Sultan of Sokoto visits Oyo State, commissions redesigned Iseyin Central Mosque amidst fanfare

*As Sultan’s visit described as symbol of unity

*Gov Makind lauds Leader of Nigeria Muslims

*Replies Senate President’s N30b each to states claim

*Says ‘when people complain about your policies, listen and ammend, no blame game, no propaganda’

*Hunger and anger in the land are read, address them, Oyo Gov tells ruling party

*Ahmed Raji has built a beautiful edifice for Allah – Sultan

*Says Nigerians should say no negative words about leaders but prayers

By BASHIR ADEFAKA

The Sultan of Sokoto and President-General of the Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs (NSCIA), Alhaji Muhammad Sa’ad Abubakar, during a three-day visit to Oyo State, commissioned the Iseyin Central Mosque newly renovated and redesigned to ultra-modern status by a son-of-the-soil and Baba Adinni of Oke-Ogun, Alhaji Ahmed Raji (SAN) in Iseyin, Oke-Ogun zone of the state, on Thursday February 22, 2024.

The all-important unifying event, which happened on day two of the Sultan’s visit, had high profile dignitaries in attendance. They included the Governor of Oyo State, Engr. Oluseyi Makinde, who was fondly named after the Sultan as “Seyi Sa’ad Makinde”; the state Deputy Governor, Mr. Adeleke Adebayo Lawal; Oyo North Senator Fatai Buhari; Registrar/Chief Executive of the Joint Admissions Matriculation Board (JAMB), Professor Is-haq Oloyede; and several other top government functionaries.

Traditional and religious leaders, who attended the event that was described as symbol of unity among Nigeria’s ethnic and religious communities, were the host-monarch and Aseyin of Iseyin, Oba Alhaji Sefiu Olawale Oyebola Adeyeri III, Ajirotutu I; the Okere of Saki and Chairman of the Oke-Ogun Traditional Rulers Council, Oba Khalid Oyeniyi Olabisi Oyedepo III; the Onisambo of Ogbooro, Oba (Engr) Kazeem Adio Adegboye; the Sabiganna of Iganna and Permanent Chairman of Iwajowa Local Government Traditional Council, Oba Azeez Soliu Oyemonla; among several Oke-Ogun, Oyo State monarchs who graced the occasion.

Also physically present were the host-cleric and Chief Imam of Iseyin, Sheikh AbdulHakeem Babatunde Adejori; the 12th and incumbent Chief Imam of Ilorin, Shaykh Muhammad Bashir Saliu; Deputy President-General (South) of the Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic (NSCIA), Alhaji Rasaki Oladejo; the Catholic Bishop of Oyo Diocese, Rev Fr Emmanuel Adetoyese Badejo, ably represented; representatives of Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) in Oyo State; Executive Secretary of the Muslim Ummah of South West Nigeria (MUSWEN), Professor Muslih Tayo Yahya; University of Ibadan don, Professor Wole Abbas, Secretary General, Ogun State Muskim Council, Alhaji Kamal Akintunde; and MUSWEN Media Consultant and veteran Journalist Alhaji Femi Abbas; and several others.

Gov Makinde

Speaking at the event, Governor Seyi Makinde, who started his speech expressing that he felt ‘very proud’ of the name – ‘Sa’ad’ – given to him by the Muslim community of Iseyin, said to the Sultan of Sokoto to the loud applause from the audience saying, “Your Eminence, I’m glad that now we share the same name”.

Governor Makinde, who also referred to a goodwill by representatiive of Catholic Bishop of Oyo Diocese, felt greatbto say to Nigerians home and abroad that, “What is demonstrated by the Christian community shows that in Oyo State, we are one. So people who want to cause disability in Oyo State based on religion should go somewhere else because it will not work here.”

He seized the occasion to reel out some of the things that his administration had done and was doing to alleviate poverty and mitigate the unprecedented hardship resulting from fuel subsidy removal and floating of the Naira by the current administration in Nigeria, while replying debunking the statement credited to the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, that state governors were given N30 billion each by the Federal Government to fight food security challenges facing their respective people.

He also warned politicians especially members of the ruling party against playing politics with the plight of the people, saying hunger and anger are real and that what is expected of leaders at this time is not blame game and propaganda but addressing the problems.

“This is not the to play politics. We have real issues that need real solutions. Yesterday I saw in the news”, he vered of a while asking for Senator Fatai Buhari who earlier gave a goodwill message in Hausa ying saying, “I didn’t hear what you said but I heard that you mentioned my name in there and whoever speaks English to in-law must also translate. I will say what I want to say in English so both yourself and the Senate President, you can hear me loud and clear.”

He then proceeded, “Yesterday I saw in video and I read in the news where the Senate President made a statement, though he said unverified report, that state governors have received additional N30 billion from Federal Inland Revenue Service outside our statutory allocation in in the last few months from tge Federal Government to address food security.

“Please, listen to me, loud and clear. I can speak for Oyo State and I can also speak for any of my colleagues because I’m the Vice Chairman of Nigeria Governors Forum, I know when things are happening. If you want to play politics, we would keep quiet and say let it fly. We are not going to let this fly.

“First, FIRS cannot give money to any state. It is not possible. All revenue accruing to our country goes into the Federation Account and it is distributed to all tiers of government. The Federal Government does not give states money. The money in the Federation Account belongs to all of us. It is not only to the Federal Government,” Makind took the pains to explain.

Then he said, “So, if a Senate President, Number Three Citizen in this country would say unverified report, people are looking at us as leaders, this is the time that we are supposed to give confidence to our people, it is not the period to start playing politics or to start looking for scapegoat. We need to engage with our people; if our policies are not working, we need to listen to them and ammend. So if the Number Three Citizen says this is an unverifiedvreport, why does he need to say it then? Does that give confidence to our people or does it solve the problem of hunger and anger in our land?

“Well, let me say it clearly, for Oyo State and for most of my colleagues, there is nothing lime N30 billion being given for food security to the state and I stand to be challenged,” he said.

On his administration, he said, “But for us in Oyo State, the road from this Iseyin to Oyo through Fashola is a federal road. We fixed it in Oyo State. I have it on black and white where the Federal Government under the former Minister of Works and Housing and former Governor of Lagos State Babatunde Raji Fashola said ‘We will not refund to Oyo State’ and I said, Look, I don’t care. This is a road that has economic implication for Oyo State, and we will go ahead and fix it and the people plying the road are our own people here in Oyo State’,” he said.

He added, “We have been transparent about everything we are doing here in Oyo State. And this is the time for us to pull together as a nation and solve the problems we are facing. It is not a time for blame game and propaganda. Hunger, anger, they are real and, as leaders, we must address them. So, our administration will continue to make policies and projects that will lift our people out of poverty into prosperity,” Governor Makinde while also purposefully congratulating the Muslim Community on the occasion of the mosque he described as a great job done by Alhaji Ahmed Raji (SAN) and the visit of His Eminence Alhaji Muhammad Sa’ad Abubakar, the Sultan of Sokoto abs Leader of Muslims in Nigeria, to Oyo State and Isryin in particular for the commissioning of the mosque.

It will be recalled that Governor Seyi Makinde, a Christian, after demolishing a Muslim Jumu’at mosque in Ibadan to pave way for development, had built a new and better one with an Islamic centre added to it all funded by his person money and the project commissioned by Sultan of Sokoto in November last year, 2023.

Sultan’s address

When it was time for the august visitor who visited in February, the Sultan of Sokoto, His Eminence Alhaji Muhammad Sa’ad Abubakar, to mount the podium, he spoke in his usual lively manner joining in addressing the Governor as “Engr. Oluseyi ‘Sa’ad’ Makinde” saying, “You are an engineer not by mistake because we have seen in the last four and a half years what you have done in Oyo State. You have been reengineering Oyo State. We pray for you to complete your tenure much successfully and we also urge the people to continue to pray for you,” he acknowledged Makinde’s performance.

Sultan Sa’ad Abubakar then went on, “Before I say what I want to say, let me say that I come from Northern part of the country. So, if I understand and want to speak in Yoruba Language, I would choose to speak it like a Northerner would speak, because you call us Gambari. If therefore I say something that doesn’t sound Yoruba, you woul know what I mean.

“So, I would like to recognise our brother and friend, the Aseyin of Iseyin. Yesterday when I came in, I visited him in the palace and he called me ‘Omowale’. I said ‘Yes I am’ because, this my fourth time of coming to Iseyin since I assumed this position.

“And yesterday while at the palace, I saw his full name somewhere and I saw ‘Ajirotutu’ and you know the meaning of that being Yoruba people. Then as it pleased Allah sub’anahu watahala, by calling that name last night, Almighty Allah gave us peaceful rain for the first time overnight. We thank Allah for this blessing given to us on this beautiful day we are commissioning the Masjid,” the Iseyin Central Mosque which he said was still under rework only three months ago when Ahmed Raji requested him, on his way from Saki, to inspect and come back later to commission.

“That was around 18th November last year. Three months later, as it pleased Almighty Allah, we are here to commission this beautiful edifice, the house of Allah,” he said.

He then passed his message, “One thing unites us here, that is Islam. All of us are slaves of Almighty Allah because the best amongst us in the sight of Almighty Allah is he, who is most righteous. Nobody can claim he is better than another person except by his righteousness given to him by Almighty Allah sub’anahu watahala.”

The Sultan appreciated the good work done for the Muslim Ummah by Ahmed Raji, the funder and facilitator of the newly redesigned and renovated Iseyin Central Mosque being commissioned.

“We thank Allah for bringing us here and we thank him for giving us one of us, a Muslim, humanitarian, an eminent Nigerian, who has been helping Islam and other religion to the best of his ability and that is Ahmed Raji. He has been doing a lot for Islam and even to non-Muslims he has been helping and, alhamdulillahi, by his singular effort, this Masjid can stand as an edifice that we can all be proud of as a house of Allah anywhere we find ourselves.

“We would like to extend our thanks to the beautiful people of this city, also to the Aseyin himself, to Ahmed Raji, and all those who have had hands in bringing this edifice to the present level.”

He rounded up his speech by agreeing with the speech by Governor Seyi Makinde about the state of the nation where hunger and anger are said to be real but urged that Nigerians must, instead of saying negative things about their leaders, pray for them no matter the condition as, according to him, leaders are made by Allah and only him should be sought when people encounter untold hardship by their way of governance.

“I listened to the Governor, Engr Sa’ad (Seyi Makinde) and he was speaking with very passionate tone. That is how a leader should speak to his people. Let them know that you care for them because Almighty Allah will ask you what you did with them,” the Sultan said.

Highlights

Goodwill messages were given by Catholic Bishop of Oyo Diocese, Emmanuel Adetoyese Badejo, ably represented, Oyo North Senator Fatai Raji, who spoke to speak to the Sultan in Hausa Language, and Alhaji Rasaki Oladejo, who attended the event in the capacity of Deputy President-General (South) of tge Nigeria Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs (NSCIA) and President of the Muslim Ummah of South West Nigeria (MUSWEN), while the vote of thank on behalf of Aseyin of Iseyin was delivered by Professor Adeolu Akande.

After the event, the Sultan, accompanied by Governor Seyi Makinde, cut the take to officially commission the Iseyin Central Mosque that is now an ultra-modern edifice “in the name of Allah” and performed Zuhr prayer with several Muslims faithful regardless of status for the first time of the mosques redesigned and renovated look.

Highlights of the event was the earlier visiting to the Sultan at his Ahmed Raji home lodge by Governor Seyi Makinde, who accompanied him amidst tens of horses deployed to honour the Sarkin Musulumi of Nigeria, to the venue of the mosque commissioning.

Sultan Muhammad Sa’ad Abubakar’s visit has traditionally never been one that comes with dull moment. The splashes, glitters and glamours that came with his three-day visit in Iseyin was one that will not be forgotten by any Oyo State person let alone the people Iseyin in particular in long time to come, as many fell over one another to have a glimpse of the monarch, whose Caliphate leadership covers beyond Nigeria to nine provinces of the Republic of Niger.

It was the first time the much respected Sultan would spend three days in Iseyin. His three-day official visit to Oyo State, which started on Wednesday February 21, 2024, ends with praying behind the Chief Imam of Iseyin, Sheikh AbdulHakeem Babatunde Adejori, who will lead the Jumu’at service in the city later today and then the Sultan departs for Ladoke Akintola Airport, Ibadan, where he will be flown back to base.