Qur’an, Hadith memorisers, 66 others graduate from Vanguards Academy

A faith-based school, Vanguards Academy, on Saturday, held its 17th graduation and awards ceremony in honour of 68 students.

At the ceremony, held at the school premises at Odosengolu, Ijebu Ode, Ogun State, two students, AbdulWahab AbdulKareem and AbdulHameed Owolabi, stood out for committing the Qur’an to heart and memorising the 40 Hadith of Al-Imaam An-Nawawiy, respectively.

The principal, Mr Lukman Alatishe, commended the graduating set for displaying a high level of comportment and morality throughout their academic career at the school.

On why the number of haafidh (memorisers of the Qur’an) dropped this year compared to last year, where eight of the graduating students had memorised the Qur’an, Alatishe noted that the majority of the students who graduated last year had passed through the school’s intensive Arabic classes before they got to Junior Secondary School 1.

“They started memorisation before they got to JSS1. It just remained a few to complete, and they did that before graduation. For this set, we didn’t run a pre-JSS1 class for them. Only one person was able to meet the target.”

The Chief Executive Officer of the school, Dr Zafaran Adeniyi, disclosed that with this year’s set of 68 students, the school has produced 1,029 graduates since its establishment 21 years ago.

The guest lecturer at the ceremony, Dr Asif Azeez, admonished the outgoing students to make their imaan (faith) stronger than ever.

Dr Azeez, who is the Head of the Department of Islamic Studies at Sikiru Adetona College of Education, Science and Technology, Omu-Ajoshe, lamented that the world is full of immorality and frustration.

The lecturer, who is also the chief imam of the college, said it was important for the graduands to reshape their iman (faith).

“Fundamentally, their iman has to be stronger than before. They are going into the world. We have a lot of immoralities in the world. When they are on campus, they have people guiding them, but in the free world, there is nobody to guide them. So, they have to comport themselves and remain good Muslims as they have been taught here.

“If the graduands want to record success, they have to prepare fully for it. They have to set goals for themselves on what they want to become and how are they going to achieve it,” he said.

He added: “Frustration is another reality in the world today. You make efforts but people keep frustrating you. You have to be patient. That is why we taught them patience. The students have to be prayerful, too. They need prayers to achieve their goals,” he said.

The chairman of the occasion, Dr Ismail AbdusSalam, a consultant and public health physician, expressed joy as he identified with the history and legacy of Vanguards Academy.

He said the school has, within 20 years of existence, produced persons who have excelled in every aspect of life and in different institutions.

He said, “The mission and vision of Vanguards is not directed at profit-making. It was not a business venture from the outset. It is an institution that has been established for bringing up leaders for the reformation of the society. I am glad we have been able to groom children who are reformers.

“I am one of the pioneers of the school. So I am happy seeing the little dream we had back then becoming a very big reality. It can only get better.”

He advised the graduands to be focused in the pursuit of their goals life.

“They should know that they are going to meet life challenges outside there. The situation is going to be different. But the anthem of the school is enough to gear them towards success.

“Education is for life. We advise them to be focused and not to go along with the wave of the society and they have been well equipped to deal with such situations,” he said.