Dignitaries from across Nigeria gathered in Ilorin, capital city of Kwara State, on Sunday in honour of the late sage Abdulganiyu AbdulRazaq (SAN) for the one-year memorial prayers.
AbdulRazaq, the first lawyer from northern Nigeria and a first republic minister, died on July 25, 2020 aged 93.
The one-year prayer held at the sprawling family house of the late sage at Surulere, Ilorin was attended by the crème de la crème from across the country, hosted by the deceased’s first son and the new Mutawalle of Ilorin Alimi AbdulRazaq and his siblings.
Present at the solemn event was Kwara State Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq, his deputy Kayode Alabi; Speaker Salihu Danladi; cabinet members; top traditional rulers; the entire cleric community led by chief Imam of Ilorin Sheikh Muhammad Bashir; Muslim scholar Sheikh Habeebullah Adam Abdullahi el-Ilory; members of the intellectual and of cultural communities led by the IEDPU president Uthman Otta; bureaucrats; politicians, and businessmen and women.
Emir of Ilorin Ibrahim Sulu-Gambari was represented by the Balogun Gambari Muhammad Adebayo.
Chief imam of Ilorin led the prayers for the late sage and the family, beseeching Allah to continue to be with them.
Then came the sermon that dwelt on some religious, socioeconomic and political developments in the state — including the political muscle-flexing that subtly reared its head at the recent Eid-ul-Adha prayers in Ilorin which Sheikh Habeebullah condemned as unbecoming, un-Islamic, and totally unnecessary for a state just finding its feet in the areas of basic amenities and among its peers.
“There is no place for thuggery and political showmanship at Eid. It is unacceptable and people must desist from such practice,” he said.
He described the late AbdulRazaq as a pride of Nigeria and a phenomenon that life throws up only once in a century.
He urged the deceased’s children not to depart from AbdulRazaq’s path especially his patience, commitment to education, humility, and love for humanity and development.
A government has not been elected to share public funds for patronage, and patriots and lovers of the state must rise against opposition to any government based on selfish interest of a few, the foremost Islamic scholar added.
He commended the governor for his prudence, humility, spartan lifestyle and his efforts to attend to the basic needs of the people.
