Sheikh Awelenje’s virtues extolled at 50th remembrance colloquium

EMINENT Islamic scholars across the country gathered at the University of Ibadan recently to extol the virtues of a renowned scholar, the late Sheikh Ahmed Tijani Mustapha Awelenje, popularly known as “Alfa Saki.”

The occasion was an international colloquium put together by the Tijani  Awelenje Foundation, in collaboration with Al-Manarah International Institute for Research in Islamic Civilisation and Development and the  Department of Arabic and Islamic Studies, University of Ibadan.

In his goodwill message at the event, the Executive Secretary, Muslim Ummah of South West Nigeria (MUSWEN), Professor Dawud Noibi, expressed delight at the organisation of the colloquium which, according to him, is expected to help the contemporary Nigerian society to learn from the wealth of Sheikh Awelenje’s teachings about unity.

“If alive today, he [Awelenje] would have given unrelenting support to the unity that MUSWEN is working tirelessly to achieve and so, would have strongly discouraged the kind of campaign of hate which a section of the media and commentators in this part of the country currently indulge in against certain ethnic groups in the country.

“He probably would have drawn attention to Qur’an 49:11 and 13 where Allah warns against despising other racial or ethnic groups and against indulgence in tribal sectionalism often for religious reasons,” Noibi said.

He said there was no doubt the fact that a colloquium held in Awelenje’s honour would bring to the fore, his contributions to the intellectual and social life of the Muslim community of the region in his time.

Noibi, who commended the Department of Arabic and Islamic Studies of the University of Ibadan for its support for the colloquium, lauded the deceased’s son, Dr Abdullahi Awelenje, saying his contributions to the activities of MUSWEN were a mark of the heritage left by his father.

Professor Rasaq ‘Deremi Abubakre of the Department of Arabic and Islamic Studies, University of Ilorin, who delivered the keynote address at the event, described the late Awelenje as a successful scholar of Yoruba extraction who did not leave any stone unturned in his quest for the development of Arabic and Islamic education in Yorubaland.

“He travelled far and wide to show his total commitment to the efflorescence of Arabic and Islamic Studies,” Abubakre said.

He added that Sheikh Awelenje’s notion of blending Arabic studies with western education led to the establishment of the Department of Arabic and Islamic Studies at the University of Ibadan in 1963.

The lead paper, “A String from the Web of Awelenje’s Network- Yoruba Islamic Verse in Propagation and Social Reform,” was presented by Professor Amid Sanni of the Lagos State University.

Dignitaries at the occasion included the Baagi of Saki land, High Chief Ghazali Adekilutoro; chairman of the caretaker committee of Saki West Local Government Area, Alhaji Kazali Adegoke Kareem; former vice chancellor of the Lagos State University, Professor Lateef Husayn; Dean, Faculty of Arts, University of Ibadan, Professor Ademola Dasylva; Head of Department of Arabic and Islamic Studies, University of Ibadan, Professor Kamil Koyejo Oloso and Registrar, Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB), Professor Ishaq Oloyede.