THE Obafemi Awolowo University Muslim Graduates’ Association (UNIFEMGA) has recommended the adoption of the Islamic concept of leadership in Nigeria through the institutionalisation of the principles of integrity, honesty and competency rather than patronage.
UNIFEMGA made the recommendation in a communique after its 2022 National Reunion Conference held at the Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), Ile-Ife.
At the conference, the association presented N8.075 million worth of scholarships and grants to 105 undergraduate and postgraduate students of the university.
According to UNIFEMGA, it has disbursed a total of N50 million to about 850 students of the institution to date.
The association, in the communique, signed by its National President, AbdulFattah Olanlege and National Public Relations Officer, Shamsudeen Adenopo, also called for increased involvement of Muslims, especially the elite among them, in politics and the electoral process, saying this should be regarded as a necessity and an act of worship.
UNIFEMGA lamented that the “failure of leadership in Nigeria has caused us a lot of challenges. We have witnessed civil strife, insurgency, banditry, kidnapping, corruption, economic downturn, political rascality and social disorder.”
It said: “The series of security crises we are witnessing in the country is due largely to insensitivity on the part of our leaders, ineptitude of intelligence gathering on the part of the security agencies which constitute a great challenge to good governance and a threat to democracy in the country.
“All the three tiers of governments in Nigeria should ensure that the lives and property of all the citizens of the country are secure. This is important, as it is only when there is national security that development can take place.
“We condemn in strong terms the terrorist acts in some parts of the country, mob, jungle and selective killings of innocent Nigerians and advise the Federal Government to avoid the present stereotype of pigeon-holing it as a religious issue. It is more of political, ethnic and economic issue.”
The association urged the private sector to, as a matter of urgency, partner with the government for the education of Nigerians and the correction of “the infrastructural deficit” in the country.
It also said employment opportunities should be given to teeming unemployed Nigerian youths “who are being used as instruments of violence by some selfish and unpatriotic individuals.”
The reunion lecture was delivered by Ishaq Lakin Akintola, a professor of Islamic Eschatology and director of the Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC), with a retired Commissioner of Police, Yinka Balogun as the chairman of the occasion and Governor Gboyega Oyetola of Osun State, represented by his Special Adviser on Education, Alhaji Jamiu Olawunmi, as the special guest of honour.
The association also had its Annual General Meeting (AGM) where its activities in the past one year were reviewed and continuation in office of the current National Executive Committee was ratified.
YOU SHOULD NOT MISS THESE HEADLINES FROM NIGERIAN TRIBUNE
We Have Not Had Water Supply In Months ― Abeokuta Residents
In spite of the huge investment in the water sector by the government and international organisations, water scarcity has grown to become a perennial nightmare for residents of Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital. This report x-rays the lives and experiences of residents in getting clean, potable and affordable water amidst the surge of COVID-19 cases in the state…UNIFEMGA recommends Islamic concept UNIFEMGA recommends Islamic concept
Selfies, video calls and Chinese documentaries: The things you’ll meet onboard Lagos-Ibadan train
The Lagos-Ibadan railway was inaugurated recently for a full paid operation by the Nigerian Railway Corporation after about a year of free test-run. Our reporter joined the train to and fro Lagos from Ibadan and tells his experience in this report…UNIFEMGA recommends Islamic conceptUNIFEMGA recommends Islamic concept
and then