Almighty Allah declares in the Holy Qur’an, Dahr, 76:1-6: “Has there not been Over Man a long period Of Time, when he was Nothing—(not even) mentioned ?Verily We created Man from a drop Of mingled sperm, In order to try him: So We gave him (the gifts). Of Hearing and Sight.We showed him the Way: Whether he be grateful Or ungrateful (rests on his will).For the Rejecters We have prepared Chains, Yokes and A Blazing Fire.As to the Righteous, They shall drink Of a Cup (of Wine) Mixed with Kafur, —A Fountain where The Devotees of God Do drink, making it Flow in unstinted abundance.”
In October 2004, we invited Prince Ghazi of Jordan to the IMA Research Centre to commission the IMA Hospital in Abeokuta, Nigeria. He came with the royal aircraft of Jordan with his large entourage, and was accommodated at the Presidential Lodge in Abeokuta by the Ogun State government of Governor Gbenga Daniel.
He visited Abuja and was received by the then vice president, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar who hosted the Prince Ghazi and our guest from the government of Malaysia, Ms. Siti A. Esha, a parliamentarian in the government of Malaysia, to a state dinner.
The visit made it possible for Nigeria and Jordan to establish concrete diplomatic relationships so much so that the two countries have embassies in Abuja and Amman.
It was on the eve of Ramadan 1, 1425 A.H. (October 15, 2004) that the Ogun State government hosted our guests from Jordan and Malaysia to a state banquet at the Government House, Abeokuta.
When we were in Abuja, Judge Bola Ajibola sarcastically told the NSCIA Secretary-General, Dr Abdul-Lateef Adegbite: “…Lati, please, don’t pull out the joker from your pocket for the beginning of the Ramadan fast in Nigeria this year until after our Ogun State banquet in Abeokuta for our guests from Jordan and Malaysia…” We all laughed with Dr Adegbite. Judge Ajibola stressed: “…You have the joker in your pocket, and you can pull it out whenever you desire as a political weapon…”
It was at the state banquet in Abeokuta that Dr Adegbite invited me as one of the masters of ceremony that I should announce that the Ramadan moon had been sighted in some parts of Northern Nigeria, and “Ramadan starts tomorrow.” Before my announcement, I told Judge Ajibola and they both laughed loud about it and Judge Ajibola said “…Lati, thank you so much. We made the state dinner…” Dr Adegbite said “…Alhamdulillah…” Importantly, the whole of Nigeria began Ramadan in 2004 (October 16 to November 13, 2004) with the rest of the world.
Meanwhile, between July 2 and 7, 2005, Prince Ghazi invited me to the first International Islamic Conference of Moderation Assembly for Thought and Culture, Amman, Jordan, with the theme: ‘True Islam and its Role in Modern Society’ between July 4 and July 6, 2005.
I participated in all the sessions of the conference, and a presentation on the theme of the conference, with attendance from the continents of the world.
Moreover, in 2007, I was invited to deliver paper titled ‘Islamic Role on the Mass Media for Human Civilization’ at the third Conference of Moderation Assembly for Thought and Culture, Amman, Jordan, with the Theme: ‘Towards an Arab Islamic Contribution to the Modern Human Civilisation’ between September 8 and 10, 2007.
However, in October 2002, we placed advertisements in national newspapers for the introduction of one-year IMA Intensive Literacy Programme in Qur’anic, Arabic, and Islamic Studies sessions for the elite in the government ministries, teachers, doctors, nurses and others in the evenings. Certificates in the one-year course were awarded at a graduation ceremony in October 2004. The first set consisted of 35 graduates in different fields.
The resource persons for the course include Saudi Arabian graduates, Ustaz Bashir Omoniyi Ibrahim and Alhaji Abdul-Razaq Adelakin, of blessed memory; Alhaji Mas’ud Adebayo (later Chief Imam of Oyo and graduate of El-Azhar University, Cairo, Egypt); Barrister Mas’ud Taiwo; Imam Sulaiman Kehinde, Chief Imam of Owu-Abeokuta; Dr Sulaiman Osho, IMA Secretary-General; Dr Abdul-Waheed Abdul-Azeez of the University of Uyo; and Alhaji Abdul-Hameed Bolaji.
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