Yoruba imams, alfas to begin conference on Islamic unity in Ijebu-Ode on Monday

Personalities, including the President, Bola Tinubu, are expected to grace a conference scheduled to hold in Ijebu-Ode, Ogun State, between Monday, 7, and Wednesday, 9 October, 2024. The conference is organised by the League of Imams and Alfas in Yorubaland.

The three-day conference, with the theme ‘Strengthening Islamic Unity and Progress in Yorubaland’, will take place at the Ijebu-Ode Central Mosque at 10am each day.

This was announced on Wednesday in Ibadan, Oyo State, at a press conference addressed by the League of Imams and Alfas in Yorubaland.

Popular preacher, Sheikh Taofeek Akeugbagold, briefed the press on behalf of the League alongside other representatives, including the Grand Chief Imam of Epe Division, Sheikh Sadallah Abiola Abdul Rahman; the Chief Imam of Ogbomosoland, Sheikh Yunus Teliat Ayilara; and Sheikh Iskeel Kolawole Lawal (Sugar), who was the chairman of the committee for the press conference.

Akeugbagold explained that the conference, where former president, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, among other top Nigerians, will be a special guest of honour, is aimed to serve as a platform to discuss and resolve all issues that are causing divisions within the fold of Islam in Nigeria, especially in the South West.

The cleric, who stressed that religion, as a way of life, should be practised in such a way that would bring peace and development to humanity, stated that “the conference will dissect the immediate and remote causes of crises within and among the various Islamic organisations with a view to finding solutions” to the problems.

According to him, the conference, which will have the registrar of the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB), Professor Ishaq Oloyede, as the keynote speaker, will feature other seasoned Islamic scholars and jurists from across the Islamic sects.

Akeugbagold said: “We plan to use the conference to bridge the gap between all Muslim traditional rulers and Islamic scholars and imams in the southwestern part of the country.

“The three-day conference will look into ways to protect the honour and legacies of great Islamic scholars, dead and living, whose immense contributions to the development of Islam in this part of the world are still the foundation we are building upon.

“We will use the occasion to also celebrate the 60th anniversary of the Robitatu-l-Aimmah (League of Imams and Alfas in Yorubaland) and say prayers for Sheikh Adam Abdullah Al-Ilory whose idea is the Rabitah, and all our fathers who worked hand in hand with him to make the great idea become a legacy today.

“We will use the opportunity to appreciate the contributions of His Imperial Majesty, the Awujale of Ijebuland, Oba Sikiru Kayode Adetona, to the development of Islam by conferring him with the title of ‘the Commander of Muslim Kings in Yorubaland’, as well as organise a special prayer for our country and our president, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, for guidance towards achieving, in no time for our country, her lost glory and peace.”

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