*As official says Crescent Varsity retains its world class status
By Kemi Kasumu, General Editor
“Islamic Mission for Africa (IMA), as indicated by all standards, is a centre that is actually recognized on Islamic World map with collaborations across the globe. It is a centre that Muslims can be proud of. It serves as a very good pivot for the establishment of Crescent University Abeokuta, which has now become the citadel of academic and moral excellence with its first class being, unarguably, world class,” Sa’eed Aweda, IMA Historian, said.
Sunday December 10, 2017 was just like every other day. But to this reporter, it was a day that an assignment was intended, to look beyond the academic contributions of Prince Bola Ajibola (SAN) to what he has also done in the spiritual realm that many Nigerians, particularly the Muslims, may be lifted spiritually and morally.
It was this intended mission that led the reporter to the Islamic Mission for Africa (IMA), IMA Avenue, off Abiola Way, Abeokuta, Ogun State capital that fateful Sunday, when he visited the place that is also venue for an every Sunday Asalatu, organised by the Mission.
It was also in the mood of Maolud Nabiyy, which was marked in the expansive multimillion naira Masjid Al-Jabbar, situated within the over 20-acre premises of IMA by the Asalatu congregation and conducted by the Mission’s Chief Imam, Alhaji Hamid Olanrewaju.
Asked to comment on the intention for marking the Maolud Nabiyy on that day, which coincided with the visit of the media guest, Imam Olanrewaju said it was particularly being marked by the Asalatu congregation to call attention of Muslims and other Nigerians to the virtues of the personality of Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) namely, his faith in Allah, surrender to Allah and his character.
Imam Hamid Olanrewaju said the exceptionality of the personality of Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) is an attestation personally done by Allah in the Glorious Qur’an and he cited the Qur’anic Suurah of Qalam or Nuun, chapter 68 from verses one to 15 and thereabout, where Allah says Muhammad (peace upon him) is indeed the best of character and by implication meaning that Islam that the Prophet was raised to perfect was founded on the foundation of best character.
In Qur’an chapter 68 verses one to four, Imam Olanrewaju read, by swearing to drive home His confirmation of Muhammad’s excellent character, Allah particularly says, “…By the pen and by what they (the angels) write (in the Records of men). You (O Muhammad – peace be upon him), by the Grace of your Lord, are not mad. And Verily, for you (O Muhammad – peace be upon him) will be an endless reward. And Verily, you (O Muhammad – peace be upon him) are on an exalted (standard of) character.”
The Imam thereafter urged Nigerians “to emulate the faith, surrender and excellent character of the Prophet of Islam in carrying out everything that they do so that they would be able to achieve actual success here in this world and see the face of Allah with joy in the next world.”
IMA’s oldest staff, Aweda, speaks
The reporter then moved to the office of the man, known officially to be the historian of the Islamic Mission for Africa (IMA), Alhaji Sa’eed Aweda, where he engaged him on certain areas information was required for publication purposes.
Aweda, whose ancestral lineage is traceable to Kwara State, was born and bred in Lagos and is, currently, the oldest officer of IMA and all its branches put together, such as Crescent University, IMA Hospital, IMA Farms, etc, that is still standing. It was found out that Aweda met and knew only Prince Bola Ajibla (SAN) and his family and nobody else when he started working with the globally recognized jurist that is today a retired Judge of the World Court that is the International Court of Justice (ICJ) at The Hague, and his responsibility cuts across all strata of the Islamic Movement for Africa (IMA).
It was in this capacity that Aweda was approached to provide this reporter with information about how IMA started and metamorphosed to the glaringly world class centre that it has now become.
His words: “Baba (Prince Bola Ajibola) has traversed the world. Islamic Mission for Africa (IMA) was established after his last public posting experience being the Nigerian High Commissioner to the United Kingdom (UK). He was very conversant with the Islamic Centre in Leicester, UK, which is a very big centre, and he felt that he could replicate the bigness of that Islamic centre in Leicester back home here in Nigeria. And then when he resigned his position as High Commissioner and returned to Nigeria, he started IMA,” Alhaji Aweda said.
Bola Ajibola’s quest to be responsible for Islamic awareness, in actual fact, predated IMA, which was when he started as far back as 1996, Aweda continued, the radio programme called Al-Tanzeel, the revelation, aired on Ogun Radio. Al-Tanzeel, he said, was mainly to broadcast recitation of Qur’an and its translation to languages the listeners would understand, essentially, to open the eyes of many to understanding and appreciation of Islam.
“Al-Tanzeel on Ogun Radio metamorphosed to Islamic Movement for Africa and later to Islamic Mission for Africa,” both IMA but ‘movement’ and ‘mission’ are just a matter of nomenclature, he clarified saying, “IMA is IMA and it is mainly a mission to propagate Islam,” Aweda said.
He added that, after the radio programme on Ogun Radio, Prince Bola Ajibola thought of doing something else to concretise his objective of Islamic Mission for Africa (IMA), which led to his erection, first, of the Library that is one of the projects that are today glaring successes in the IMA expansive premises in the City by the rock, Abeokuta.
He spoke on, “The first building erected as IMA project was the Library, then the multi-purpose hall, the guests’ chalets for the accommodation of resource persons, the hospital which has been responsible for health delivery services to many Nigerians in Ogun State, then the Nursery/Primary School, the model college plus the hostels and then the Crescent University Abeokuta that you see.”
All of these, Alhaji Sa’eed Aweda, who is also the Chief of Protocol on the management of Crescent University Abeokuta, said “have gone beyond the scope of the Islamic Centre in Leicester in United Kingdom that Baba thought of replicating in Nigeria.” The schools, it was learned, opened in 2003 but before then the centre itself had been commissioned as earlier as June 16, 2001 with Who-is-Who in Nigeria, Africa and Arab World physically present at the commissioning ceremony.
Among personalities present at the IMA commissioning ceremony include representative of the then President and Commander-in-Chief of the Nigerian Armed Forces, Chief Matthew Aremu Olusegun Obasanjo (GCFR), now late Emir of Kano, Alhaji Ibrahim Ado Bayero, Alaafin of Oyo, Oba Lamidi Adeyemi III, Governor of Lagos State at that time, Alhaji Bola Ahmed Tinubu, his Ogun State counterpart, Aremo Olusegun Osoba, many more great people from within and without as well as emissaries from Arab World.
Islamic Mission for Africa (IMA), as indicated by all standards, is a centre that is actually recognized on Islamic World map with collaborations across the globe. It is a centre that Muslims can be proud of. It serves as a very good pivot for the establishment of Crescent University Abeokuta, which has now become the citadel of academic and moral excellence with its first class being, unarguably, world class.
