By Abubakar Imam
I was there. I was not the only one who witnessed the event. Many people were equally there. And so, my interpretative account or report of the event can either be corroborated or punctured.
Most of the expected guests honoured the invitation of the University, either in person or through representation. Many who were not expected also found their way to the crowded venue of the event.
The event itself was glamorous. It was gracious. It was solemn. It was historic. It was exciting as it was momentous and “fantabulous”, to borrow the modern day Nigerian slang.
The above are some of the ways yours truly could describe every aspect of the maiden matriculation ceremony of Muhammad Kamalud-Deen University (M.K.U.), Ilorin, which took place on Saturday, May 11, 2023, at the University’s sprawling premises. The event was, to say the least, colourful.
However, and as earlier anticipated, the event was not ordinary, probably because of the name, mission, vision, and accomplishments of the sage, Shaykh Muhammad Kamalud-deen Habeebulahi Musa Al-Adabiy, whom the University symbolises and immortalises. The ceremony, which is an important academic ritual confirming the admission of students into an institution of higher learning, was a convergence of royalty, history and the future.
Most of those who graced the event represented each of the three phenomena that confederated to make the event a strongly memorable one. Just like most other things associated with the event, I was impressed with the beauty and assurance displayed by the pioneer students of the University who demonstrated calmness, erudition and eloquence before, during and after they took their oath of matriculation.
The attendance and the humble dispositions of the Emir of Ilorin and Chairman, Kwara State Council of Chiefs, Alhaji (Dr) Ibrahim Sulu-Gambari, CFR, at the event added more colour to the ceremony. He was there with most of his Chiefs, both hereditary and honourary, including the amiable Danmasani of Ilorin, Engr Sulaiman Ayinde Yahaya Alapansanpa, FNSE, and the admirable Grand Mufti of Ilorin, Shaykh Sulaiman Faruq Onikijipa, OON.
The Emir’s protocol officers were at peace with the officiating team. Their conduct showed that the monarch was not in a hurry to leave the venue of the event. The disposition of His Royal Highness, the Emir of Ilorin, gave the management and staff of the budding ivory tower the opportunity to display what they have in stock for the admitted and intending students of the faith-based University.
An important epoch of the ceremony was the beautiful robing of the Emir with the insignia of his office as the Chancellor of the University. The monarch, despite his age and status, stood-up to be robed as he did when the national and the University anthem were being rendered. He was evidently delighted and delightful throughout the ceremony.
The first class traditional ruler was not the only dignitary who was decorated. His was preceded by that of the Visitor to the University and Khalifa Adabiyyin, Shaykh Abdulkadir Adisa Kamaludeen. The Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the University, who is also the National President of the Ansarul Islam Society of Nigeria, Alhaji Suleiman Olayiwola Afolabi, was also jubilant as he was being robed .
The Pro-Chancellor and Chairman of the Governing Council of the University, Prof. Shuaibu Oba AbdulRaheem, OFR, NPOM, was equally robed. The Talba of Ilorin and former Chairman of the Federal Character Commission was also evidently joyous that his efforts coupled with those of other compatriots culminated in the eventual and effective take-off of the private University.
The influence of this distinguished teacher and venerable statesman was quite visible in the remarkable achievements and improvement recorded by the University for everyone to admire. I was left with no choice than to accept the appelation of “Okan ṣoṣo Ajanaku ti mi igbo Kijikiji” (a man of impeccable, overwhelming and indomitable strength of character) given to him two decades ago by a renowned linguist and prolific orator, who is also the immediate past Chief Imam of the University of Ilorin Central Mosque, Prof. AbdulGaniy Abdus-Salam Oladosu. Prof. Oladosu was also present at the event as a student of Shaykh Kamaldeen and a member of the Board of Trustees of MKU.
One of the most exciting aspects of the ceremony was, however, the rendition of the University anthem by the students of the institution. The rendition was solemn and soul pleasing. The messages conveyed in the anthem were also emotionally penetrating. Many of those who attended the ceremony didn’t expect that the University could compose its beautiful anthem so soon.
But I was not surprised. I knew that the stakeholders of the University started running as they hit the ground, literarily. Both the Vice Chancellor and the Registrar as well as other Principal Officers of the University and other staff members and students evidently did everything possible at leaving no stone unturned towards ensuring the success of the institution’s first public event.
The Registrar of the University, Engr Musa Mustapha Kamaludeen, who chaired the Planning Committee of the ceremony, proved his mettle. He outstandingly delivered the task of organising a nearly impeccable occasion.
This exciting civil engineer and grandson of the immortal founder of the Ansarul Islam Society of Nigeria has been a blessing to the University in many ways. Many of those who monitored happenings in the institution observe that the Registrar has been a perfect fit for the position. His energy, efficiency and amazing performance on the job, despite having no previous formal training or cognate experience in the running of Registry of a University, advertises his proficiency as an administrator.
No one needed to be told that the erudite Vice Chancellor of the University, Prof. Rasheed Gbenga Jimoh, demonstrated the fact that he was in charge. His speech at the event was as fantastic as its delivery. Those of us who knew him before he took the job expected no less. He, no doubt, deserves to serve as the founding Chief Executive of the University.
But the takeaway of the whole event is that “though a good man would die like every other person but his good deeds would not be interred with him”. It is an incontestable fact that it was the name that the University bears that attracted most people to the event.
This is definitely true with the attendance of the Governor of Kwara State, Mallam AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq, who was ably represented by his principal aides and a seasoned journalist, Alhaji Saadu Salaudeen, fnipr; the Emir of Ilorin and all the Honourable Kadis of the Kwara State Sharia Court of Appeal as well as the immediate past Grand Kadi of the State, Justice Abdulkadir Ola Mohammed and one of his predecessors, Justice Idris Abdullahi Haroon, OFR, as well as a leading legal practitioner, Prof. Yusuf Olaolu Ali, SAN, among other distinguished dignitaries who attended from far and near.
A former Deputy Governor of Lagos State, Alhaja Sinatu Aderoju Ojikutu, was also represented at the event. Her Excellency Alhaji Ojikutu, who served between 1992 and 1993 as the first female elected Deputy Governor in Nigeria, pledged a N50,000,000:00 worth of project to the University.
I am also in the position to confirm that the same reason informed the suspension of the last weekly meeting of the National Executive Council of Ilorin Emirate Descendants Progressive Union (IEDPU), which was scheduled for the same date. The suspension of the meeting and the cancellation of some other engagements of the Union slated for that day enabled the National President of the Union, Alhaji Abdulmumini Ayo Abdulmalik, to lead many leaders and members of the Union to the historic matriculation ceremony.
I also saw members of the KU8 Consortium, which is the association of universities operating within Kwara State, led by the Vice Chancellor of the University of Ilorin, Prof. Wahab Olasupo Egbewole, SAN, at the ceremony. The UNILORIN Vice Chancellor was, however, ably represented by the Deputy Vice Chancellor (Academic), Prof. Olubunmi Abayomi Omotesho.
In addition to several other dignitaries from all walks of life, I also saw the Registrar of the University of Ilorin, Mr Mansur Adeleke Alfanla. At the event excellently compered by another eloquent grandson of the pioneer Grand Mufti of Ilorin, Mr Habeeb Rasheed Kamal, was also the Registrar of the Federal University of Health Sciences, Ila-Orangun, Osun State, Mr Kassim Kayode Babamale.
One of the senior academics I saw moving round to ensure that the ceremony went well was the Dean, Faculty of Law, University of Ilorin, Prof. Nimah Modupe Abdulraheem. Her late father, who was also a retired Grand Kadi of Kwara State Sharia Court of Appeal, Justice Mutalub Ahmad Ambali, OFR, FISN, was one of those who worked tirelessly for the University to become a resounding reality that it has become. Justice Ambali was the Chairman of the Muhammad Kamalud-Deen Educational Foundation (MUKEF) and a recipient of the University’s posthumous award presented a day earlier.
The solemn ways the event went, which provoked the fascinating memory of Shaykh Kamaludeen Al-Adabiy, must have compelled the uncontrollable betrayal of emotions by some of those who know the history of the University. I was not surprised when I saw tears of joy flowing from the eyes of the National Missioner of the Ansarul Islam Society of Nigeria, Shaykh Abdulmumini Hanafi Ayara as he was leading the congregation in the opening prayers as his voice was unusually trembling. The same emotion was betrayed by His Lordship, the Grand Kadi of Kwara State, Honourable Justice Abdulateef Kamaldeen, who bursted into tears of joy due to the magnitude of success of the event coupled with his recollection of the tortuous journey that culminated in the opening of the University for academic activities. It was the same from the Chairman of the Kwara State Muslim Pligrims Welfare Board, Prof. Muhammad Moshood Mahmud Jimba and many others who were positively surprised with the germination of this important aspect of the many enduring legacies of the pioneer Grand Mufti of Ilorin, Shaykh Muhammad Kamalud-deen Habeebulahi Musa Al-Adabiy, MFR, OFR, ORSA, FISN.
The University evidently started very well. It is hoped that it would continue to post positive surprises among the comity of universities and efficiently discharge its core mandates of teaching, research and community service as time progresses and for the benefit of humanity, particularly, people of its host community, the Ilorin Emirate.
Imam is Chief Scribe, Ilorin Emirate Descendants Progressive Union.
