We Must Prepare Our Children For Now and Future, Let Our Best Intellects Decide Policies – Babalakin
Without Security, No Economic Development – Gov. Sule
L-R: The Sultan of Sokoto Alhaji Muhammad Sa’ad Abubakar with President of MUSWEN, Alhaji Rasaki Oladejo, Chairman, Board of Directors, MUSWEN, Alhaji Rauf Wale Babalakin and Sarki Fulani of Lagos, HRH Alhaji Mohammed Abubakar Bambado II, Olowu of Owu Kingdom, Oba Matemilola and other dignitaries at the MUSWEN General Assembly held in Gbongan, Osun State.
The President-General of the Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs, NSCIA, and the Sultan of Sokoto, His Eminence, Alhaji Muhammad Sa’ad Abubakar III, has urged Nigerian Muslims to remain united and fear Allah in all things they do because we will all account for our leadership.
According to him, once we know that we are on the right path, we shouldn’t not fear anybody but Allah.
“Once we are united, nobody can break us. Let’s be a united Ummah and not waiver in propagating Islam. We must be steadfast. Nobody can stop us from practising and propagating Islam and we cannot accept what is not true about Islam.”
He spoke at the 10th General Assembly of the Muslim Ummah of South West Nigeria (MUSWEN), held on Sunday at the Bola Babalakin Hall, Gbongan, Osun State.
“We must be courageous, united and steadfast in the face of growing misinformation and hostility towards Islam.”
“As long as Muslims promote goodness and truth, we must not be intimidated or silenced. Unity remains a critical tool in addressing the challenges facing the Muslim Ummah in Nigeria and beyond.”
His Eminence went further to explain that Christians have never been stopped from practicing their religion in any part of the country.
‘We won’t force Islam on anyone, no one should force on us what our religion is not. We should therefore be united in joining voices to make government tackle criminal killings. It is a collective responsibility for everyone.”
In his keynote address, Governor of Nasarawa State, Engr. Abdullahi Audu Sule reiterated the fact that without adequate security of lives and property, there cannot be Economic Development. He therefore charged his colleagues to deliver infrastructure and improve the living standards of the citizens while also ensuring security of lives and property.
Governor Sule commended his Eminence for his efforts towards ensuring peaceful coexistence among all faith adherents irrespective of tribe or ethnic background.
In his words, the Sultan said; “Some people said that we keep quiet. No, we have not been keeping quiet, we have been calling on security agencies to do whatever it takes to clear all these bandits and terrorists away. That is what we have been saying but they don’t want to hear that we have said that. But we are saying it and saying it again: Clear all bandits and terrorists wherever they are and Nigeria will be happy with itself.”
Parts of the highlights of the event was the presentation of laptops to12 female medical students of South West extractions who benefited from this year’s edition of the Sultan Abubakar Female Medical Students Scholarship Scheme
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Caption: The Sultan of Sokoto, His Eminence Alhaji Muhammad Sa’ad Abubakar, CFR, mni, presenting cheques and laptops to recipients of this year’s edition of Sultan Abubakar Female Medical Students Scholarship Scheme. With him, From Right: Chairman Board of Trustees, MUSWEN, Dr. Wale Babalakin, Minister of Marine and Blue Economy, Alhaji Isiaka Gboyega Oyetola, and Deputy President I, MUSWEN, Alhaji Rafiu Ebiti.
In his address, Alhaji Rasaki Oladejo, President of MUSWEN and Deputy President- General (South) of the Nigeria Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs (NSCIA), stated that under the Sultan Abubakar Female Medical Student Scholarship Scheme, twelve (12) medical students two from each of the six states of Ekiti, Lagos, Ogun, Ondo, Osun and Oyo got cheques for their Scholarships.
“In 2026, MUSWEN plans to give 120 Bursary Awards to deserving students from the region and the Education Committee would conduct aptitude tests to select the recipients. The organisational goal is to increase the figure to 600 annually.
The Minister of Marine and Blue Economy, Alhaji Isiaka Gboyega Oyetola, who represented President Bola Ahmed Tinubu assured Nigerians of government’s efforts towards ensuring security of lives and property and economic growth.
Chairman Board of Trustees of MUSWEN, Dr. Abdul-Rauf ‘Wale Babalakin urged Muslims to prepare their children for now and the future by ensuring that our best intellects take decisions on our behalf, to computerise learning at all levels, pay teachers very well and stand for the truth always.
Still speaking on State of the nation, the Sultan described as uncalled for, attempt by a section of the Nigerian populace working with some international collaborator in ascribing to Islam, what it is not, the Sultan expressed dismay that, despite the many enlightenments and evidences from speeches and all books of the faith including the Holy Qur’an and Hadeeth that the religion is no more than a complete way of life that is founded on the threshold of peace, unity and kindness, there are some non-Muslim flocks in Nigeria, who are either enthusiastic or are simply deriving joy in tagging Islam as a killer-religion but, he said, that will never be allowed to continue to happen.
“90 percent of true Muslims, do not agree with whatever the criminals are doing. I want somebody to come out and tell me where Christians are not allowed to practice their religion anywhere in the world. Because, right from where I started to spend my life in Sokoto as a young boy up to a young man during the miliary and Almighty Allah brought me here, I have never heard or seen a Christian denied his right to worship. I have not seen it.”
“Some people will keep on giving you a bad name like this issue of bandits or not bandits. They would not want to be happy with unity of the Ummah. Once we are united, nobody can separate us.
“Whatever it is we think we can do, let’s do it for the sake of Almighty Allah who is going to judge us. We cannot judge anybody. So, let’s try to be the best we can be; good Muslims doing good to everybody.
“There is no compulsion in religion. We cannot force anybody to accept Islam but nobody should also force us to accept what Islam is not. That is the point I am trying to make. Those who are saying negative things about Islam, anybody is free, you are free to say whatever you want to say, but you should not start raising dust where there is no dust. We made comments hundreds of time, and there was a forum for Christians and Muslims to deliberate and bring up whatever issue was affecting us.
“Both Christians and Muslims are being killed. Killing anyone is completely wrong. So, we need to look at some of these issues. Taking life unjustly is like taking the life of all humanity. So, let’s not aggravate taking lives. We have condemned it many times at joint sessions of Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs and we have reeled out condemnations and appeal to deal with the problem since this terrorism started 15 years ago.
“Nigeria is great country that nobody can destabilise, except we, Christians and Muslims, decide to be disunited. That is a fact. If our Christian brothers feel there is something wrong somewhere, they should approach us, we discuss, or show us where somebody’s right is encroached upon,” he said..
Another highlight of the event was the emergence of Prof. AbdulLateef Wole Abbas as the new Executive Secretary of MUSWEN.
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