Crescent Varsity 12th Founder’s Day Lecture: Bola Ajibola’s award for excellent policing, Sani Lugga’s call for compulsory IRK, CRK, History
By Kemi Kasumu, General Editor
The 12th edition Founder’s Day Celebrations of Crescent University Abeokuta, Nigeria came alive beginning from Wednesday March 21 when football marches, free core medical diagnosis, treatments and eye glasses were given to ailing people, until Thursday March 22 that was the main day of event.
It is the commemorative event held annually since 12 years to mark the birthday of Founder and Proprietor of the nation’s renowned ‘Citadel of academic and moral education’, Judge Bola Ajibola, with this year’s edition celebrating his 84th birthday anniversary.
The event witnessed the physical presence of the Emir of Kazaure, Alhaji Najib Hussaini Adamu, who was investitured during the event’s grand finale as Pro-Chancellor and Chairman, Governing Council of the university.
In his acceptance speech, Emir Adamu said he was delighted to be given the opportunity to serve in the capacity of pro-chancellor and chairman, governing council and promised to try his best along with other members of council to lift the university to greater height in no distant time.
Other highlights of the event included the presentation of award for leadership excellence to the Ogun State Commissioner of Police, Alhaji Ahmed Iliyasu; award for high sense of professionalism, bravery and exceptional contribution to public service and security to DSP Adams Uba, Officer-in-Charge o the Federal Special Anti-Robbery Squad (FSARS), Abeokuta; award for gallantry, dedication to duty and exceptional contribution to public service and security to ASP Sikirat Akinloye (nee) Animashaun, Team Leader, FSARS Abeokuta; and award for excellent community leadership to Hon. Jamiu Keshinro, Chairman, Opara Estate, Rounda, Abeokuta, Ogun State.
Speaking to this reporter later, the Proprietor, Judge Bola Ajibola, who is also former Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, said the various awards to those police and community officers were in recognition of “their very highly impressive commitment to duties” and that the university invited them to be so recognized and honoured to spur them to doing more for the nation and Ogun State in particular.
Presenting his paper to the apparently ecstatic audience at the 12th Founder’s Day Celebrations, held at the Bola Ajibola Main Auditorium of the university in Abeokuta, Ogun State capital, the Waziri of Katsina, Professor Sani Abubakar Lugga, who was guest lecturer, called on the Federal Government of Nigeria with strong advice to formulate an education policy that would make the study of Islamic and Christian Religious Knowledge and History subjects compulsory in the nation’s education system.
In his lecture titled, “The Essence of Morals in Education”, Professor Lugga ex-rayed the corruption in the society, situations of conflicts, religious extremism, ethnic hatred and criminal tendencies among Nigerian people and traced the cause to abolition of Islamic and Christian Religious Knowledge (IRK and CRK) and History by the Federal Government.
The Fellow of Nigerian Institute of Management (FNIM) however posited that all of the wrongs could be corrected on one condition, that the Federal Government will make the studies of Islamic and Christian Knowledge History compulsory in Nigerian school system.
Professor Sani Lugga stressed and emphasized the importance of religious and history studies, need for young people to choose outstanding role models and open and distance learning in diverse efforts towards curing the society ills, adding that they are all beneficial to the principles of morals in education but, he expressed dismay that they “have been carelessly abandoned.”
He said, “Up to the time the Federal Government abolished Islamic and Christian Religious Knowledge (IRK and CRK), these subjects were compulsory up to Form Three in the Secondary School. That meant by the time boys and girls graduated from Secondary Schools at an average of 18 years, they at least have a fair knowledge of true principles of Islam or Christianity. That made it impossible for Religious Fundamentalists to inculcate in them their own brand of Islam or Christianity. That was why religious fundamentalism only sprang up in Nigeria after the abolishing of IRK and CRK. Boko Haram and similar groups in Christendom were given the opportunity to teach violent Islam and Christianity.
“In addition, the study of History goes a long way in inspiring the young ones to form the habit of choosing role models after who they will shape their good lives. It is therefore very imperative for Government to make IRK, CRK and History as compulsory subjects up to Senior Secondary levels,” the Director of Philosophy in Conflict Management, Professor Sani Abubakar Lugga, said.
Making himself as good example of how the choice of role models help shape the moral and education life of a person, the professor of management studies said he had five role models but mentioned only one of them, Prince Bola Ajibola, who he said attracted his attention when he was General Manager in a multinational German based company in 1985.
“I marveled at information I received that year on one of the Federal Ministers and there and then I resolved to add him to my earlier four role models. That Minister told the government that he was satisfied with the wealth that Allah had bestowed on him therefore he would not receive any salary but would donate 25% of the salary to the Nigerian Bar Association, 40% to Charity Organisations and 35% to the Government. That Minister was the Federal Attorney General and Minister of Justice from 1985 to 1991, Prince Bola Ajibola. I emulated him by lecturing at Al-Qalam University Katsina for several years without collecting any salary or allowances. Baba Ajibola founded this University in June 2005 and I was privileged to have been the key founder of Al-Qalam University some six months earlier, in January 2015,
“Since my graduation with an OND from Ahmadu Bello University and an HND fro Kaduna Polytechnic in 1970 and 1977 respectively, I have been a student of the Open and Distance Learning programmes. Here I followed the footsteps of some colossus personalities like Chief Alban Ikoku (BSc Philosophy in 1928), Chief Obafemi Awolowo (BSc Commerce in 1944), Professor Chike Obi (BSc Mathematics in 1946), Chief Afe Babalola (A Level in 1948), Chief Madam Grace Alele-Williams (BSc Mathematics in 1953), Professor Chinua Achebe (BA Literature in 1953), Chief M.T. Mbu (LLB in 1957), Chief Emeka Anyaoku (BA Classics in 1959), Dr. Nelson Mandela (Bachelor to Doctorate Degrees in Prison), Dr. Thabo Mbeki (BSc Economics 1951), Dr. Robert Mugabe (BA History and Literature in 1952), Professor David Lornem (London Diploma in Marketing in 1973 and California Degree in Business in 1980), Chief Dr. Olusegun Obasanjo (PhD Theology in 2017), last and by all means not the least – Prince Bola Ajibola (LLB in 1962 under University of London International Programme on part time)”.
Speaking further he said, “I got my first Degree in 2003 at the age of 53 and my second Doctorate Degree in 2015 at the age of 65. I am therefore an advocate of Open Distance Learning which unfortunately did not get the desired attention in Nigeria until the establishment of the National Open University of Nigeria in 1983 by the Shagari administration, which was suspended by the General Buhari administration in 1984 but formally took-off in 2001 under the Obasanjo administration. I will therefore call on tertiary institutions in Nigeria to embrace the Open and Distance Learning programme as it is currently most popular with working adults in most of the advanced countries of the World. It will benefit the working adults greatly who are best placed to absorb the principles of education with morals thereby extending same to their children. This will be of great benefit to the adult graduates in particular and the Nigerian Nation in general,” he said.
Concluding, Professor Lugga said, “Education and Morals are twins. A person has to be educated and he/she has to imbibe morals in his/her life in order for him/her to achieve success in this World and felicity in the Hereafter. This explains why Degree awarding Institutions in this country state categorically that “Graduates are awarded Certificates having satisfied the conditions of LEARNING and CHARACTER”. Therefore it is abundantly clear that, EDUCATION without MORALS is useless!!” Professor Lugga concluded his lecture with a reference to a response to Prince Bola Ajibola’s response to a newspaper interview where he was required to state which of academics or good character informed his thinking more and to which he replied, “Both. A student must be academically sound. We ensure that no one goes out with a bogus certificate from Crescent University. At the same time, we don’t want to breed brilliant beasts. We teach our students to behave, comport themselves well and have all the qualities of good persons”, Professor Lugga quoted Bola Ajibola to have said about Crescent University.
In attendance were Ogun State Governor Ibikunle Amosun represented by the Secretary to the State Government Barrister Taiwo Ade-Oluwa, Commissioner of Police (Rtd) and Consultant to Governor Ibikunle Amosun on Security, CP Olayinka Balogun, representative of Executive Secretary of National Universities Commission (NUC), Deputy Commissioner of Police in charge of CID, Ogun State Command, Alhaji Al-Hassan, three other commissioners and many other dignitaries.
*Watch out for detailed publication of Professor Sani Abubakar Lugga’s paper soon.
