Emulate Ilorin people for peace to reign, Unilorin VC urges Nigerians
Ambali made the call during the second National Conference of the Centre for Ilorin Studies (CILS) of the University, with the theme: “Language and Religious Scholarship in West Africa: The Ilorin Factor”.
He noted that that Ilorin was a conglomerate of diverse tribes and cultures, intertwined and living peacefully.
“It is my belief that we need to understand and appreciate how the Yoruba, Fulani, Hausas, Nupe, Baruba, Gobirawa and the rest of the groups that make Ilorin, were able to live together harmoniously.
“We will then appreciate that Nigeria, despite our cultural plurality, can also be a peaceful and harmonious abode for us all,” he said.
Ambali urged the Federal Government to study the Ilorin situation and apply the principle nationwide, so that the country’s diversity, would be converted to strength.
In his keynote address, Justice Saliu Belgore, former Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), gave an exposition of the Ilorin city, saying the name “Ilu-Erin” meant “City of metal weapon”.
He disclosed that by the 17th century, the town was a small village and when Oyo became a powerful kingdom, it became one of the places to check the incursion of the Nupe slave traders.
According to him, the Yoruba people were to later merge with many indigenous people, to the extent that their language became influenced.
He explained that Muslims from various parts of Africa and the Sudan moving down to Yoruba land, were teachers and preachers, among them, the Islamic Scholar; Mohammmed Saleh.
He added that Saleh settled in Ilorin after his sojourn in some parts of Yoruba kingdom and became a renowned preacher nicknamed “Alimi” in Ilorin.
Belgore noted that the Islamic preacher, after aiding a warrior, named Afonja, who ran from the Oyo Empire, established an Islamic caliphate and homogenised all tribes within the city.
Prof Abdulrasheed Na’ Allah, Vice-Chancellor of Kwara State University (KWASU), who also spoke at the event, said that language was the most important endowment of human beings.
He noted that the linguistic proficiency of Ilorin had always being accorded high regards and dueattention.. (NAN)
Cloud Tag: What's trending
Click on a word/phrase to read more about it.
Funmilayo Braithwaite Hijaab Muhammad Sirajo Aliyu Salau Kabiru Abdullahi Alimi Toyosi Thomas Babatunde Idiagbon Tope Daramola Demola Banu Lola Olabayo NSCIA Olota Of Odo-Owa Saka Balikis Kehinde Countryside Emerging Leaders Fellowship Association Of Kwara State Online Media Practitioners Kwara State Polytechnic Kwara Ilorin East/South Federal Constituency Bayo Onimago Jamila Bio Ibrahim Jimoh Lambe Abdulkareem Ben Duntoye Abdulwahab Oba TESCOM 2025 Yomi Adeboye Abiodun Oyedepo Muhammadu Gobir Ahmad Uthman Yusuf Zulu-Gambari Adamu Attah Kolawole Akande Kwara Coalition Of Business And Professional Associations Hydro-electric Power Producing Areas Development Commission Afonja Descendants Union Okanlawon Taiwo NIRSAL Oko-Erin Erin-ile Toun Okewale-Sonaiya VADA Muazam Nayaya Yakub Lai Gobir Aminat Omodara Ibrahim Kayode Adeyemi Abdulraheem Olesin Kehinde Baale Adama Isa Oniyangi Sidikat Alaya Oba-Solagberu Bolaji Nagode Kisra Yusuf Lawal Sadiq Buhari Twitter Ayekale Mahfouz Adedimeji Societe Generale Bank Of Nigeria Ajike People Support Centre Oko SSA Youth Engagement Rasaq Jimoh Sola Saraki Educational Foundation Kwara State Health Insurance Agency Jaiz Bank SSUCOEN Iliasu Orisa Bridge Lanre Olosunde Hamza Usman Nigerian Correctional Service Dele Belgore Oasis Muslim Care Foundation Jimoh Saadudeen Muhammed Sabi Habeeb Saidu ITP

