Date: 2021-04-17

The National President of the Ilorin Emirate Descendants Progressive Union (IEDPU), Alhaji Aliyu Otta Uthman, fsi, has called on the people of Ilorin Emirate to live their lives for others, saying that it is only those who do so that can be said to have truly lived.

Alhaji Uthman gave this advice on Saturday(April 17, 2021) at the 13th Annual Ramadan Lecture of Sheikh Mukhtar IsaleKoto Islamic Foundation in conjunction with Al-Hikmah Al-Balegah Islamic Organization at the University of Ilorin Auditorium.

The community leader urged his compatriots to always try to be more responsible and caring, particularly for the younger members of their families who had no one to take care of them in order to facilitate a safer environment.

The IEDPU President urged the people of Ilorin to consider a return to the kind of communal life lived by their progenitors who were always conscious of the interests of those who were less privileged to ensure that everybody grew up together.

He recalled that in those days it was quite difficult to identify children who were cousins, saying that men and women of those days regarded children, regardless of who gave birth to them, as theirs and they watched over them through the offer of consistent quality assistance in raising them to maturity.

Alhaji Uthman said that the abandonment of extended family orientation for the nuclear family system nowadays has led to the increment in the number of untrained and unskilled people who have constituted a security risk.

He added that it would be very rare for someone who was raised by a father other than his own to act untoward to such a benefactor.

Alhaji Uthman also appealed to the elite not to abandon their ancestral homes or sell off such places to those who will convert such properties that would contravene the interests of their founding fathers and even become venues where issues that will induce security challenges to the society.

The retired security technocrat commended the founder of the Foundation, Ustaz Lukman Mukhtar Isale-Koto, for organising the event and for making it an annual occasion that addresses contemporary challenges.

The Grand Mukaddam of Ilorin, Shaykh Abubakar Suleiman Dan-Borno also counselled people to cultivate the habit of catering for others, most especially those who are struggling.

Shaykh Dan-Borno, who quoted relevant portions of the Holy Quran and the traditions of the Hoy Prophet Muhammad (SAW), insisted that those who care not for the less privileged are not unconscious of the Almighty Allah but are doomed for perdition.

Also speaking on the occasion, a renowned legal practitioner and Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Mallam Yusuf Olaolu Ali, reminded children to always remember and celebrate their parents whether they were alive or not. He likened the celebration of parents by children to sowing seeds which would sooner or later blossom for those who ploughed to reap from.

The senior lawyer, therefore, commended Ustaz Isale-Koto for coming up with and ensuring the consistent success of the annual programme in memory of his illustrious progenitor, which, he said, has been very beneficial to all and sundry.

In his remarks, Ustaz Lukman Mukthar IsaleKoto explained that the programme was designed towards finding solutions to contemporary challenges from the Islamic point of view.

Ustaz IsaleKoto, who is also the Accountant in charge of the Faculty of Information and Communication Sciences, University of Ilorin, thanked all those who came from far and near for finding time out of their busy schedules to attend the event.

The event attracted eminent dignitaries such as a retired Judge of the Federal High Court, Justice Salihu Saidu Ajanaku; a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Alhaji Kehinde Kolawole Eleja; the Chairman of the University of Ilorin Muslim community, Prof. Ibraheem Adeola Katibi; the Dean, Faculty of Communication and Information Sciences, University of Ilorin, Prof. R.G. Jimoh.

Others were a former Chairman of the Kwara State chapter of the Nigerian Medical Association;a retired topnotch of the Nigerian Maritime, Safety and Administration Agency (NIMASA), Prince Abdulkadir Kolapo Abdulkadir; the immediate past Head, Department of Industrial Chemistry, University of Ilorin, Prof. Baba Alafara; Dr. M. S.K. Solagberu, who spoke on the care of eyes and Alhaji Ahmed Abdulhamid from Ibadan, the Oyo State capital.