Islamic group honours Oyetola’s aide, 11 others

AWARD-WINNING photojournalist and a media aide to Governor Adegboyega Oyetola of Osun State, Alhaji Sikiru Adeoye-Yusuf, has been conferred with the title of the ‘Aminul Mashhad Worldwide’, an award reserved only for men found to be of impeccable character.

The founder and chairman of Mas’had-L-Asrar Almujaba Worldwide, Sheikh Abdul-Jelil Owonikoko, presided over the installation of Adeoye- Yusuf and 11 other personalities at a ceremony held last weekend in Saki, Oyo State.

The cleric admonished Nigerians to imbibe the virtues of honesty and kindness and apply same to their day-to-day activities.

He said honesty, kindness and sincerity were some of the virtues found by the Islamic group in Adeoye-Yusuf which resulted in the award and recognition extended to him.

According to him, Nigeria will be great if only all citizens can exhibit such virtues in all their affairs.

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He noted that Adeoye-Yusuf, who is currently a Senior Special Assistant on Media to the Osun State Governor, was the first recipient of such an award since the establishment of the organisation in 1997.

Speaking about the organisation and its benefits, particularly to Nigerians, he stated that it was established to strengthen people’s belief in the efficacy of prayer in solving problems confronting individuals and the nation.

He warned Nigerians against consulting sources of spiritual powers other than Allah and His holy book, the Qur’an, in finding solutions to problems.

“Today, we are celebrating the anniversary of our organisation, which was established 22 years ago with the key objectives of promoting the virtues of Islam and strengthening belief in the efficacy of prayers in solving all manner of problems confronting individuals and the nation.

“We are also using this opportunity to honour 12 of our members with different categories of awards of excellence in recognition of their commitment to the attainment of sustainable development goals, service to Mashhad and humanity in general.

“The 12 awardees were drawn from different parts of Africa, including Nigeria, Gabon and Benin Republic.

“This is the first time we are awarding Aminul Mashhad which goes to one of our brothers, Alhaji Adeoye- Yusuf, who hails from Osun State Nigeria.

“The award of Aminul Mashhad is exclusively reserved for people with proven level of honesty and kindness in the way they treat others. I congratulate all the awardees while I urge them not to relent in their services to humanity.

“I also want to admonish Nigerians to imbibe the virtues of honesty and kindness in their respective ways of life as this is a necessary recipe for success in life and the attainment of peace and tranquility in the country,” Owonikoko said.

In attendance at the event were the president of the group in Osun State, Sheikh Kodir Soliu Cisse, who was also one of the awardees; the father of the day, Sheikh Abdul-Rafiu Omolewa Owonikoko; Imam of Mas’had, Sheikh Adam Imobanba, among others.