By Ganiu Bamgbose, PhD
In every human relationship, feuds are almost always inevitable. As philosophers have posited, for every thesis, there will always be antitheses, before arriving at a synthesis. In other words, postulations would always meet with refutations to arrive at a logical conclusion. This piece concerns itself with a needed clarification on the false claim in the heading of an essay written by Dr Daud Awwal titled “Teacher and Student at Odds: Ilorin Scholarly Feud Deepens Despite Elders’ Intervention”. While my article is not geared towards further deepening or complicating issues, it is pertinent to keep the record straight on the teacher-student relationship for posterity’s sake.
Sheikh Dr. Sulaiman Faruq Onikijipa, the present Grand Mufti of Ilorin Emirate, was indeed a student of Markaz Arabic Training Center, Agege, Lagos under the tutelage of Sheikh Adam Abdullah Al-Ilory. He was a student from the year 1983 to the year 1986, marking his senior secondary school education and earning him the Arabic training certificate which is termed “Sha’hada” in Arabic. This certificate was presented to him by his mentor, Sheikh Adam Abudullah Al-Ilory. Sheikh Sulaiman Onikijipa established affirmatively in one of his public lectures that he did not directly receive tutoring under the guide of the present Mudeer Markaz Agege, Sheikh Habeebullah Adam Al-Ilory, making the aforementioned headline worrisome and unacceptable.
Needing clarification is the use of the highly polysemous word, “Alfa”, among the Yoruba Islamic scholars in Nigeria. The word could be used to mean one’s direct academic tutor, one’s spiritual mentor, someone one honours for some intellectual or spiritual reasons; among several other meanings. One other common context of its use is in reference to one’s teacher’s child(ren), whether or not one was ever under their tutelage. This contextual usage is born out of honour and the Omoluabi ideology of Yoruba. Admittedly, along this line of honourary usage, Sheikh Sulaimon Onikijipa could have referred to Sheikh Habeebullah Adam Al-Ilory as his “Alfa” on some occasions. However, this context should not be mistaken as ever being under the tutorage of Sheikh Habeebullah Adam Al-Ilory during his stay as a student in Markaz Arabic Training Centre, Agege. The respect the Grand Mufti of Ilorin Emirate accords the present Mudeer Markaz Agege is tied to the Yoruba Omoluabi tradition and the woven Ilorin Emirate culture, and not the misrepresented headline that there was once or ever a “teacher and student” relationship between them.
It is worthy of mention that this article in its entirety does not address the merits or otherwise of the feud between these two renowned Islamic Scholars. It is published with the sole aim to handpick errors in their history and any distort that ensues therein, while offering a clarification. This is because a person’s history is the best guide to their present and a projection for their future. It is the most sacred assignment levied upon us all by posterity.
I conclude this piece by saying that as a Muslim and lover of Islamic scholars, it is my hope, wish and prayer that Almighty Allah intervenes in the discord so that peace, which is the core of Islam as a religion, will reign between the two great scholars and others who are connected to the ongoing rift. I pray for peace, harmony and togetherness among the scholars of Islam and all Muslims in Nigeria and everywhere in the world.
(c) 2026 Ganiu Bamgbose writes from Lagos.
