The vast hall at the center of the Islamic Missionary Association of Nigeria (IMAN), Ilorin, Kwara State was packed to the brim on Sunday, July 24, 2020, when prominent scholars from near and far turned up gathered to honor and celebrate a teacher of Islam born in Ilorin. Law, AbdulRazaq AbdulMajeed Alaro for his recent exploits.
Alaro, who teaches at the University of Ilorin, was recently honored as one of the top 10 outstanding alumni of all time by the Islamic University of Madinah, Saudi Arabia.
In recognition of the unusual feat recorded by one of them, the alumni of universities in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the Kwara State branch has set up a program to show off the academic exploits of the one of the most brilliant Kwarans, Professor Alaro.
The presence of dozens of professors, Kadis, community leaders and opinion leaders at the event underscored the importance that stakeholders attached to it.
Kwara State Governor, AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq, who was inevitably absent during the event, sent a powerful 3-man delegation led by his Special Strategy Advisor, Alh Saadu Salahu. The other members of the delegation are Dr. Mohammed Ghali Alaaya and Alh Bashir Adigun, special adviser on political communication.
The Acting Grand Kadi of the Kwara State Sharia Court of Appeal, Justice AbdulLateef Kamaldeen, led other judges of the court to the ceremony.
Speaking at the event, Governor AbdulRazaq unveiled his plans to inaugurate a Hall of Fame to appreciate Kwarans who have distinguished themselves in their various fields of endeavour.
AbdulRazaq said: “To appreciate and secure their place in history, distinguished patriots like Prof. AbdulRasaq Alaro who have made Kwara State proud nationally and globally, I will inaugurate a temple of fame that will be an integral part of the new Center for Arts and Culture.
“It will enhance and further represent the achievements of these distinguished Kwarans and serve as role models for the younger generation,” said the governor who was represented by his special strategy adviser, Alh Saadu Salahu.
Expressing his joy for the honor bestowed upon Professor Alaro by his alma mater, the Governor noted that: “Ilorin Emirate is a renowned global center of excellence in education, especially Arabic education, the spread of Islam and a model for other parts of the country in sustenance. of Islamic culture as a complete way of life.
He recalled the important role that Sheikh Alimi, Sheikh Tajul Adab, Sheikh Kamaldeen Al-Adabbiy, Sheikh Adamu Abdullahi Al-Ilory and Sheikh Imam Abdullahi Jibril Shabbat, among other prominent Ilorin Islamic scholars, have played in the propagation and promotion of the Islam in Nigeria.
He said the footprints of the aforementioned scholars in teaching Arabic and spreading Islam in various parts of the country and in West Africa made Ilorin proud.
He congratulated Alaro, describing him as “our proud scholar of excellence and celebrant of today who has made Africa, Nigeria, Kwara State and Ilorin especially proud as an acknowledged scholar of global excellence.
He added: “The excellence of Professor Alaro celebrated today justifies our administration’s unprecedented investment, political commitment and priority to education in order to maintain Ilorin’s global reputation as a city of excellence in education, to support the dream of the founding fathers of the state as one of the best in the country and above all to guarantee the best future for our children and grandchildren.
“I would like to congratulate all the members of the Saudi Alumni Association in Nigeria and Kwara State in particular for making Nigeria proud with their remarkable academic and professional achievements. They inspire more of our youth to borrow principled pathways to prosperity and discourage the few who engage in illegal acts that negatively portray Nigerians to the outside world.
Also speaking, the representative of the Royal Saudi Ambassador, Professor Ibrahim Otuyo of AlHikma University, Ilorin, welcomed the long and cordial bilateral relationship between Nigeria and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
He said the Saudi government is proud of the achievements of Professor Alaro, who was shortlisted for the Islamic University of Madinah award for only 10 of its alumni worldwide.
The chairman of the occasion, Prof. Akorede Agbarigidoma thanked the state government for its support which he said greatly contributed to the success of the event.
Agbarigidoma stressed the need for the people and government of Nigeria to always recognize the exploits of outstanding citizens to encourage young people to follow in the footsteps of such noble and exemplary personalities.
He said Nigeria should not always be in the news for negative reasons as evidenced by the case of a Nigerian-born international fraudster, Huspuppi, who he says has a bad influence on Nigerian youth. .
In their goodwill messages, Grand Kadi of Kwara State, Justice AbdulLateef Kamaldeen and former Speaker of the State Legislative Assembly, Dr Ali Ahmad described Alaro as a worthy ambassador. Ilorin, Kwara and Nigeria.
Ali, particularly noted President Muhammadu Buhari’s selection of Alaro for a course at the Nigerian Institute for Strategic Studies, Kuru, Jos in Plateau State, seeking more such opportunities for Muslim scholars in the country.
In an article titled “Saudi Arabia’s Role in Community Service: A Case Study of Professor AbdulRasaq Alaro”, Professor Muhammad Mansur Sokoto highlighted the virtues of Alaro, the recipient of the award.
Sokoto said he has known Alaro very closely for more than 30 years when they were both students at the Islamic University of Madinah in Saudi Arabia.
“He (Alaro) is a very friendly and cheerful person. You barely meet him except he smiles. He continually serves and helps people. Anyone who knows him will no doubt tell you of his wisdom and gentleness.
“As for his participation in the field of studies and research, he obtained the highest distinction. He is superior in class to his peers and he does not attend a poetry or prose night unless he becomes a pride to his classmates and nationals. The same can be said of his participation in scientific and cultural competitions
“He graduated from Sharia faculty with honors in 1993CE, therefore, his department never hesitated to offer him for further study. Before completing his master’s and doctoral studies, he prepared several research papers during this period that were accepted by several educational and scientific journals.
“As he also engaged in community service. During this time, he was appointed Head of the African Translations Unit at the King Fahd Complex for the Printing of the Noble Quran in Medina,” Sokoto said.
After graduating from university and obtaining his doctorate in 2002, he taught at the University of Ilorin and continued to write research articles and translated quite a number of Arabic books into the local language. He has written many research articles on financial institutions published by many multinational corporations, the example of which is the Islamic Development Bank in Jeddah in his journal “Islamic Economic Studies” in 2011 CE. They published his research titled: “Debt – Asset Trading in Financial Institutions: An Assessment of Islamic Law”.
The keynote speaker revealed that Prof. Alaro established the Assunnah Academy for Da’a wah and research which monitors institutes, schools and educational activities, adding that: “It deals with advocacy and volunteer charity, so he became a part of him to build mosques, sponsor orphans, help patients who have limited resources and oversee the construction of over 300 wells.
“There is no doubt that our celebrant has played an unprecedented role in the fields of Islamic research, education and leadership. He is an icon of peace, arbitration and social and educational development in all stages of his life. The influence of his alma mater; the Islamic University of Madinah on him is very apparent. He is truly a role model for our youth and Nigerian scholars in general,” Sokoto concluded.