Preamble
It was a trip by deputation penultimate Friday and Saturday. His Eminence, Alhaji Muhammad Sa’ad Abubakar CFR, mni, the Sultan of Sokoto and President General of Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs (NSCIA) had been scheduled to visit Ondo and Ekiti States on those two days. But due to some unforeseen circumstances, he could not undertake the journey in person. He however delegated his Southern Deputy at the NSCIA, His Excellency Alhaji (Dr.) S. O. Babalola, OON, to represent him (Chief (Dr. S. O. Babalola became NSCIA’s Deputy President-General for Southern Nigeria in August 2016).
He, also being the President of the Muslim Ummah of Southwest Nigeria (MUSWEN), was accompanied by a retinue of Muslim leaders in the Southwest including Dr. Jibril Oyekan, Alhaji Kunle Sanni, Dr. Wole Abbas, Alhaji Mustafa Olawuyi, Alhaji Kola Uzamo, Barr. Yakubu Sanni, Alhaji Sulaiman Afolabi Ogunlayi, Alh. Tajudeen Alabede, Alh. Hafeez Timehin and yours sincerely, on the trip. The Oba of Ayede Ekiti, Alhaji Abdul Mumini Adebayo Orisagbemi Abolokefa IV otherwise known as Attah of Ayede had invited His Eminence to the celebration of his ten year anniversary on the throne with the laying of the foundation of his new palace and a Mosque. Part of the trip was to pay a courtesy visit to the Deji of Akure, Oba Ogunlade Aladetoyinbo Aladelusi, Odundun II and join the Muslim Community of Ondo State in observing the Jum’at prayer.
In Deji’s palace
At the palace of Deji where the delegation was rousingly received, Chief S. O Babalola delivered the following speech on behalf of His Eminence, the Sultan:
Your Royal Majesty, today’s visit to your palace is historic. Ordinarily, I would have accompanied the President General of Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs (NSCIA) and Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Muhammad Sa’ad Abubakar, CFR, mni to this palace on this occasion. But due to circumstantial development, he had to delegate me to represent him being his deputy here in Southern Nigeria.
I therefore wish to express his regret and unreserved apology for not being able to be here in person as earlier planned. Man only proposes. It is God that disposes. We hope that another chance will come to warrant His Eminence’s presence on this kind of occasion in the near future.
Nigerian situation
Your Royal Majesty, this occasion is a confirmation of a well known fact about Nigerian situation. Of the major existing institutions in Nigeria today only that of the traditional rulers is solidly stable. It is evident that there are incessant ripples in other major institutions including the executive wing, the legislative wing and the judiciary wing mostly to the discomfort of the nation. This is because the traditional institution anywhere in the world is permanent and unshaken except where there is an accident of history.
The current cooperation among the royal fathers in the Southwest region and that of the entire nation is highly appreciated by all, and sundry. And the role of His Eminence in this is conspicuously notable. Since he ascended the Caliphate throne ten years ago, His Eminence, Alhaji Muhammad Sa’ad Abubakar, has paid his royal colleagues in the Southern parts of the country unprecedented courtesy visits thereby laying a solid foundation for royal friendliness and cooperation among the traditional rulers in the country. He is generally known today as a national bridge builder.
A national bridge builder
Your Royal Majesty, there is no State in the Southwest or any other Southern region for that matter that His Eminence has not visited with open hands of friendliness and brotherhood. This is an indication that contrary to what is daily published in Nigerian media, there are people who still believe in the unity of our country and are working hard to ensure that unity.
Your Royal Majesty, your readiness to receive His Eminence in your palace and the evident preparation for that reception is also a confirmation of the unity of this country at the royal level. If this good example is emulated by the political class, the usual tension in the political arena would have been less and the polity would have been more conducive. Therefore, the traditional institution is hereby implored to further strengthen its unity as a model for all other institutions in the country.
Constitutional role for traditional rulers
Meanwhile, I want to call on the legislative arm of the government to revisit the constitution with a view to giving the traditional rulers in the country a more prominent role to play in the governance of the country. If such a prominent role had been facilitated in the constitution, the spate of violence that we witness across the country on a daily basis would have been reduced to barest minimum. There is no gain saying the fact that no other institution is as close to the people and as much respected in Nigeria than the traditional institution.
Comparison
Looking at the political situation in Nigeria today, vis-a-vis that of the traditional institution, one will discover that the difference is very clear. While ripples continue in the political waters, the institution of traditional rulers is calm and clement. There is a reason for this. Traditional rulership has no definitive tenure that can easily be challenged by any rival. It is rather an institution that operates on era basis. And the dignity accorded to it is not temporary. In other words, a king is a king as long as he is alive and on the throne. Even after his demise, history still treats him with reverence as a onetime king.
Your Royal Majesty, we thank God for your life, your health and your royal dignity and we pray the Almighty to continue to endow you with the needed wisdom, courage and equanimity with which to govern your kingdom for a long time. Long live the Deji of Akure! Long live the Sultanate of Sokoto! Long live the traditional institution in the country! Long live Nigeria!
In Ayede Ekiti
At the palace of Attah Ayede in Ekiti, His Excellency Chief S. O. Babalola delivered a speech entitled ‘The Place of the Mosque in Islam on behalf of His Eminence the Sultan as follows:
“…..Your Royal Majesty, the Attah of Ayede Ekiti, the Attah in Council and all indigenes and residents of Ayede Ekiti, let me greet you in the well known Islamic tradition by saying, Assalam alaykum wa rahmatullah wa barakatuhu”.
“History is being made here today not just because I am here to lay the foundation of a Mosque in a palace but also because this is the first time that a Muslim Oba is on the throne and on ground in this city of Muslim minority to receive and play host to the leader of the Nigerian Muslim Ummah”.
“Today, in the name of Allah, we are laying the foundation of a palace Mosque here in Ayede Ekiti in emulation of Prophet Muhammad (SAW) who laid the foundation of the first Mosque in Islam called the Mosque of Quba in Madinah in 622 CE. Whereas a palace in the life of a Muslim is temporal and ephemeral, a Mosque is spiritual and everlasting”.
Functions of the Mosque
From the inception of Islam, the Mosque has always been like the foundation of a house. Without foundation, no house can stand and serve its purpose as an abode for rest, peace and tranquillity. The main source of the Muslim civilization is the MOSQUE which is the origin of all achievements and glory in Islam.
It was from the Mosque that all intellectual, spiritual and temporal successes of Islam emanated. Mosque is not for SALAT alone. It also serves as the centre for all activities of the Muslim community, whether temporal or spiritual. Mosque should serve as a school, as a library, as a court of justice, as a treasury, as a clinic, as a parliament and as a chamber of commerce. This makes the Mosque like a beehive for Muslims, male and female, old and young. Let the Mosque be properly and fully utilized for the purpose of its existence.
The Mosque and the Imam
The Mosque and the Imam are like the message and the messenger. There can hardly be any access to the one without going through the other. No one can seriously talk about the Mosque without making a fundamental reference to the Imam and the congregation that he leads. Actually, nothing is called Mosque without the Muslim congregation and the Imam.
When Prophet Muhammad (SAW) described learned scholars as the heirs to the Prophets, he was referring to Imams. This is because no genuine Muslim is supposed to be an Imam without first being a learned scholar. However, there is a sharp difference between a scholar and a learned scholar. The one can be self-arrogated. The other is intellectually evident.
Becoming an Imam, if due process is followed, is like becoming a judge after a period of certified experience acquired subsequent to graduating from the Law School. It is not enough to graduate from a Qur’anic school and teach the junior ones for a few years to be qualified as Imam.
Training for Muslim clerics
We shall notice that Lawyers are trained in the Law School after graduating from the Universities just as Doctors undergo Houseman-ship after their admission into the medical Profession. Other professions have also devised means of training their upcoming members through what they now call industrial training. In the same way, our Imams should also be encouraged to undergo clerical training that can assist them in guiding the affairs of their congregations. The absence of such training in the Mosque is adversely affecting the propagation of Islam in our society. I therefore call on all State Muslim communities as well as Muslim Organizations in Nigeria to give the training of Imams a priority through periodic seminars, workshops and conferences. This is not a suggestion. It is a major prescription by Islam for anybody who may aspire to become an Imam.
The issue Muslim minority
Since the inception of Islam, Muslims have always lived as minorities in any new environment they found themselves. It is only after they might have settled down and established themselves that, by the leave of Allah, their display of unity and their positive contributions to the development of their community, they may become majority.
At the initial stage of Islam, when Prophet Muhammad (SAW) and his companions were forced to migrate from Makkah to Madinah for safety from the persecution of the pagan majority in Makkah, they were in the minority. And when they reached Madinah, they remained a minority despite the support given to them by some good people of that city who invited them there.
They were also in the minority when they established the world’s first Islamic democratic government headed by the Prophet in the city of Madinah. They were in the minority when they entered Spain as mere migrants in the 8th century and turned that country into the global haven of civilization. And if we look critically at the world today, we shall discover that the most active Muslim population is the West where Muslims are in the minority. This further confirms that people in the minority are more active because they enjoy unity and cooperation in the face of threat.
I, therefore, want to urge the Muslims of this great city to remain good ambassadors of Islam and act as patriotic members of the community. You have your share of the responsibility to take this city and indeed Ekiti State to greater heights.
I congratulate His Royal Majesty, the Attah of Ayede Ekiti and the entire people of this city for today’s historic event and successful outing in the way of Allah. I wish Your Majesty long life with sound health and continuous Allah’s guidance in conducting the affairs of your kingdom. I also implore the people of Ayede Ekiti to further cooperate with His Royal Majesty in facilitating peace and harmony in this clement city.
“Let there arise from you a nation that calls for righteousness, enjoins justice, and forbids evil. Such men shall surely triumph”. Q3:103. The strength of any group of human beings anywhere in the world is unity and not disunity. The Muslim Ummah in Nigeria cannot be an exception. God bless you all.
The foundation of the Mosque was laid by His Excellency, Chief S. O. Babalola on behalf of the Sultan.
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