Former Executive Secretary, Muslim Ummah of South West Nigeria, (MUSWEN), Prof. Dawud Noibi,
has advocated for incorporation of religious education into General Studies Programmes in higher institutions so as to breed students with the fear of God.
He made the call at the 10th Anniversary and awards of an Arabic and Islamic centre, Ar-riddoh International Islamic Institute held at House of Chiefs, Parliament Building, Oyo State Secretariat, Agodi, Ibadan.
The renowned Islamic Scholar said any form of knowledge that doesn’t have its root in God would be counter productive, stressing that such religious education in tertiary institutions should be made compulsory while it should be in forms of modules, which would be from first year till the final year.
He said despite the fact that Nigeria is blessed with a lot of experts in different fields, the Godly ones were few, hence the need to groom people that would have the fear of God in their dealings with the belief that they would give account in the hereafter.
“No doubt, there are a lot of educated people, specialists in different fields but we are not where we ought to be, simply because there are a lot of selfishness, a lot of corruption and a lot of ego-worship.
Agreed, God encouraged us to look for good thing of this life but not at the expense of the hereafter. There must be emphasis on the hereafter so that our lives here will be the best for ourselves and the communities at large”.
Noibi urged parents to invest in Arabic education of their children the way they do to their western education as being experts in both forms of education would certainly be a blessing and assets to humanity and not a liability.
“There is need for us to bring up young ones who will bear in mind that they are accountable to God at the end of the day and who will therefore give service to the community, their families, and the nation.”Noibi added
The Proprietor of the institute, Ustaz MuhammadJamiu AbdulGafaar noted that for one to be successful in life, three things are essential and they are faith, knowledge and good deeds.
He said the institute is more than Arabic centre as it accommodates other forms of education like, science, technology, ICT and vocational training.
” The institute was established in 2009 and it was meant to fill gaps that have been observed in existing Arabic and Islamic centres. The existing ones lay emphasis on Arabic programmes that is why their products become commercial bicycle riders for example after graduation.
Ar-riddoh International Islamic Institute is all encompassing. There is a provision for Arabic classes, Islamic history, science, technology, ICT training, skills acquisition and professional training.
It’s designed in such a way that after graduation, you will be occupied other than looking for jobs.”
AbdulGafaar explained that the programmes in the institute catered for different categories of people including children, youths, artisans, civil servants and elderly ones.
“Majority of my students after graduation still continue to further their education even outside the country. Some are doing degrees in computer science, computer engineering and other science oriented courses apart from those in the fields of humanity.”
Other programmes executed during the 10th year anniversary include visitation to correctional centre, hospital and orphanage home as well as seminar on poverty alleviation with empowerment.
Awards were presented to prominent individuals and Islamic organisations among whom are Professor Dawud Noibi, Sheikh AbdulWahab Ahmad, and a retired lecturer at the Polytechnic, Ibadan, Alhaji AbdulGaniy Oladimeji.
The organisations that received awards include Muslim Media Practitioners of Nigeria, (MMPN) Oyo State Chapter, Muslim Lawyers Association of Nigeria, (MULAN) Oyo State Chapter and FOMWAN Orphanage Home.
