Tributes as Sheikh Lemu is laid to rest

President Muhammadu Buhari and other eminent Nigerians have paid tributes to the late foremost Islamic scholar, Sheikh Ahmed Lemu, who died on Thursday at the age of 91.

President Buhari, in his message, described the late Islamic cleric as an outstanding scholar, jurist, teacher and author who was endowed with knowledge of encyclopaedic proportion.

“With the death of Sheikh Lemu, Nigeria and indeed Africa has lost one of its greatest scholars of all time,” a presidential spokesman, Garba Shehu, quoted the president in a statement.

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Buhari said the late cleric was one of the moderating voices of Islam who used wisdom in spreading knowledge, thereby portraying the religion in the brightest light.

Justice Ahmed LemuThe late scholar, who authored many Islamic books and literature, was buried in Minna, the Niger State capital, at around 12 noon on Thursday, in line with Islamic injunction.

A former head of state, General Abdulsalami Abubakar, was among dignitaries that attended the funeral prayer of the deceased.

A bridge builder

The Niger State government described the late cleric as a bridge-builder who reached across ethnic and religious divides to promote peace and unity.

The Secretary to the Government of Niger State (SSG), Ahmed Ibrahim Matane, in a condolence message, said the contributions of the deceased as a renowned Islamic scholar of high repute and a proponent of peaceful co-existence among the people, national integration, and human rights, have earned him respect on issues of religion.

“The commitment of late Sheikh Ahmed Lemu in the propagation of Islam in the country and beyond earned him the King Faisal International Prize in Service to Islam award for the year 2014 from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia,” the SSG said.

Also, the Chief Missioner of Nasrul-Lahi-l-Fatih (NASFAT), Imam Abdul-Azeez Onike, yesterday described the death of Sheikh Lemu as a colossal loss to the entire world.

He said Sheikh Lemu was “one of the erudite Islamic scholars of our time, a former grand khadi, a world renowned propagator of Islam, a knowledge promoter and mentor to numerous contemporary scholars and upcoming scholars.”