*Town painted new, students lined the road, hunters danced, traditional guns salutes, religious group celebrate Nigeria’s Leading Monarch at visit
…No community is small, all of us are the same – Sultan told Ekiti people
By Kemi Kasumu, General Editor
When he sent a word on the second day of Eidul-Adha of 2nd September this year to the Attah and Paramount Ruler of Aiyede Kingdom, Oba Alhaji Abdul Mumini Adebayo Orisagbemi, whom he calls “My Friend”, informing him of his intention to pay him a visit on certain date in November, it was like a dream to the would-be host, and it remained like dream until after the Attah’s team led by the Bashorun of Aiyede Ekiti, Chief Shola Adewumi, had received the nation’s number one trado-religious leader, Alhaji Muhammad Sa’ad Abubakar III, at Oye junction and shook hands with him. It was then it began to look to the Aiyede and most Ekiti State people, who had doubted the visit, that “even if it had been a dream, now it is a dream that has come to reality.”
The news of confirmation of the Sultan’s visit on Saturday November 18 filtered through the airwaves particular in Ekiti and the entire states of the South West as well as across the country on Thursday shortly after arrival in Ibadan via Ibadan Airport of this singular personality described as “a very pragmatic person” by Governor Ishaq Ajimobi of Oyo State on the day of his installation as Chancellor of University of Ibadan, Alhaji Muhammad Sa’ad and who has continuously – and successfully too – held the dual positions of traditional rulership as Sultan of Sokoto/Chairman, National Traditional Rulers Council of Nigeria (TRCN) and religious leadership of President-General, Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs (NSCIA)/Chairman, Nigerian Inter-Religious Council (NIREC) to the admiration and unadulterated acceptance of all ethnic nationalities and adherents of various religious groups, respectively, in Nigeria.
On the promised day of Saturday November 18, 2017 – true to his word, the Sultan had left Ibadan as early as 7am in a convoy of about 10 cars and was accompanied by top officers of the Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs (NSCIA) including its Deputy President-General (South), Alhaji Sakariyau Olayiwola Babalola and Prof. Ishaq Oloyede. The Sultan also had in his convoy Executive Secretary of the Muslim Ummah of South Western Nigeria (MUSWEN), Prof. D. O. S. Noibi and other top dignitaries on the historic visit he made on that Saturday to the non-urban community of Aiyede Ekiti, in Oye Local Government Area of Ekiti State.
Traditionally, the Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs (NSCIA), whose President-General the Sultan also is, has its structures across the country with each state chapter headed by a chairman. Any state therefore that the Sultan will visit the NSCIA in that state has a responsibility to receive him and then accompany him to wherever in that state His Eminence has come to visit. Same thing was the case in Ekiti last Saturday November 18. Headquartered in Ado-Ekiti, the Ekiti State chapter of the Council headed by a former Commissioner in old Ondo State, Alhaji Yakubu Sanni, had moved to Iwaraja, a community near Ilesha at the Ile-Ife/Akure road junction in Ijesha Land, where the Sultan was formally received by the Chairman, Ekiti State Chapter of the NSCIA with a view to leading his way to Ekiti State.
As courtesy demands, the Attah of Aiyede and host of the august visit who came in November, Oba Abdul Mumini Orisagbemi, had dispatched an envoy in the person of Bashorun of Aiyede, Chief Shola Adewumi, accompanied by the Erelu of the Kingdom, Chief Kemi Adewumi, and the coordinator of the event, a media chief and prince of Isolo Akure, Prince Bashir Adefaka, who positioned at Oye junction to pick up the responsibility of leading the Sultan’s way from that point of the Oye Local Government to the Sultan Sa’ad Abubakar’s destination of choice that Aiyede Ekiti was lucky to be. On ground were the Bashorun and his team, who were led to the junction by an escort personally manned by the DPO of Oye, Mr. M. Muhammed, a Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP), in a convoy of four cars.
Recall that as at Thursday when it became confirmed that the Sultan would be visiting, The DEFENDER gathered that Attah of Ayede, Oba Orisagbemi, had become a very special traditional ruler that every wanted to see. It was further gathered that the Assistant Inspector-General of the zone had called from Lokoja monitoring the security on ground as the state Commissioner of Police, Alhaji Abdullahi Chafe, the state Director of Department of State Service (DSS) and Commandant of the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps were all in touch with the Attah with eyes in the space and nose on ground, towards ensuring adequate security for the visiting Sultan, who had chosen to visit a community that is never thought of as worthy of such visit by anybody in that part of the country.
In the meantime, the coordinator of the event, who is on secondment as consultant on media and publicity to the Attah, was regularly in contact with the escort commander of the Sultan’s convoy since 30 minutes into his take off from Ibadan and the commander was giving time-to-time update as to point of reach. Eventually, the convoy, now joined by the Alhaji Yakubu Sanni-led Ekiti State NSCIA, arrived the Oye junction at exactly 10.03am.
Upon arrival at the junction and the convoy stopped, the Sultan’s ADC alighted, opened the door on the Sultan’s side and both Bashorun and the great visitor exchanged pleasantries: “You are welcome Your Eminence. I am Bashorun of Aiyede Ekiti, dispatched to this point by the Attah of Aiyede to receive you and lead your way to his Palace,” Bashorun Adewumi said. And the Sultan greeted the Bashorun and both had a handshake and the convoy of the Sultan, now led by the Bashorun’s convoy, proceeded to the Aiyede community where celebration was already in top gear.
The main display of welcome was thrown open as the Sultan’s convoy entered Aiyede from the point of Aiyede Grammar School where students and pupils of secondary and primary schools in town had filed into a long line up and was like that up to the Attah’s Palace junction where the hunters, dressed in their traditional attires with dane guns, also took their own position beaming with joy in their faces to be part of the event witnessing the visit of the Sultan to the ancient town. As the long convoy drove into the expansive Palace premises of the Attah, the Sultan’s car was taxied to the point of already lined red carpet where Attah and a line up of Attah-in-Council, President-General, League of Imams and Alfas, South West, Edo/Delta, Sheikh Jamiu Bello Kewulere, other members of the dignitaries had already positioned to receive the visitor. That was where the Sultan of Sokoto and Sarikin Musulumi of Nigeria alighted and was received. Members of the line up were introduced to him by the Attah one after another and he had handshake with each as he stepped on the red carpet and was thereafter ushered to his gold-plated royal seat on the high table.
After the opening prayer by the Chief Imam of Aiyede Ekiti and performances by many dancers, Attah Abdul Mumini Adebayo Orisagbemi, apparently filled with unquantifiable joy, gave his address where he said publicly said, “To my Spiritual Leader, the Sultan, all I can say is that, I cannot thank you enough because when one is too happy about something, if he wants to talk, he will misfire. I know that Allah will do the thanking unto you on my and Aiyede community’s behalf.” He said more. Deputy President-General (South), NSCIA, Alhaji S. O. Babalola, Senior Adviser to President Muhammadu Buhari on Political Matters, Senator Babafemi Ojudu, President-General, League of Imams and Alfas, Sheikh Jamiu Kewulere, and Chairman, Ekiti State Chapter of NSCIA, Alhaji Yakubu Sanni, gave goodwill messages at the reception held in honour of the Sultan. In his comment, Alhaji S. O. Babalola directed part of his speech to the Attah saying, “Kabiyesi, I will want to advise you that you continue with your good character because it is only Allah Who knows what it is that the Sultan sees in you that made him to so much love this way.”
Speaking, Sultan Muhammad Sa’ad Abubakar III, who spoke more like son of the soil in Aiyede on the visit day, said, “We like to thank all of you for your rallying round us whenever we visit. I want to thank all my brothers here most especially the Muslim leaders from the South West, who accompanied me and also came here to further strengthen that relationship between us as Muslims, to also debunk that noise people are making about the problems within the Muslim Ummah in Nigeria.
“People can write whatever they want to write. We know what we are doing and, alhamdulillahi, all our brothers are always with us and we are always with them. Please, keep on praying for us. We need your prayers because, if you don’t pray right for Almighty Allah to lead us aright, we would not achieve anything positive and tangible.
“I have been struggling to make the Ummah in this country a united, developed and forward looking one. At least with people like Prof. Oloyede holding certain position in government, we believe we have a lot to offer to the world, not only to Nigeria.
“I will now thank all my security brothers here. The DPO, I see how busy and hardworking you are. But you forgot that I am a General, and when I come home like this, I always want to be close to my people because I feel free with everybody. But you are doing your work and we appreciate this good work you are doing to give us much security.
“We thank God for His mercy on us, on this town and we pray to Him to guide us safely back to our destinations and pray to Him to bring us back here time without number, Insha Allah. There are so many projects the Attah of Aiyede is doing. We have to, Insha Allah, be present for commissioning.
“I will like to talk to my sons and daughters, the school children, who lined up the streets to welcome me. I wonder how long you have been standing there. Stay where you are. When I finish I will stand and chat with you and you can ask me anything you want to ask me. At least you will say, ‘Yes, I saw Sultan. When I was in primary school, Sultan came to my town, when I was in secondary school, Sultan came to my town.’
“To you the Aiyede Muslim Community, we thank you for the love you have extended to us to extend that beauty of Islam being one religion that cares for everybody.
“My only gift for the Attah is for him to read and know our history. I will present some books because we always carry books around – we are manufacturers of education in Sokoto Caliphate – so that some of you will read and be able to know about Sokoto Caliphate. I will give you the history of the 20 Sultans of Sokoto from Uthman Dan Fodio, 1804 Jihad, to present day, where I find myself leading that Caliphate and also some collections of my speeches that I made across the world, speaking about Islam, speaking about peaceful co-existence among Christians, Muslims, Jews and everybody because all of us were created by one Almighty God and He made us into different tribes and nations so that we can understand one another as it is in the Holy Qur’an.
“So, Attah, we thank you for your support, we thank you for your love and we thank the great Aiyede community for receiving us very well. We would also ask you to bear with us as we don’t have much time because we have to fly back to our village, Sokoto, and we have to drive to the big city of Ibadan on this “very beautiful road” for about three hours and I believe your prayers will always be with us. We thank you very much. We thank our brothers for coming. Please continue to give faith in what we are doing as one Ummah in this great country. Thank you very much. Wasalam alaykum waramotullahi wabarakatuhu,” the Sultan said in his very comprehensive 6.38 minutes speech, where he had earlier said that it was improper for anybody to see Aiyede community as a small community as he said, “No community is small because all of us are the same.”
