By BASHIR ADEFAKA
The experience of Boko Haram, which is offshoot of an Islamic Jama’ah radicalized into criminal organization and is today one of most dreaded terrorist groups in the world, has made this report imperative. UNILORIN Muslim Students’ Society of Nigeria (MSSN), according to investigation by this newspaper, has tendency for collapsing into a radicalized organization if fast measure is not taken. This has been discovered by how Muslim female students get married to male students yet to finish and thereafter withdraw from continuing their education saying education to high level not compulsory for women and even declaration of war against parents by such ideologically erring female students. This report not only exposes this looming ideological danger building up from the university community but also, more holistically, reflects why the activities of the salaf-dominated MSSN in the UNILORIN Muslim Community transcends the moderately permissible of Islam. Excerpts:
The University of Ilorin, Ilorin, Nigeria, no doubt is the best institution of higher learning in Nigeria, considering the convenience, straight-to-schedule, quality assurance, excellence and moral consciousness that go with acquiring education from the school. By this, it means the university places much premium on ensuring that a student, boy or girl, not only conducts himself or herself in good manner while learning and thereafter graduates in best of academic quality assured but, more desirably, also with moral excellence.
It means, like the Crescent University Abeokuta, Ogun State, University of Ilorin too is out not to reel out to the society brilliant beasts but academically and morally qualified students. This quality assurance with added advantage of moral excellence make the University of Ilorin the best Nigeria’s university in terms of the fact that it is the most sought for wards’ admissions. With this, UNILORIN parents can plan for their children and themselves.
The story is however, deep down, getting unpalatable with now confirmed information coming out of the university on the mode of behaviour of a set of Muslims among the students in the University of Ilorin Muslim Community. The Muslim Students’ Society of Nigeria (MSSN). In a society already fully charged in hate against Muslims, Islamic faithful must be careful and guard themselves against behaviours which justify stigma against them.
“What this means is that, beyond Boko Haram, whose beginning has a lot similar to what is currently obtaining among the Muslim Students’ Society of Nigeria, University of Ilorin Branch, there is a yet another radicalized Muslim students group building up and there is the need for the Federal Government through the Federal Minister of Education to come down to the University as well as other universities in Nigeria to ensure compliance to deradicalization policy of government and this goes beyond just Muslim students to also Christian students, going by the violent clashes of Christian Students Fellowship in Federal University of Technology Akure (FUTA) in 2005. It will not be fair to forget the mention of Shi’ites. This is also offshoot of similar radicalization among Muslim students that must be tamed right now.”
MSSN was established in 1964 or thereabout by a group of concerned Muslim youths led, at that time, by now late Dr. Abdul-Lateef Adegbite. The intention then was to create an environment for Muslim students in a society, not so keen about impacting moral and spiritual upliftment-related knowledge capacities in youths, to receive same through quality based Islamic education mounted by scholars equipped with broad knowledge of the deen.
The DEFENDER has found out to know that in delivering these moral and spiritual upliftment messages, the MSSN later grew into hands of various scholars who compartmentalized knowledge delivery into the most subjects permissible. Among the subjects are: Qur’an, Hadeeth, Fiqh, Aqeedah, Adabul-Islamiyyah, Seerah and Fikr.
However, these subjects later became more prominent among adult Islamic groups that later grew from the Muslim Students’ Society of Nigeria (MSSN) e.g. The Muslim Congress (TMC), The National Council of Muslim Youth Organisation (NACOMYO), the Jama’atul Izalatu Bidi’ah Wa Iqamatus-Sunnah, Tadaumu (Ibadan) and Ta’wwuun (Iwo). Each and every one of these subjects touch on politics, economy, military, socialization, human behaviour, and so on. May be where the problem lies is in the Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs (NSCIA) having yet to do enough coordinating the whole of these knowledge based activities of proliferated religious groups.
By Qu’ran Subject, the MSSN syllabus is meant to teach the rudiments of the Holy Book with meaning whether in bits or in whole with intent to guide youths against wrong interpretations and misapplications of the beautiful messages of Allah in the Qur’an. This is hugely supported in Northern Nigeria where Qira’tul Qur’an that is, recitation of Qur’an Competition is held annually with national spread and best performer given the prize of a brand new car, huge amount of money and treated like an emperor as mark of honour. The second and third runners up are also well appreciated.
By Hadeeth Subject the idea is to educate and sink it into the brain of every Muslim student that, first and foremost the Hadeeth is the record of speeches, actions, approvals and disapprovals of the Holy Prophet of Islam, Muhammad (peace of Allah be upon him). It then goes further to teach that in the knowledge of Hadeeth, the chain of collections is vital. The chain which has a collector that is not too trusted or not as strong morally and spiritually as required has its own meaning in acceptability determination. Then Hadeeth is categorized into the Sahih (authentic speeches, actions, approvals and disapprovals of the prophet), others include weak hadeeth and others hated and bad hadeeth because of their strongly distrusted sources.
“The questioner said again: “But Messenger of Allah, there is another woman, she believes as Muslim, she does not do as much as the other woman although she performs those compulsions of Islamic worship. But by her utterances and actions, her neighbours find safety.” The Prophet (S.A.W.) said to her: “That woman will dwell in Al-Jannah”.This is an example of what Adabul-Islamiyyah teaches to Muslim students.”
Fiqh Subject is where the Islamic worship is taught. It teaches the wudu’u that is how to perform ablution before solat, the categories of water in terms of acceptable water for purification, how to observe solat that is, the five daily prayers and the nawafil the prerogative acts of worship.
By Aqeedah Subject, it is to teach with intent to avoiding ideology related problems and other issues associated with overzealousness in religion. This particular aspect is the major aspect of religious knowledge that makes one moderate or fanatic. There is no place in the Islamic knowledge syllabus left behind by Prophet Muhammad (S.A.W.) that fanaticism is encouraged. It is all about moderacy. It does not stop with Islam alone, it is so in Christianity, Judaism, Atheism and it is the reason religious adherents go into proliferation because it has to do with the content of the hearts. But Prophet Muhammad (S.A.W.) said only one out of 73 ways Islamic religious group is proliferated to will enter al-jannah and he made it clear: “kitabullahi wasunnatul r-rosulihi (Book of Allah and recorded approvals of His messenger)”.
The Muslim Students, by the effort of Dr. Abdul-Lateef Adegbite – a former Commissioner for Justice and Attorney General, defunct Western Region, joined later by Sheikh Abdulfattah Thanni from Kuwait and the likes of Professor Is-haq Oloyede, Professor Taofiq Abdul-Aziz, Professor Abdul-Afeez Adedosun, and a host of other Islamic scholars and leaders, are lucky to have this Aqeedah Subject inculcated in their Islamic Education Syllabus which makes them the best religious students in any society.
It is this aspect that teaches how to be friend of Allah, how not to fight for Allah in manner which goes contrary to the peace and security of any given society, it is the aspect that teaches what human thinking should be about his Lord that Allah is Lord, the creator, the killer and the giver of life and that whoever kills a life created by Allah has committed great sin against Allah and humanity.
Then the knowledge delivery goes to Adabul-Islamiyyah Subject. This is the aspect that teaches to mode the character of an Islamic faithful. It is in this aspect of knowledge delivery that Muslim students are told what transpired between Prophet Muhammad (peace of Allah be upon him) and a questioner.
She said to the Prophet: “There is a woman in my area, she takes care of her five daily solat, she fasts in the month of Ramadhan, she pays zakat, she goes to Hajj, and she is a believer in Allah. But by her utterances, her neighbour is unsafe.” The Prophet (S.A.W.) said to her: “That woman will dwell in hellfire”.
The questioner said again: “But Messenger of Allah, there is another woman, she believes as Muslim, she does not do as much as the other woman although she performs those compulsions of Islamic worship. But by her utterances and actions, her neighbours find safety.” The Prophet (S.A.W.) said to her: “That woman will dwell in Al-Jannah”.
This is an example of what Adabul-Islamiyyah teaches to Muslim students which made the Islamic scholars of Nigeria set it into the syllabus of Islamic education to mode the character of youths in Islam.
Seerah Subject is the aspect that teaches about Islamic History. Many Muslims today are strong Muslims because they have access to truth of what this subject seeks to teach. Many Christians are friends of Muslims today because they know the Seerah, the Islamic History and are so convinced that whatever any Muslim does, if it is in line with practice of Islam as established by Allah and sent through Prophet Muhammad (S.A.W.), they know and if it is not, they know. It is Seerah that makes Muslims know that Christians are not supposed to be enemies but to be closer to one another in time of need, war against enemy of one of them and development.
One important example here is the King Negus of Abissinia’s experience. King Negus was a Christian and, like Rome is ruled politically, economically and militarily today by Pope, he was in charge of authorities in the Nation of Abissinia which is today called Ethiopia. He was the one that saved Muslims dispatched from Makkah by Prophet Muhammad (S.A.W.) when the Pagans of Makkah persecution of Muslims became more terribly unbearable and Allah had not permitted the Prophet to order them into a defensive war. The Pagans traced those Muslims to the Palace of Negus and trying to corrupt his mind against them saying “They do not believe in Jesus and the Bible”.
King Negus asked the Muslims questions concerning Jesus Christ and Bible and their answers made the King draw a line on with his rod on the ground and said: “If there is any difference between us, Christians and you, Muslims, it is not more than this thin line”. He then asked them to do as they wanted and use they as they wanted and accepted them to be integrated into the society of Abissinia now Ethiopia.
It is this Islamic History, Seerah, that teaches that the First Man ever to call to prayer in history of the world is a Black from Abissinia (Ethiopia) and that was Bilal Bin Rabba’ (may Allah be pleased with him).
And finally on this knowledge delivery method is the Fikr Subject. This subject teaches about current affairs. It is at this point that this submission will take readers back to the subject of this Editorial, which is UNILORIN MSSN: Nigerian Muslim Ummah sitting on keg of gun-power. The issue here is a vast one but will be restricted to the subject matter for lack of space.
The University of Ilorin, in spite of all the goodies it contributes to the Nigerian society, is unknowingly churning out to the midst of people radicals. This must be seriously dealt with before it boomerangs. Findings conducted by The DEFENDER shows that within the MSSN, now populated by a sect of Muslims called salaf, in the university’s Muslim community occupies the main mosque. This sect of Muslims believes like other Muslims who believe in the Qur’an and practices sunnah believe but they consider themselves as the only group of Muslims that practices Islam perfectly.
What is worst, in a nutshell? They make compulsory the wearing of trouser so jumped up to reflect a 3 ¼ nicker. To them, any Muslim man who does not leave on beard is not a believer in Islam. These two are taken as most compulsory and they choose who to relate with among Muslims based on their compliance with these two 3 ¼ nicker and beard. To women, no matter what, whether her parents or school system allows the use of niqob (veil that is face cover) does not matter to them. They declare war on whoever is against them based on their imposition of veil on female student or woman. So much that some of them, outside the university community, even veil a girl child not more than seven years.
In University of Ilorin, Muslim Students impose veil on every girl that embraces them. Although the university may have nothing against it as it is part of Islam, but the complaint that The DEFENDER has worked on here is that, in Islam, whatever Allah does not make compulsory, anybody who makes it compulsory either on him or herself or on any other person has committed a crime. This is attested to by a verse in Suratul Bakara where Allah says: “Layukalifullahi nafsan illa wusiaha (He has not placed on anybody, a burden which is bigger than he his soul)”.
Every authentic scholar of Islam, it has been confirmed, accept that using of hijab, body covering for every believing woman is compulsory but that the use of niqob (veil or face cover) is optional. This, on our own, was confirmed from a tradition of the Prophet where he said to Asmau, younger sister of his wife, Aisha, when he saw him not covering her body fully and he said: “Oh Asmau, when a woman has reached the stage of puberty, she should cover all her body except here (face) and here (hands to risks)”.
But In UNILORIN, these Islamic scholars among the MSSN leadership who give knowledge to the Muslim students are misleading them to taking niqob as compulsory.
It will be recalled that at Obafemi Awolowo University College of Medicine in 2004, a violent crisis broke out over a Muslim female medical student deprived from using niqob (veil). The institution said she could be allowed to cover all her body since that is what her religion directs her to do but that covering of face cannot be allowed. But the Muslim Students in OAUCOM, led by their Amir, insisted that it was an assault on Islam and Muslims by the school authorities and they female Muslim medical student must use the niqob. She was rusticated and up till today, information reaching us, says the girl, now realizing what overzealousness caused her through mislead by her MSSN leaders, sends curses across to them as she never made it as medical doctor when other Muslims, who knew that niqob being optional should not make them miss the all-important medical course, allowed the authorities have their way which was still within the ambit of the permissible in Islam.
Worst still, information reaching this media organization from the University of Ilorin Muslim Students group said that female Muslim students are lured into marriage in their earlier stage in the university learning and then made to withdraw from schools saying education reading to high level by Muslim woman is not desirable in Islam. This again was knocked out by a record of Islamic knowledge delivery which says “Tolabul ilimi fardatun ala kulli muslimin wal muslimat ao mu’mineen wal mu’meenat (meaning: seeking knowledge is compulsory over every male and female muslim or male believer and female believer)”.
It was particularly confirmed by one of the MSSN members who said though said “I do not believe in doing that but there are some of our Muslim sisters who withdraw saying they don’t go to school again”. Ironically, that same male who said so, in his 400 level got married to a 300 girl of 19 years old who gave birth before her final year examinations and today has been radicalized to taking everybody who is opposed to her use of hijab as enemy.
The boy and girl (names withheld) even went to the extent of dragging her contempt for her father to the social media and went to the extent of attempting to cause division between her parents’ 20-years-old marriage when she made her mother, who just returned from Ilorin where she saw her using hijab, look like she is the only parent she has in life.
But great enough, the mother was brave wife with strong faith and spirit of Islam to say: “I reject you. You cannot take only me as a parent that you have in life against your father, who take full responsibility over all of us including you from kindergarten through secondary schools to the University. The people who are telling you to take war to your parents because they have their reason for you not using niqob should stand as parents for you before Allah. I condemn you, you are not my daughter and I am not your mother.”
When asked, if he knows that the University of Ilorin, despite its quality assurance on moral and academic excellence, is also churning radicals to the society, the Head of Public Affairs of the university, Mr. Kunle Akogun said the activities of those among the MSSN in the school are strictly not unconnected to the university system.
Further investigations within the university community revealed that there is one of the senior lecturer who had to disown his daughter who also found herself radicalized by the MSSN student scholars, got married and suddenly withdrew and said she did not need to go to school again.
Effort to reach the senior lecturer to know whether she has now been able to recover his daughter back deradicalized was ongoing was yet to succeed as at the time of putting this report together. It was however gathered that one of the students, who had graduated a long ago as mechanical engineer, is today having it bad with co-Muslim people in larger society, meaning that if fast measure is not taken, Nigeria may be in for yet detected fresh ideologically based crisis. God forbid!
What this means is that, beyond Boko Haram, whose beginning has a lot similar to what is currently obtaining among the Muslim Students’ Society of Nigeria, University of Ilorin Branch, there is a yet another radicalized Muslim students group building up and there is the need for the Federal Government through the Federal Minister of Education to come down to the University as well as other universities in Nigeria to ensure compliance to deradicalization policy of government and this goes beyond just Muslim students to also Christian students, going by the violent clashes of Christian Students Fellowship in Federal University of Technology Akure (FUTA) in 2005. It will not be fair to forget the mention of Shi’ites. This is also offshoot of similar radicalization among Muslim students that must be tamed right now.
The government must be able to device means of achieving this. The Sultan of Sokoto is there with his peace, unity and national integration programmes going on at all levels and his special scholarship programme for the production of female medical graduates (doctors). He is number one person required to be consulted by government. Professor Oloyede laid down a sound foundation in University of Ilorin. Professor AbdulGaniyu Ambali took over from Oloyede and improved on quality inherited. Professor Sulayman is the sitting Vice Chancellor after Oloyede and Ambali. They should be sat down and proffer final lasting solution to emerging radicalization going on among the UNILORIN Muslim Students’ Society of Nigeria (MSSN).
A stitch in times saves nine!
