PRESIDENT Bola Ahmed Tinubu, Governor Dapo Abiodun of Ogun State and other eminent Nigerians and Islamic scholars are expected to attend the 70th annual Islamic Conference (Jalsa Salana) of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Jama’at of Nigeria tomorrow at the Ahmadiyya Ground, Ilaro, Ogun State.
The amir (national president) of the jama’at, Alhaji AbdulAzeez Alatoye, who made the disclosure at a press conference in Lagos, said the platinum conference would begin today and end on Sunday.
Alhaji Alatoye said the theme of the conference, ‘And We Have Sent Thee (Muhammad) Not But As a Mercy For All People’, “is a Qur’anic declaration which is very instructive, as the Holy Prophet Muhammad (SAW) is humanity’s noble specimen and perfect model in beauty and beneficence and leadership for personal and national reformation and development.”
The highlights of the Islamic gathering which, according to him, usually spans over three days, beginning on Friday with the Friday sermon, are recitation of the Holy Qur’an, praises of the Holy Prophet Muhammad (SAW), messages from the world leader of the Ahmadiyya community, goodwill messages from the Nigerian leaders, lectures and special prayers for all.
Going down the memory lane on the journey of holding the Jalsa Salana in Nigeria, Alatoye said the yearly convention was initiated by the founder of the community, Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad.
He said the first conference was held in Qadian, India, in 1891 and had 75 guests.
“The next year, this grew to 327, and by 1908, approximately 2,500 guests flocked to Qadian for the spiritual gathering. Within 100 years, from 1891 to 1991, Jalsa Salana Qadian grew from 75 to 66,000 guests.
“In Nigeria, the journey towards the annual Islamic conference started in April 1949, as a weekly meeting for enlightenment and discussions on pressing Islamic issues at the Ahmadiyya first central mosque at number 21/23, Ojo Giwa Street, Lagos Island.
“Seventy-five delegates attended the historic event, comprising 50 males and 25 females, including children,” Alatoye noted.
He said the first amir to address the gathering was Maulana Naseef Saifi, an erudite missionary, prolific writer and motivational speaker who became the vice president of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ).
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At the press conference, Alatoye decried the economic hardship Nigerians are experiencing while “the political elites are living in opulence and vagrant display of wealth.”
He said: “We have noticed that the President’s call for a reduction in the cost of governance by ministers and governors has not been complied with. The citizens are daily harassed by long convoys of official vehicles on the highways.
“Multiple taxations are still the order of the day. Public power supply – electricity–is inadequate despite the increase in tariffs and forced migration to Band A. In reality, the nation is bleeding.”
The Ahmadiyya leader advised the government to cut the cost of governance, calling on ministers and governors to reduce the size of their convoys.
“Corrupt officials must be tried, convicted and punished accordingly as a deterrent to others and state governors who are yet to implement the payment of the minimum wage should expedite actions on payments. Cost of food should be re-evaluated, made to work and address the sufferings of the poor,” he said.
Ahead of this year’s gathering, the amir embarked on courtesy visits to prominent Islamic scholars and traditional rulers across the country, inviting them to come and share in the grace of Allah.
He visited Sheikh Abbas Zakariyyah in Ibadan and the Ejeh of Anka Kingdom in Abuja, Dr Abubakar Ahmad Sodiq Yakubu.
