100 years after its establishment, the Ansar-Ud-Deen Society of Nigeria (ADS) is set to reflect on the next century, reminiscing on how far it has gone, the accomplishments and the mission of entrenching a morally ethical society anchored on the pristine teachings of Islam.
Founded on December 21, 1923, the 100 years’ celebration of one of the foremost Islamic organisations in Nigeria is kicking off in earnest across the global network of the society with several activities lined up to have a befitting celebration.
The establishment of the society about 100 years ago was to provide a platform for the education of young Muslims in addition to imbibing Islamic knowledge and ethos in the Muslims, and mosques. According to the leadership of the society, the educational objective was achieved through the establishment of various primary and secondary schools across the country and other parts of the world where it has footprints that have produced great men and women who have excelled in their various fields.
With the platform of learning already created with Ansar-Ud-Deen Primary and Secondary Schools dotting the nooks and crannies of the country and outside, the educational gap within the Muslim community was not only filled, the non-Muslims alike also had opportunities to be enrolled in their various communities where the schools were established.
Therefore, the achievements of the society first in the area of education which culminated in the establishment of Summit University in Offa, Kwara State; its contribution to building an ideal egalitarian and morally upright society where justice, fairness and equity prevail and the empowerment of the downtrodden through its Zakat Committee, among other achievements would come to play as it kicks off activities for the centenary celebration.
The President of the Society, Aare (Dr.) Abdulrafiu Sanni, while briefing newsmen yesterday at the headquarters of the society in Lagos, said the centenary celebration with the theme, “100 Years of Service: Re-Engineering Ansar-Ud-Deen Society for the next Century”, would be a remarkable event to showcase the society’s achievements while being a testament to the lasting impact it has had on communities across the globe.
Flanked by other leaders of the society, including the Deputy President, Alhaji Adebayo Yusuf; National Missioner of the society, Sheikh Abdulrahman Ahmad, Chairman of the National Organising Committee for the Centenary, AVM Sikiru Smith; National Secretary, Alhaji Iskilu Yusuf, among others, the president stated that the line-up of activities for the event included a youth summit which addressed the unique challenges facing the youths as well as opportunities available to them and their roles “in building a prosperous future for the society and the nation.”
Other activities are the Inter-School Essay Competition; Qur’anic competition; new logo design competition; Logo competition; Summit University Convocation; National Lecture, Award Ceremony, Founding Fathers’ Dinner, and the Global Secretariat Ground-breaking, among others.
He said, “These events and many others will be held in various locations across Nigeria, Benin Republic, Ghana, Ivory Coast, the United States of America, the United Kingdom and Ireland to ensure that the celebration of the Ansar-Ud-Deen Society Centenary is truly a global affair.
“Through this momentous occasion, we renew our commitment to upholding the values and principles of Islam and strive to make an even greater impact in the years to come. Together, let us celebrate a century of the Ansar-Ud-Deen Society’s unwavering dedication to education, unity and service.”
The president also disclosed plans to empower members during the programmes to reduce the hardship occasioned by the removal of subsidy from petroleum.
“We must show that we appreciate our members, we must assist the government. Today we have issues of subsidy removal, we have issues of exchange rate merger which have resulted in escalating prices and made life much more difficult for average Nigerians. We are also conscious of this and that is why the society is coming in heavily to assist the poorest of the poor. One of the programmes is that our Lagos State Council would be giving N100,000 each to 100 people while the other councils are also doing things. We are going to reach the downtrodden,” he stated.
He said the society would always keep a tab on government officials to lead with the fear of God and provide relief for the downtrodden in society, saying the national lecture to be held in Abuja and attended by President Bola Tinubu as part of the programme would be an opportunity to remind the politicians of the purpose of governance.
“I can assure you that we have a programme in Abuja where the president is expected to be there and we are going to talk God into their hearts. The fear of God is the beginning of wisdom and the purpose of leadership is to ensure that the led are taken care of within the available resources of the nation. The National Missioner and other erudite scholars are going to say it in accordance with the teachings of the holy Qur’an,” he added.
Following the ongoing crisis in Niger Republic which is unsettling the West African sub-region, the press conference was an opportunity for the society to lend its voice to the development as the president charged the ECOWAS leaders to continue on the path of diplomacy rather than adopting the military option to resolve the impasse, saying President Tinubu had so far displayed leadership in the handling of the situation which he described as delicate.
Giving further details about the centenary programmes, the Chairman of the Planning Committee stated that the programme would cover about four months from September to December.
He stated that there would be a football tournament and table tennis tournament coming up on the 30th of September; while the Executive Committee would visit various states for their programmes. He said the programme for Ekiti and Ondo states would take place simultaneously between 11th and 15th of October; Oyo State, 19th to 22nd of October; Osun State, 2nd to 5th of November while programmes for North America would come up on 9th and 12th of November.
Lagos State would hold its programmes from 16 to 19 of November; Ogun State programmes come up on 22nd to 24th of November while the programme for the United Kingdom and Ireland would be held between 23rd and 26th of November. Also on the 26th of November, there would be a programme for the National Women Council while Benin Republic, Ghana and Cote d’Ivoire would have their programmes, among other activities lined up with the centenary lecture taking place in Abuja on December 19 while the grand finale would be on 21st December in Lagos
Speaking on the centenary programmes, the National Missioner of the society, Sheikh Ahmad said, “Ansar-Ud-Deen is entering a new era and bringing innovation into education. The Ansar-Ud-Deen, through its Summit University, is bringing a novel approach to university education that is called Academipreneur. That is our university is set to train graduates who would not look for white-collar jobs. Already, it is contributing to the development of renewable energy, to the building of engineering manpower and IT manpower for the emerging IT industry in Nigeria.
“For instance, Summit University has been contributing to drone building and drone pilots. It has also been contributing to motherboards. You know most of the devices we use today are on a system of a motherboard. Now once the motherboard of your device has a problem, that is the end of it and we do not have people who can build and manufacture this but Summit University is already training people in this area and in the area also of renewable energy and solar energy.
“So we are approaching education in the next millennium from a tremendously innovative angle that is different from what our conventional universities are offering. Of course, the educational approach of our founding father is unique and we are building on that to even bring something that is more unique. It is not as if we are a set of indolent people that are not contributing to the polity or to national discourse like you have seen from the address of the president.”
He stated the society was engaging constructively with the Lagos State Government on the recently released commissioner’s list where Muslims have eight nominees out of 39, saying, “We are engaging with the government of Lagos State constructively, non-violently, we are expecting that the government would reconsider its stance because we consider it unjust, unfair and it is not equitable at all. We are also reminding Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu that this list fails so many tests – tests of fairness, justice, equity, harmony and inclusiveness. It is in the overall interest of the government of Lagos State. It is in the overall interest of religious harmony and peace that this be addressed.”
Alhaji Najeem Yasin, Chairman of the Northern States’ Council said several programmes were also lined up in Abuja to mark the centenary, adding that the society is building a 2000-capacity Central Mosque in Summit University as part of the programme.
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