Former Senate President and Baba Adinni of the Ansar-Ul-Islam Society of Nigeria, Dr Abubakar Bukola Saraki, has described the Az-Zumratul Adabiyyatul Kamaliyyah School of Arabic and Islamic Studies as one of the defining institutions and enduring identities of Ilorin and Kwara State.
Saraki stated this on Sunday while delivering a goodwill message at the grand finale and public presentation of the centenary book of the school, held at the Muhammad Kamalul-Deen University, Ilorin.
According to his Press Officer on Local Matters, Abdulganiyu Abdulqadir, Saraki said the institution’s 100th anniversary was a rare milestone deserving of gratitude to Almighty Allah, noting that few institutions in Nigeria had survived a century while continuing to grow in strength and relevance.
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He said the occasion was a celebration of the enduring legacy of knowledge, faith and service which the institution represents.
Saraki said the school’s continued existence and development reaffirm Ilorin’s position as a City of Knowledge, with institutions such as Az-Zumratul Adabiyyah playing a major role in sustaining the city’s rich tradition of Islamic scholarship.
He paid tribute to the late Sheikh Kamaludeen Al-Adabiyy, whose intellectual and spiritual legacy, he said, remains one of the reasons Ilorin continues to command respect for its contribution to Islamic knowledge.
He commended successive Khalifahs and administrators of the Adabiyyah institutions for expanding and giving greater expression to the vision and aspirations of the late scholar.
Saraki noted that the century-old school had grown into a fountain institution from which several other institutions had emerged, including the Ansar-Ul-Islam Society and Muhammad Kamalul-Deen University.
“From this Arabic and Islamic School, we now have a great society, the Ansarul-Islam Society to which I am, insha Allah, the Baba Adinni, and we have a university to which I am also associated,” Saraki said.
“What this means is that this Arabic and Islamic school that we are celebrating its centenary today has become a fountain institution that has given birth to many other satellite institutions.”
As part of his continued commitment to the growth of the Ansar-Ul-Islam Society and its associated institutions, Saraki donated N150 million in support of the centenary activities and ongoing development of the institution.
The donation adds to his ongoing interventions at Muhammad Kamalul-Deen University, including his scholarship programme supporting 100 students from 100 level through 400 level, as well as other infrastructural projects.
He urged indigenes of Kwara State and friends of the state to support the institutions consistently rather than on a seasonal basis, saying supporting them amounts to supporting religion, society and the legacies of past heroes.
The Waziri Ngeri of Ilorin prayed for the continued growth and success of the school and its associated institutions.
The centenary celebration attracted prominent figures, including the Sultan of Sokoto, His Eminence Alhaji Muhammad Sa’ad Abubakar III, who served as Royal Father of the occasion; the Emir of Kano, His Royal Eminence Alhaji Aminu Ado Bayero; and the Emir of Ilorin, represented by the Magaji Are of Ilorin.
Also present was Dr Awa Ibraheem, Chairman/CEO of ICMA Professional Services and Pro-Chancellor of Fountain University, Osogbo, who served as Chairman of the occasion.
On Saraki’s entourage were the PDP gubernatorial candidate and Dan-Iya Ngeri of Ilorin, Engr Suleiman Bolakale Kawu; former National Chairman of the PDP and Tafida Ngeri of Ilorin, Alhaji Abubakar Kawu Baraje; and the Kwara State Chairman of the PDP, Alhaji Adamu Issa Bawa, alongside other political leaders and dignitaries.
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