Centenary eulogies for Al-Ilory

Though, he died 26 years ago, Sheikh Adam Abdullahi Al-Ilory, the late scholar and revolutionary preacher and thinker continues to pull crowds. This much was attested to during the centenary celebration of the great thinker, foremost nationalist and Pan-Africanist.     The week-long centenary activities evoked feelings of nostalgia among the numerous students and admirers of […]

Though, he died 26 years ago, Sheikh Adam Abdullahi Al-Ilory, the late scholar and revolutionary preacher and thinker continues to pull crowds. This much was attested to during the centenary celebration of the great thinker, foremost nationalist and Pan-Africanist.    

The week-long centenary activities evoked feelings of nostalgia among the numerous students and admirers of the late scholar, who thronged the main auditorium of University of Lagos for the celebration.

The establishment of Markaz, one of the foremost Arabic citadels of learning in Africa, was the landmark feat of the scholar who was passionate about inculcating the best morals anchored on the teachings of Islamic jurisprudence on the students. The institute currently headed by one of his children, Shaykh Habibullah Abdullahi Al-Ilory, has not deviated from being a globally recognized centre for qualitative teaching and learning of Arabic and Islamic knowledge. 

It was therefore not unexpected when the Alumni of the institute decided to celebrate the centenary of the late scholar with a weeklong event to reflect on the life and times of their beloved teacher, who was instrumental to their successes in life.

The alumni of Markaz abound in all spheres of life doing great things and making the institution proud. Among them are Professors, Administrators, Doctors, Lawyers and Journalists excelling in their respective fields. He was said to have personally produced over 5,000 scholars. Besides, his contributions to scholarship in Nigeria were unquantifiable, just as he was an advocate of peaceful coexistence through his preaching.

The gathering at the University of Lagos auditorium was the high point of the weeklong activities in remembrance of the towering personality who would have clocked 100 this month if he had been alive. But 26 years after his death in 1992, his legacies subsist. Like Prof. Is-haq Oloyede, an illustrious alumnus and Registrar of the Joint Admission and Matriculation Board, pointed out in his keynote address, a personality like him never dies. 

He said, “He was a peace builder, a bridge builder, a born administrator, a Lagosian by all standards, an indigene of Abeokuta – Ogun State with incontrovertible evidence, a great son of Ilorin, Kwara State and Africa. A global citizen and a role model per excellence, Shaykh Adam Abdullahi Al-Ilory. Ladies and gentlemen, the Almighty says in Quran 3 vs 169 that those who die or who are made to die on the path of Allah, don’t think they are dead. They are not dead. Indeed they are with their Lord who provides sustenance for them”. 

Oloyede’s effusive description of Al-Ilory first as an indigene of Abeokuta, a son of Ilorin and a Lagosian, is a further testimony to the personality being honoured. Though an indigene of Ilorin, Kwara State as could be gleaned from his last name, Al-Ilory, Shaykh Adam started Markaz in Abeokuta, Ogun state in April 1952 with just 14 pupils before he relocated it to Lagos. Out of resilience, passion and sheer determination, Markaz has transformed to a global citadel of learning, which has produced highly successful scholars both in the field of Arabic and the western type of education.

As an indigene of Ilorin, Kwara State, the community led by the Emir of Ilorin, Alhaji Ibrahim Zulu Gambari was powerfully represented by the Senate President, Dr. Bukola Saraki, the state governor, Alhaji Abdulfatah Ahmed, former Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Alfa Belgore, former President of Court of Appeal, Justice Isa Ayo Salami, Speaker of Kwara State House of Assembly, Dr. Ali Ahmad, among other dignitaries in attendance.

The roll call of alumni of the institute led by Dr. Yusuf Jumah of Al-Hikmah University cannot be exhausted. Notable among them are Chief Imam of University of Lagos and Professor of Education, Prof. Murtala Bidmus, former Dean of Postgraduate, University of Ilorin, Prof. Badmus Lanre Yusuf, former Vice-Chancellor of Al-Hikmah University, Prof. Razaq Deremi Abubakre, Prof. Abdulbaqi Agaka of Uthman Danfodio University, Sokoto, Prof. Hamza Abdulsalam of Kwara State University, Dr. Mahfouz Adedimeji of University of Ilorin, among others.  

Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Muhammed Sa’ad Abubakar who chaired the centenary celebration with the theme, “Moving Nigeria to Greatness through the works of El-Ilory” harped on Islamic education which he described as an entity of self-discipline. 

He said, “Islamic education is perpetually an entity of self-discipline, which involves physical and spiritual training of man. It is the balanced growth of man through training of the intellect. The bulk of Islamic education is meant to facilitate the proper growth of the total personality of man. It is a way of life. When we are talking about Islamic education, don’t think we are being backward, because it is the making of a total human being, and when you become one, you would shun corruption and avoid illegal dealings.”

The Muslim leader, who eulogized the late scholar reputed to have modernized religious preaching, urged all and sundry to emulate his patriotism and nationalism ,demonstrated through his many public lectures which proffered solutions to the many socio-economic and political challenges facing the nation.

Sultan however called on politicians to channel their wealth into assisting Islamic institutes like Markaz which are in the vanguard of promoting godliness and entrenching moral rectitude among the youths.

Abubakar said, “Development and sciences started from the Muslim Ummah. This was the legacy inherited and advanced by the late sheikh. But where are (the Muslims) today? We need to reevaluate ourselves and retrace our steps…. The world is not waiting for us. We must do everything to promote the legacies of knowledge.”

The Senate President, who pledged the donation of a three-story Hostel building ,said he would continue to support the institute to make it a modern institution in order to promote Islamic education in the country.

Saraki advocated qualitative and religious education as a veritable tool to achieving a greater country, saying the Senate would continue to make laws that would provide conducive atmosphere for learning in order to eradicate illiteracy.

More importantly, late Shaykh though a fiery preacher, was an advocate of peaceful coexistence. At a time Nigeria strives to overcome religious and ethnic tension, adoption of the teachings of the late scholar would no doubt effect an enduring change in the drive to entrench peace and harmony among religious adherents in the country.

To further expand the frontiers of his legacy of qualitative Islamic education anchored on the development of total man, the old students announced  a proposal for the establishment of Markaz University in honor of the late Muslim thinker ,starting with a $7m development fund. He called on the Nigerian authorities and the business community to contribute to the cause.

Professor Yusuf Badmus of University of Ilorin who noted that the products of Shaykh Al-Ilory could be found in various educational institutions and professional disciplines in Nigeria and beyond, said, “It is our conviction that if Nigerians could put into practice the ideal teachings of Islam as propagated by Al-Ilory, the Nigerian society will be better for all.”

Also speaking, Prof. Bidmus, former Dean of Arts, University of Lagos said, “We are celebrating the life and times of our late Shaykh because we want people now to be alive to the achievements, to know what the man lived for and what are the legacies he left behind. These legacies are very huge.

“The second part of it is that all the problems facing the country today, socio-economic, education, Baba has written about them. All we need to do is to articulate those things he recommended. If we can use them, we will get solutions to our problems.”