.

As an Army General, like Sa’d Bn Abi Waqqas, Sultan is demonstrating the courage of a brave leader. As the father of the youths, like Abu Bakr, he is bridging the gap between leadership and follower-ship by breathing a breeze of hope into Nigerian Muslim youths from time to time.

 

Identity of a leader

A leader is known, neither by the aura of the office he occupies, nor by the enormity of the power wielded in that office. Rather, a leader is known by the magnanimity with which he exercises the power entrusted to him and the humility he demonstrates in his interaction with the people. This is the lesson that Prophet Muhammad’s leadership taught Muslim rulers in one of his Hadith when he said: “A powerful person is not the one who can suppress others (with the enormity of power or instrumentality of office) but the one who can resist the temptation to use such power by whim”.

Sultan Abubakar seems to have exemplified this prophetic teaching as a Muslim leader and a faithful one for that matter. And through his humble interaction with all Muslims irrespective of tribal or geographical boundaries, he has become the first Sultan to create a strong feeling of a united Muslim Ummah in Nigeria under a competent leadership.

 

Philosophers’ assertion

Philosophers who assert that every new century has a way of producing a great leader may be right after all. The example of Sultan Abubakar, is a manifestation of that assertion. Ever since he assumed the exalted royal office in 2006, this great man has convincingly exhibited all the qualities of genuine leadership by all standards. Every statement he has made socially, religiously or politically and every action he has taken privately or publicly has proved to be a school from which all well-meaning people of Nigeria have learnt one positive lesson or another.

 

History and man

History and man are like Siamese twins. The one cannot do without the other. History makes man just as man makes history. The symbiotic relationship of history and man, which is not in doubt, was reconfirmed in Sokoto 13 years ago (November, 2016) when a galaxy of well-meaning men and women from all walks of life assembled to say ‘we are here to bear witness’.

That was on the occasion of His Eminence’s ascension to the royal throne of the Sultanate when he was unanimously chosen by the Sokoto king makers and crowned as the Sultan following the demise of his immediate predecessor, the former Sultan Muhammad Macido.

It should be recalled that His Eminence shares birth day and month with a great son of Ogun State, the late Bashorun MKO Abiola (May the Almighty Allah repose his soul in eternal bliss). That date is August 24. The only difference in the dates of birth of these two great men is the year in which they were born. While MKO’s birth year was 1937, that of his Eminence was 1956.

 

His pedigree

Before the official emergence of Nigeria as a country through an amalgamation of certain tribes and regions, Sokoto Empire was beyond today’s Nigeria. It consisted of a vast area of today’s Niger Republic, Mali, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Benin Republic and some parts of today’s Togo.

However, with the partition of Africa into various colonial entities in 1884, the Sultanate of Sokoto became drastically reduced with a large chunk of its territory falling under various colonial authorities.

 

His intellectual origin

In the days of Uthman Dan Fodio and his brother, Abdullah Bn Fodio, the main glory of Sokoto Empire was knowledge. And that became its legacy for the descendants on the Sultanate line. It is on record that Clapperton, a British colonial agent, once had an interesting intellectual encounter with the first Sultan, Sheikh Muhammad Bello, the son of Usman Dan Fodio in 1824. After that encounter which came in form of debate, Clapperton had to admit thus: “He (Muhammad Bello) continued to ask me several other theological questions, until I was obliged to confess myself not sufficiently versed in religious subtleties to resolve those knotty points”.

And, when Clapperton returned to Sokoto two years later (1826) and presented Sultan Bello with a copy of Arabic Euclid, he was shocked to learn that his host already possessed one. Both Muhammad Bello and his father, Usman Dan Fodio, engaged in such complex linguistic, theological and legal studies that the one had 97 books to his credit while the other had 93.

 

Education and literacy

When some Europeans first came to our own part of Africa in the 16th century, they found that the most literate part of what is called Nigeria, today, was the north. And that was because Islam had reached that part of the country with its Arabic literacy since the 11th century. The British colonialists confirmed this when they arrived in the 19th century.

The only reason why those colonialists did not retain Arabic literacy in the north was that they did not understand it. If they had not ignored Arabic literacy, the north would not have been perceived as a backward region educationally today. At least by 1919, when the southern part of Nigeria was just beginning to embrace literacy with some seriousness in less than a score of schools that were then in existence, the north already had about 25,000 schools where various subjects were taught and learned in Arabic language.

 

Royal awareness

Immediately after ascending the throne, Sultan Abubakar became very much aware that as Sultan of Sokoto he was wearing two crowns. One is that of an Emperor which the royal office symbolises. The other is that of Amirul Muminin (Commander of Nigerian Muslim faithful). And as Amirul Muminin, he knew that interacting with and consulting the various Muslim communities in Nigeria, in order to carry them along in decision making at the apex Islamic body called Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs (NSCIA), was a sine qua non.

Like any other thing modern, this millennial Sultan is modern by all standards. He knows that the link between the Sultanate of Sokoto and the Nigerian Muslim Ummah is Islam. He knows that without Islam even the Sultanate of Sokoto could not have come into existence. He knows that he needs the genuine recognition and cooperation of all Nigerian Muslims to function effectively as Amirul Muminin.

 

Functions

By his activities and functions so far, Dr. Muhammad Abubakar has indicated to Nigerian Muslims that reformation of the NSCIA is a necessity to suit the modern day requirements for the growth and development of Islam. He knows that for that apex body to be effective, such reformation should take the form of Renaissance. Therefore, as soon as he assumed office, he put both the NSCIA and the Sultanate on the internet to enable all educated Muslims have access to their leader. And as an exemplary leader, he demonstrates his leadership prowess by personally possessing mastering fingers on the computer.

 

Triple heritage

Today’s Muslim generation is passing through a paved way without taking note of it. This 20th Sultan of is of triple heritage. As the President-General of NSCIA, he is a religious leader. By virtue of his national royal status as the Chairman of all Nigerian traditional rulers, he is a political leader. And, as a retired Brigadier-General from the Nigerian Army, he is a military leader. Thus, his triple heritage is complete.

 

His royal agenda

In what looked like his royal agenda in respect of the NSCIA, when he emerged as Sultan, His Eminence rolled out, certain fundamental programmes to the utter delight of all Nigerian Muslims.

 

The programmes

When presenting those programmes at an interfaith conference, he said: “….we initiated, as we had done for the Jama’atu Nasril-Islam (JNI), a thorough review of the activities of the  NSCIA and an extensive reform of its structures”.

“It is our firm belief that these reforms are not only desirable but necessary to reposition the Council to play its strategic role as the apex Islamic body in the country and to respond, effectively and meaningfully, to the challenges facing the Muslim Ummah in a multi-cultural and multi-religious society. We have had extensive consultations over a couple of years and have received very useful inputs on the reform agenda from all the constituent bodies of the Council. Our strategic objectives in this exercise had been and shall remain the following:

*The promotion of Muslim Unity and Solidarity to accord the Ummah the ability to speak with one voice and to act and work together for the advancement of Islam.

*The development of Education and Economic Enterprise, to enable the Muslim Ummah play an active role in the socio-economic life of Nigeria.

*Promotion of peace and religious harmony both within the Muslim Communities and between the adherents of Islam and Christianity.

*Establishment of effective linkage with Government, at local, state and federal levels, to safeguard the interest of the Ummah and to build consensus on those vital issues that bind us together as a nation….”

 

Hope and wish

“It is therefore our hope that as we bring this reform process to its logical conclusion, we will receive the support and patronage of the entire Muslim Ummah as well as the co-operation of all stakeholders, including state governments and indeed the Government of the Federation”.

“Finally we must all work hard to limit the influence of wealth in our society and to support those values that promote social responsibility, excellence and hard work”.

 

Epilogue

That is Sultan Muhammad Sa’ad Abubakar, a leader who knows the problems of his followers and associates with them in solving those problems. Probably without a leader like him, the Nigerian Muslim Ummah would have gone irredeemably asunder.

“…..Fa amma bi ni’mati Rabbika fa haddith”.

Long live the Sultan! Long live the NSCIA! Long live the Nigerian Muslim Ummah! Long live Nigeria!

 

Preamble

IT was another historic occasion at the University of Ibadan (UI) where an International Conference was jointly held on the ‘Biography of Prophet Muhammad’ (SAW) by the Muslim Ummah of Southwest Nigeria (MUSWEN) and Nusret Educational and Cultural Co. Ltd. of Turkey last Wednesday.

The theme of the Conference was: “Impact of the Exemplary Leadership Style of Prophet Muhammad (SAW) on Inter-Ethnic and Inter-Religious Harmony”.

Attendance

The well attended occasion chaired by the pioneer Executive Secretary of MUSWEN, Professor D. O. S. Noibi, was specially graced by the Governor of the State of Osun, His Excellency, Alhaji Gboyega Oyetola who was accompanied by a retinue of Commissioners and his Chief of Staff, Alhaji Abdullah Binuyo.

Although the President-General of Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs (NSCIA) and Sultan of Sokoto, His Eminence, Dr. Muhammad Sa’ad Abubakar, CFR, mni, who was to be the Special Guest of Honour at the occasion could not attend, he was, nevertheless, eminently represented with an aura of royalty.

The Turkish team at the conference was led by the General Manager of Nusret Educational and Cultural Ltd Huseyin Baydar; President of UFUK DIALOGUE FOUNDATION, Dr. Kamil Kemanci and Mr. Nevzat Savas, Editor-in-Chief Hera Magazine (who was unavoidably absent)\ Alhaji Yakub Aliagan and a host of others.

 

Presentation of Papers

Several academic papers were presented at the Conference mostly by academic scholars from different parts of the world, including Europe, Asia, the Middle East and Africa. The Keynote Address of the conference was succinctly delivered by MUSWEN’s new Executive Secretary, Professor Muslih Tayo Yahya while the occasion was ably coordinated by UI’s Head of Department of Arabic and Islamic Studies, Professor Lateef Wole Abbas, who chaired the Local Organizing Committee (LOC) of the Conference.

 

Reminder

The theme of that   Conference was a cute reminder of an article entitled “Islam’s Charter with Christianity” published in this column some time ago.  The article was about a covenant of peaceful co-existence which Prophet Muhammad (SAW) signed on behalf of Islam with Christian monks in protection of Christianity.

 

Excerpt

An excerpt from the referred article is as follows:

“For many Nigerian charlatans who claim to be clerics and preach to their congregations with instigation of hate speeches and unbridled religious hostility, there are many sources from which to learn a lesson. One of such sources is history which is globally recognized as a great teacher of teachers. Without history, there can neither be any experience for man nor any template for his future plans. It is on the fertile soil of history that the growth of man and the development of his society are firmly planted.

 

Symbiotic Relationship

Just as history makes man so does man makes history. But the impact of the latter outweighs that of the former by far in the trend of human civilization. However, the symbiotic relationship of both history and man is what keeps the world going.

 

Makers of History

In its characteristic nature as a teacher, history has made many people who continue to depend generationally on its platform for memorable footprint on the sands of time. On the other hand, there are also people who have made history to the benefit of other people even long after their demise.

However, the greatest maker of human history, as universally acknowledged, is the greatest human being that ever lived. That human being was an unlettered Arab Prophet called Muhammad the son of Abdullah and Aminah, who clearly distinguished between literacy and education with his own exemplariness and thereby opened the eyes of the whole world to the fact that literacy is just an instrument for documenting and preserving knowledge for posterity.  And that is one of the factors that make Prophet Muhammad (SAW) the greatest man that ever lived.

 

Michael Hart’s Book

Through a famous book entitled ‘The 100: A Ranking of the Most influential Persons in History’ published in 1977, by a Jewish American astrophysicist and scholar, Michael Hart,  the consciousness of the contemporary world was drawn to the uniqueness of an unlettered man who turned out to be the most educated human being ever in history. It was in that book that its author, Michael Hart, named Prophet Muhammad (SAW) as the greatest man that ever lived.  And since the publication of the historic book, no other author or scholar of note has ever come up with any acknowledged research work that can counter Michael Hart’s sense of judgment by providing a convincing alternative to the latter’s axiomatic judgment.

Thus, contrary to cynics’ baseless propaganda against Islam and Prophet Muhammad (SAW), out of sheer envy, it was this great Prophet of Islam that taught mankind the act of religious tolerance and accommodation.

 

The Historic Charter

In a formal recognition of Jesus Christ as his predecessor and fellow Apostle, Prophet Muhammad (SAW) signed a charter with some Christian pontiffs in  628 CE and the charter remains valid till today. The signing of that charter by the great Prophet was also clear evidence that Islam recognizes authentic Christianity as a divine religion.

It was in that year (628 CE which was the 6th year of Hijrah), that a Christian delegation from St. Catherine’s Monastery travelled to the city of Madinah to meet Prophet Muhammad (SAW) and seek from him protection of the Islamic government for Christianity under his command. The real objective was to elicit the support of the Islamic government in ensuring protection for the then Christians against the aggression of the Persian Empire. St. Catherine’s Monastery is the world’s oldest Monastery located at the foot of Mount Sinai which has a huge collection of Christian manuscripts second only to those of the Vatican City and known as a world heritage site).

 

The Contents of the Charter

In response to the request of the Christian representatives cited above, Prophet Muhammad (SAW) granted them a written charter of rights as follows: “This is a message from Muhammad the son of Abdullah serving as a covenant to those who adopt Christianity, near and far that we (Muslims) are with them. Verily, I and all the servants of Allah, as well as the helpers of Islam, hereby make promise to defend Christians because they are my citizens and by God, I stand out against anything that displeases them.

No compulsion is to be on them (concerning their way of worship). Neither are their judges to be removed from their jobs nor their monks from their monasteries.

No one should destroy a house of their religion or damage it or loot it. Whoever violates this has breached Allah’s covenant with mankind and disobeyed His Apostle. Verily, Christians are my allies and have my secure charter against all they hate.

No one should force them to fight for a course in which they have no belief or compel them to migrate against their wish. Neither is the sacredness of their covenant to be violated nor their Monasteries to be disrespected.

And if any damage should happen to their Monasteries by chance, they must not be prevented from repairing them. No Muslim should disobey this charter till the Last Day (i.e. end of the world)”.

 

 Before the Charter

Long before the Prophet’s migration from Makkah to Madinah, a Prophetic revelation came to him in 616 CE to confirm the brotherhood of Islam and Christianity.

That revelation which formed a whole chapter entitled ‘The Chapter of Rome’ in the Qur’an partly reads thus: “Rome, (the nation of the Christian Greeks) has been defeated in a neighbouring land.

But after their defeat, they shall (themselves) gain victory within a few years. Allah is the Supreme Commander before and after.

On that day (when they become victorious), the believers (Muslims and Christians) will rejoice in Allah’s help. Allah gives victory to whoever He wills. He is Mighty and Merciful. That is Allah’s promise; He never reneges on His promise” (Q. 30: 1-5).

And true to that divine revelation, the Roman Empire surprisingly defeated the Persian Empire to the ecstasy of the Muslims just nine years after the Qur’anic chapter was revealed. Besides, it will be recalled that the name of Jesus Christ is mentioned more than 37 times in the Glorious Qur’an giving more details of his birth and disappearance more vividly than can be found in the Bible.

Also a whole chapter of the Qur’an is dedicated to Mary the mother of Jesus confirming her chastity and the miraculous birth of Jesus.

It is only in the Qur’an that the report of how Jesus spoke as an infant was revealed. That chapter is called ‘The Chapter of Maryam (Mary). How else can the unity of religious mission from the unity of God be confirmed?

 

Implications of the Charter

By implication, the inalienability of the   privileges contained in the above charter remains irreversible from the primordial time to the contemporary time.

Besides, one remarkable aspect of the charter is that it did not stipulate any condition for Christians to enjoy those privileges.

It is because of that unprecedented charter that Muslims, all over the world, do not blame Christianity for any misdemeanor of a Christian or attack Christianity as a religion in their propagation of Islam as some Christians do against Islam particularly in Nigeria.

 

Upholding the Charter

In upholding that charter, the second Caliph in Islam, Umar Bn Khattab, refused to observe Muslim prayer (Salat) inside the Church of Jerusalem when he visited the area following the liberation of that region by the Islamic State from the Persian Empire in which Zoroastrianism (worshiping of fire) was the religion.

On that historic occasion, the Church of Jerusalem had been cleared by some Muslim soldiers for the observance of Salat which Caliph Umar, as Head of State, was to lead.

But when he was invited to lead the Salat, he simply declined and rather ordered the soldiers to find another place for Salat and keep the Church intact for the Christians to worship therein in their own way.

He said he would not do what Prophet Muhammad (SAW) had prohibited before his demise. He then warned the Muslims who accompanied him never to convert Churches to Mosques for that would amount to religious aggression which was capable of breaching the Prophet’s charter with Christians.

 

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    Reciprocation

Believing that being followers of Jesus Christ was enough a condition to enjoy the privileges contained in the above charter, Prophet Muhammad (SAW) assumed that the Christians, would be civilized enough to reciprocate that unprecedented gesture whenever and wherever they coexist with Muslims not only by tolerating the latter’s mode of worship and way of life but also by refraining from any naked or avowed act of provocation or disdain against them, which could precipitate a religious rancour.

Another noticeable aspect of the charter is the Prophet’s silence on any payment by the protectorate Christians which was the general norm among nations in those days.

Thus, that ‘Charter of Rights’ was a free gift. And from it the reason becomes clear why the Islamic State under the command of Prophet Muhammad (SAW) or any of his rightly guided companions or disciples who became Caliphs after his demise never crossed swords with any Christian group or nation throughout their regimes.

If any wars like those of the crusades ever broke out centuries later between Christians and Muslims such could only be attributed either to a breach of the charter by ignorant adherents of one or both religions. And that does not have anything to do with the tenets of the two religions.

 

Summary

Judging by the contents of the papers presented at last Wednesday’s Conference at UI, it is evident that the aim of that conference was to emulate Prophet Muhammad (SAW) in using religion as an instrument of ventilating peace and harmony in Nigeria irrespective of the differences in faiths.

 

Conclusion

Religion is like an examination. Those who sit down to write it with blue ink must not turn themselves into examiners using red ink to mark it. Paradise is Allah’s own domain. He admits whoever He wishes into it. And this is done not by sheer mortal charlatans’ recommendation. Only the Almighty Allah who chose our parents for us without our knowledge before we came into this world and who knows where each of us would finally be buried has the final say on everybody’s destination.

 

“Do you not see how the Almighty Allah has sets forth the parable of a Pleasant Word like that of a splendid tree with formidable roots firmly entrenched in the belly of the earth and gorgeous branches gloriously sprouting into the firmament of the sky yielding edible fruits every season by Allah’s grace? Allah talks to men in parables that they may be mindfully alert about the outcome of that parable”. Q.14:24

 

Human life is like a proverbial coin which may turn up the head or the tail any time it is tossed. Perhaps that is why an Arab poet once enacted an axiomatic rune that has come to be a school from which sensible people are still learning a lesson. An excerpt from the poem goes thus:

“…Those are the occurrences of life as you are witnessing them; whoever is gladdened by an occurrence today should not be over joyous as many other occurrences may come with unbearable sadness”

Some occurrences of this era are quite capable of serving as a marvellous reminder of the memorable month of April in relation to the establishment of the Muslim Students Society of Nigeria (MSSN) in 1954. That was 65 years ago.

In Retrospect

Looking back at the wonderful cultivation of a proverbial fertile land, and the planting of an adamant seed on it which eventually grew up into a gargantuan tree, one cannot but reflect deeply on the above quoted verse of the Qur’an with faithful appreciation.

MSSN and NSCIA

Narrating the story of Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs (NSCIA) today, no matter how ardently, may not be complete without cogent reference to the Muslim Students Society of   Nigeria (MSSN). The two bodies are like Siamese trees of a gargantuan nature with gorgeous foliages and a formidable stem. Just as it is almost impossible to pluck the fruits of any tree without recourse to its stem so it is difficult to play a significant role in NSCIA today without haven passed through the MSSN. The one is like a wonderful edifice built on the solid foundation of the other. Though, most of the founders of MSSN were not initial members of the MSSN, the role played by each of them in nurturing the tree of that Muslim apex body to fruition cannot be quantified.

The Almond Tree

The similitude of MSSN is like that of the Almond tree. For those who do not know, the Almond tree has no equal among domestic plants in grandiose and splendour. Its magnificent   appearance alone simply personifies its environmental grandiose by all ramifications. But much more than that, the tree called Almond is highly curative in medicinal substance and almost indispensable in essence. No soil, whether in the forest, savannah or desert, is ever repugnant to this great tree for dwelling. Wherever it is found, Almond tree creates an incomparably serene environment just as it  serves as a protective umbrella for other living organisms around. It is one unique tree that wears the crown of a king among trees and bears the sceptre of a generalissimo among tropical plants.

Parable

The summarised analysis here is not much of the Almond tree per se but that of a Society which it seeks to exemplify. In a nutshell, that parable is of the Muslim Students Society of Nigeria (MSSN) which is like the Almond tree. The seed of that Society was planted like a Mustard seed on April 18, 1954 and the seed gradually germinated into an enlivening tree with no irrelevant part.

Most Nigerian Muslims of the current generation may not easily recall how MSSN came into existence 65 years ago either because they were not part of the struggle that brought it to bear or because the struggle has now taken a different form which they are unable to relate to the past.

A Memorable Revolution

MSSN is both a spiritual and a social revolution which quietly crept into the Nigerian society at the very right time that a revolution was direly in need for Muslim youths. If Islam enjoys a hitherto denied official recognition in Nigeria today, it is mostly due to that miraculous revolution.

Genesis

It all started like a dream in April 1954 when a student of Methodist Boys High School (MBHS) Lagos, Tajudeen Aromasodu, now of blessed memory, clairvoyantly mooted a unique idea by proposing an association of all Muslim students in Nigeria starting with Lagos secondary schools. His intention was to create a forum of unity through a common identity for Nigerian Muslim youths of secondary school age. Such a forum was to enable them to agitate for their rights and defend those rights for their common interest.

Aromasodu’s idea had emanated from a journal of the Muslim Students Association of Burma (Myanmar) which he accidentally came across. He read the constitution of that Association in the journal and became fascinated by it. That was at a time when Muslim school pupils could hardly pass through secondary schools in Southern Nigeria without getting forcefully converted into Christians. Muslim children seeking Western education in those days were seen as trespassers or usurpers despite paying the demanded fees. Besides denying them their rights to worship according to their belief, the Christian Missionaries who owned most schools in those days used the schools as an instrument of forceful conversion. Thus, most of the Muslim boys and girls who attended Christian missionary schools either ended up becoming Christians or were forced to drop out of schools if they rejected conversion.

The Nucleus Team

Aromasodu’s focus at that time was probably not beyond Lagos which was then Nigeria’s federal capital and the seat of the colonial rulers. He quickly contacted a few other Muslim students of like minds in Lagos and, together, they decided to invite two delegates from each of the then seven most prominent schools in Lagos. Thus, fourteen of such students (boys and girls) formed the pioneer membership of what was destined to become a proverbial Almond tree of a formidable nature. The seven schools were Kings College, Lagos; Queens College; Yaba, Methodist Boys High School, Lagos; CMS Grammar School, Bariga; Ahmadiyya College (now Anwarul Islam Model College), Agege; Methodist Girls High School, Yaba and Baptist Academy, Obanikoro.

That nucleus body held its inaugural meeting at Ansar-ud-Deen Primary School, Alakoro, Lagos, on April 18, 1954. It was at that meeting that a proposal which had earlier been sent out to the mentioned schools was formally adopted. And, a resolution was taken to draft the constitution of the Society which was ratified thereafter.

First Executive Body

With the constitution in place, some members of the first executive body were elected into office. Dr. Abdul Lateef Adegbite of King’s College was unanimously elected as President while one Shuaib Oloritu also of Kings College and Saidat Anibaba (now Professor (Mrs.) Mabadaje (rtd) of Queens College became first and second Vice Presidents respectively. Dr. Adegbite’s election was quite timely and coincidental because he was not just the Chairman of the Library and Debating Society of Lagos secondary schools, at that time, which made him a first among equals, he too had been planning a common forum for all Muslim students in Nigeria.

Some other officers were also elected and given responsibilities. Duties were delegated with trust and virtually everybody lived up to the trust.

What would have been a major hindrance to the realization of that dream was lack of funds. But nothing fails at the dream level if it has the hands of Allah in it. With strong determination and commitment, the young boys and girls levied themselves one shilling each monthly which they dedicatedly contributed from their monthly stipends. Besides, each of them bore the cost of transportation when assigned to a duty outside their immediate environments.

Conferences

If the first national conference of the Society, held in Lagos in 1954, drew the attention of many people to MSSN and attracted many new members, that of 1956 held in Ijebu-Ode was a watershed. It was at that conference that the Society can be said to have become a real national body. It was at that conference that some members especially of northern extraction who later became prominent in that Association joined in 1956. Some of those members included the late Shehu Musa of Niger State who later became Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Adamu Ciroma who became the Governor of   the Central Bank of  Nigeria, Jubril Aminu who rose to become the Secretary of Nigerian Universities Commission (NUC) after serving as Vice Chancellor of the University of Maiduguri and later became Nigeria’s Minister of Education and that of Petroleum. There were also people like Yerima Abdullah and a host of others.  It was about the same year that some other Lagos students like Lateefat Oyekan (later) Alhaja Lateefah Okunnu (a former Deputy Governor of Lagos State) joined the Society and boosted its growth with special indefatigability. At that time, Islam was not yet known to have significantly reached what is now called South East or South-South of Nigeria.

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The third conference was held in Ilesha in 1957. It was hosted by one Alhaji M.A. Smith, a prominent businessman with substantial financial wherewithal. The fourth and fifth conferences were held in Ibadan and Abeokuta in 1958 and 1959 respectively. In all those places, the conscious attention of local Muslims was drawn to Islam and some of them gladly encouraged their children to join the newly formed society of Muslim students in the secondary schools.

The Turn of Events

By 1957, Abdul-Lateef Adegbite, the first President of the Society had completed his secondary school education at Kings College and he wanted to vacate the office for someone else but other brothers would not hear of it. They persuaded him to continue with the leadership in appreciation of his cool-headedness and leadership ability. However, providence set in to play a role in the life of Abdul-Lateef and that of MSSN simultaneously. He got a job as a researcher at the Historical Research Scheme in Ibadan in which he was engaged while awaiting admission into The University College, Ibadan (UCI) to read English Language.

At that time, Adegbite experienced a repeat of fortuitous providence working for him against his wish. He did not succeed in gaining admission into the University College but that was a blessing in disguise for MSSN. If he had been admitted as he wished, he would have had less time for the Society in its infancy and he would not have become a lawyer that he gladly became later. He also would have studied English at the University College, Ibadan (UCI) without any scholarship. Eventually, his patience and faith paid off as he later got admitted into the University of Southampton, England, where he obtained his Bachelor’s Degree in Law before proceeding to the University of London for his Master’s and Ph.D degrees on scholarship.

Gender Dichotomy

Realizing the implications of toasting any of the sisters into marriage within the Society, Adegbite, the President himself, avoided any act that could set a bad precedent for others. When it was time for him to choose a marital partner, he made sure that his wife to be, one Miss Taibat Yetunde Carew (now of blessed memory) was not a member of the Society. Although he met her at an MSSN forum, the latter merely escorted her friend to that forum.

When he returned into the country in 1965 with a Ph. D degree, Dr. Adegbite was surprised at the growth rate of MSSN across the country. Virtually all the Muslim secondary school pupils had fully become members and most of the foundation members had either graduated from Higher Institutions or about to graduate.

He therefore thought of a higher pedestal for the Society’s alumni to operate spiritually. Fortunately, he was appointed Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice in the Western State in 1967 a position that put him in very good stead. He was therefore, able to strengthen the MSSN and encourage fellow alumni to join hands in floating another Muslim Society that would be meant for only adults as members. That Society was named Western Jama’h otherwise called Westjomo which later graduated into National Jama’ah otherwise called Najomo. Today, most of the pioneer members of MSSN are great men and women in various public and private sectors. The current Sultan and President-General of Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs (NSCIA), His Eminence, Alhaji Muhammad Sa’ad Abubakar, CFR, mni, some Emirs, Ministers, Governors, Vice Chancellors, Professors, a JAMB Registrar and, even the late President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua were prominent members of that great Society called MSSN. And now, the newly appointed Chairman of National Hajj Commission, Alhaji Dhikrullah Olakunle Hassan was once the National President of MSSN.

Office Accommodation Problem

It, however, became disturbing that despite the greatness of this Society and its alumni, there was no permanent office that could be called its national   headquarters even by the time its 50th anniversary was celebrated in 2004. An attempt was once made to sight such office in Ilorin being the midway between the north and the south, but that attempt was unsuccessful. It was only when the elders decided to pay attention to the issue of headquarters, recently, that a plot of land was secured for office in Abuja on which work is yet to fully commence even 65 years after the establishment of that great Association.

National Brotherhood

Dr. Abdul-Lateef Adegbite’s appointment as Commissioner in the Western State in the 1960s also helped tremendously in bridging the religious gap between the north and the south especially in respect of the formation of the Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs (NSCIA) in which he was to play a major role as Secretary-General later in life. As far as Islam is concerned, Dr. Adegbite’s role was a footprint on the sands of life. Let those who are yearning for a similar footprint be as dedicated to Islam as he was.

A Leadership Training Ground

Apart from serving as a unifier of Muslim youths in Nigeria, MSSN also started as a potent leadership training ground for Muslim men and women of the future. That many brothers and sisters who passed through the Society are occupying various prominent positions including Gubernatorial, Ministerial, top managerial and core professional posts in Nigeria today is an attestation to that assertion. At least not less than five Heads of State or Presidents of Nigeria have been produced by the Association. However, the tempo of leadership agility of the past seems to have waned tremendously partly due to change of focus and unwarranted desire for acquisition of wealth and position.

Thus, due to the fact that most students of nowadays are immature, some experienced hands at the helm of affairs in the Society continue to hold sway as principal officers of the Society thereby hindering the upcoming ones from gaining the necessary leadership training and experience that should normally prepare them for the future. The implication of this is that leadership is no longer by training or experience but by mere incidental assumption. This in itself is a great disadvantage to the growth and development of MSSN as well as a cause of various divisions leading to the emergence of splinter groups. If this Society must progress as expected, a return to the original system that gave it a prominent vibrancy in the past should be a sine qua non.

Clarion Call

This is a clarion call on all Nigerian Muslim men and women of substance,   who had passed through the MSSN, and are now blessed in one way or the other, to pull their loins together and rebuild the once great Society that has now become ramshackle for posterity sake. Let those who were once made by history turn round to make history tor the benefit of the future generations. Our footprint must not be obliterated in our lifetimes. The one time great, guiding  crescent of MSSN must not be allowed to eclipse.

In what became another golden feather of honour to the glorious cap a hardworking, honest Nigerian citizen popularly known as ‘Model of Change’, President Muhammadu Buhari displayed a show of Presidential appreciation to whom honour was due yesterday, November 28, 2019, by giving National Merit Award to the JAMB Registrar, Professor Ishaq Olanrewaju Oloyede, OFN, FNAL for hard work and excellence.

Long before now, Oloyede had been a household name not only in Nigeria or Africa but also in the entire world just like the University he was privileged to head as Vice-Chancellor over a decade ago. What qualified a onetime madrasah boy for such a vertical position is an interesting question for which most inquisitive minds may earnestly seek an answer. And the answer is not far-fetched.

 

Binocular Focus

Unlike most Nigerian men of letters in the Ivory Tower, Professor Oloyede wears a binocular with which he sees life from two opposing worldly sides of the West and the East. And this became evident not just in his management of the University of Ilorin within just one tenure of five years but also in the humility, selflessness and patriotism with which he demonstrated civility and exhibited  knowledge par excellence in that office. Through him, Nigerians came to know that the difference between a man of letters and that of knowledge is indisputably clear. While the one sees life through the common eye, the other sees it with an uncommon vision.

In the days of Socrates, Aristotle and Herodotus, when education was an adorned virtue used as a yardstick for measuring civility and value, no one cared about the material gains accruing from it. However, bastardization of education set in when certificate became a means of valuing its material worth. Thus, with acquisition of certificates by all means, mere literacy began to be misconceived as education. And today, Nigerian Universities have been reduced to mere centers of advanced literacy rather than citadel of knowledge that they used to be.

 

Literacy and Education

Whereas literacy is just an added value to education the modern day man has ignorantly but arrogantly interpolated the one for the other. This is what Professor Oloyede resented in his academic odyssey when he chose to combine Eastern education with that of the West with a determination to take advantage of both in fertilizing the academic soil of Nigeria’s future. For those who didn’t know, that was why he specialized in Islamic Studies even at the professorial level.

Professor Oloyede’s philosophy of life seems to tally ascetically with that of Daniel Webster an American Statesman and intellectual who in a memorable poem stated as follows:

”If we work marble it will perish; if we work upon brass time will efface it; if we rear temples they will crumble into dust; but if we work upon immortal minds and instil in them just principles; we are then engraving that upon tablets which no time can efface but will brighten to all eternity”.

 

Philosophy of Life

The above poem symbolizes the philosophy that propelled Professor Oloyede to adopt contentment as a principle right from his adolescent years. Why relating his reason for contesting for the office of the Vice-Chancellor, he once told some medical students of his University who went to congratulate him on assumption of office as Vice-Chancellor that he never intended to contest for that office. But when an academic charlatan with an ulterior motive in the same University threatened to expose him if he dared contest for the post, he (Oloyede) saw it as a challenge to put his privacy on a public table. His intention was actually not to contest but to see what would be exposed in his privacy. And, contrary to the expectations of sceptics, he emerged as the Vice-Chancellor without an iota of blemish.

Before contesting for that post he had served as Deputy Vice-Chancellor twice. First, he was the Deputy Vice-Chancellor Academic and later Deputy Vice Chancellor Administration in the same University of Ilorin where he had spent his entire academic life as a student, as an alumnus, as a lecturer, as a Director in several areas and as a Professor. Thus, he had seen that University inside-out and that was enough to propel an ambition in him to target the highest office in the Citadel for which he was eminently qualified but there was no such level of ambition in him.

Professor Oloyede relayed to his students the above story of his unintended contest for the highest office not as mere bravado but as an encouragement towards service to humanity with humility and patriotism.

 

Evidence of Contentment

As the Vice-Chancellor of the University of Ilorin, Professor Oloyede was nominated and elected as the President of the African Vice-Chancellors.

But when he noticed that the position of the Executive Secretary of the Association of African Universities was more meaningful and more beneficial to Nigeria than that of the President which he then held, Professor Oloyede encouraged some of his Nigerian colleagues to apply for that post promising to resign his Presidential position in that Association to enable a fellow Nigerian occupy the office. Incidentally, most of his colleagues did not believe him. But when the time came and one of them indicated interest, Oloyede surprisingly resigned as President of African Vice-Chancellors just after two years in an office where he had opportunity to spend two terms of renewable five years.

However, the Professor who benefited from Oloyede’s large-heartedness by assuming the office of the Executive Secretary of African Universities eventually ventured into Nigerian local politics and relinquished the covetous post in favour of that of the Secretary to a State Government (SSG) thereby depriving Nigeria the benefit for which Oloyede had resigned as President. The comparison of personalities in this circumstance is better left to the readers of this article.

 

Academic Administration

Only a few Nigerians in the academic arena can surpass Oloyede’s record when it comes to the ‘nitty gritty’ of academic administration. Yet, you can hardly notice it in his demeanour. This ascetic Professor is not only the first alumnus of the Faculty of Arts in the University of Ilorin to graduate with a ‘FIRST CLASS’ he is also the first alumnus of that University to obtain a PhD from the same University. Not only that, Professor Oloyede scored many other ‘FIRSTS’ in that University to the admiration of the upcoming students as encouragement for those with same aspiration among those students. He was the ‘FIRST’ Director of Academic Planning and first alumni President to be a member of the Governing Council of the University of Ilorin. Professor Oloyede is also the first Unilorin alumnus to become a Deputy Vice-Chancellor and subsequently the first alumnus to become the Vice-Chancellor of the University.

And at the national level, he was the first Vice-Chancellor in Nigeria to introduce Computer-Based Testing (CBT) method of screening applicants in the country just as he was the first Vice-Chancellor to lead a second generation University to the number one position in Nigeria based on external ranking. He also became the first Nigerian Vice-Chancellor to emerge as President of the Association of African Universities (AAU) and at the same time the Chairman of Association of Nigerian Universities (AVCNU). Still not done, he is the first Nigerian Vice-Chancellor to combine the Board membership of International Association of Universities (IAU) with those of the Association of Commonwealth Universities (ACU) and Association of African Universities (AAU) at the same time.

 

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University Calendar

With the above listed ‘FIRSTS’ he was (as Vice-Chancellor) able to make Unilorin the first Federal University in Nigeria to run a decade of uninterrupted academic calendar and prompted that University to be internationally ranked as one of the very best 20 Universities in Africa. Also, through his astute academic administration, the University of Ilorin was able to maintain the first position in national ranking for three consecutive years (2009, 2010 and 2011). Another major plus in this man’s life but which most people hardly notice is arbitrating factor.

 

Conflict Resolution

Professor Oloyede does not only resent conflicts in whatever form he also regards arbitration as a duty. Thus, whenever he notices any sign of conflict in his vicinity, be it interpersonal, intertribal or interreligious, he immediately initiates arbitration and reconciliation process to ensure resolution without minding the cost. And his impartiality in doing this is generally acknowledged and revered across all borders. Now with his post as the Registrar of the Joint Matriculation and Admission Board (JAMB), he has added a rare feather to his exemplary cap in a way that fetches him a tacit title of ‘A Model of Change’.

 

A Guiding Life

In Professor Oloyede is a great example for those who aspire to be great in a world where greatness is a slippery land. His life has become a guide for the younger professionals and artisans who need guidance “either as a warning on the vanity of human wishes or as encouragement or both”.

With His Eminence, Dr. Muhammad Sa’ad Abubakar CFR, mni, at the helm of affairs of the NSCIA and Professor Oloyede as the Secretary-General of that apex body of the Muslim Ummah in Nigeria, who does not see that a right step is now on course on the right path?

 

Epilogue

With vertical men of this stature on Islamic stage in Nigeria at this point in time who says Muslims are non-existent in the scheme of modern life? Today, there is no aspect of human endeavour where Muslim men and women do not stand out as signposts of life like summer crescents quietly moving towards zooming into full moon. And now with this latest unique award confirming Oloyede as a unique historic signpost for African men and women of today who may be aspiring to be great in life tomorrow what else is left for sceptics to say about this man vis a vis greatness?