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AuthubiLah minna Shayton Rajiim, BismiLlahi Rahmani Raheem. I wish to start this address in the name of Allah, the creator of the universe and the Lord of the day of judgement.
I pray ALLAH to continue to shower HIS blessings on our noble prophet Mohammed (S.A.W.), his household, his companions and those who follow his righteous footsteps till the day of judgement. I also pray Allah to count us among those that would follow the sunnah and follow RosuluLlah to enter Al-Jannat on the day of reckoning. Aamiin Thumma Aamiin.
It is with utmost gratitude to Allah (SWT) and high sense of humility that I stand before you as the President of our unique Union, to welcome you all to this all important occasion which comes up once in a year at this particular time of the year. I recognize and appreciate the fact that it is a rare blessing from Allah, not only for me but also for all of us to be present at this particular occasion, knowing fully that some people that were here with us last year are no longer alive today. AlhamduliLlah for His mercy that has kept us alive.
Among our loved ones that were lost during the year are:
May Allah continue to repose their souls with His blessings (Aamiin).
Your Excellency, Mai Girma, the Executive Governor of Kwara State and Sardauna of Ilorin, I want to thank you once more for maintaining an unbroken and unprecedented attendance of the opening ceremony of our annual event. The fact that Your Excellency has not missed any edition of the event since 2019, when you assumed office as the Executive Governor of our dear State, goes to emphasize your patriotism and deep love for our community. On behalf of the entire people of the Emirate, I also wish to express our sincere gratitude to Your Excellency for your numerous supportive interventions over the years. May Allah continue to guide and protect your Excellency in your private and public endeavours. Aamiin.
Our Royal Highness and Father, Mai Martaba, Sarkin Musulumi, I wish to express our deep appreciation for your constant royal counsels, prayers and fatherly supports to the Union as well as your unwavering commitment to the unity and prosperity of Ilorin Emirate and her people both at home and in diaspora. Your Royal Highness, I want to use this opportunity, on behalf of IEDPU and, indeed, the entire people of Ilorin at home and abroad, to, once again, felicitate with you on your recent 30th anniversary on the throne of your forbearers. Your reign, no doubt, has witnessed an unprecedented progress and development not only within Ilorin Emirate communities but also among her indigenes and residents alike. May Allah continue to grant Your Highness long and prosperous reign in sound health. Aamiin.
Let me quickly further appreciate and thank Your Excellency, Mai Girma, Mall. AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq, the Executive Governor of Kwara State, Your Royal Highness, our Father, the Emir of Ilorin. Honestly, we cannot thank both of you enough. We therefore, pray Allah to do so for us. Similarly, we thank Amb. Yahaya Seriki, Chief Launcher at this event last year, Distinguished Senator Saliu Mustapha, Hon. Mukhtar Tolani Shagaya and other Community Leaders as well as other Stakeholders for the constant support and patronages which our union has been receiving from you, particularly, the spectacular financial support which we received last year.
Skills Acquisition Hub (Ibrahim Sulu-Gambari Complex): I am happy to inform this gathering that, His Excellency, the Governor of Kwara State, true to his promise, has assisted the Union to complete the physical structure of our Skills Acquisition Hub, which has been named Ibrahim Sulu-Gambari Complex, in honour of our Royal Father, His Highness, the Emir of Ilorin. What is now left is for it to be properly and appropriately equipped to make it operational and functional as a Skills Acquisition Center. The primary trades for which our youths will be trained at the center include Computer Application, Tie and Dye, Fashion Designing (Tailoring), Aluminum Fittings, Tiles laying, POP installation, Catering, Carpentry, Bricklaying, Plumbing, Electrical installations, Solar Fittings, Photography and Printing. For us to embark on training of our youths in the aforementioned trades and more, we would require a lot of money to purchase the equipment needed for the training. This is why, we are looking forward to your further financial support. Once, we are able to train our youths in all of these trades and many more, they will not be going abegging for white collar jobs again and those who will go after white collar jobs will become easily marketable/employable, because of their additional skills and certifications.
Union’s Mosque: Similarly, I am equally excited and highly delighted to inform this distinguished audience, too, that the Union’s Mosque which is under construction has reached appreciable level of completion. What remains majorly include, the interior and exterior finishing works as well as toilets, ablution center and dressing rooms for the deceased.
The two projects are very conspicuous for all of us to see as we gather here today. AlhamduliLlah. It is my sincere prayer and hope that this gathering will, as usual, support us today with massive as well as colossal donations that will ensure total completion of both projects to make them functional. May Allah continue to replenish your pockets and reward you accordingly here on earth and the hereafter. Aamiin.
On behalf of the people of Ilorin Emirate in particular, I wish to commend Governor AbdulRahman’s developmental strides in Ilorin Emirate, particularly, in the fields of education, health and infrastructural, as well as sports developments. At this juncture, I wish to recollect that last year, this Union suggested to the state government to consider restructuring of our public primary and post-primary schools into storey buildings because of paucity of land, particularly within Ilorin metropolis. We are very glad and appreciative that the state government considered the suggestion positively, leading to the restructuring of Adeta Primary School into a beautiful storey building. Like Oliver Twist, we are asking for more of such in Ilorin metropolis where land is increasingly becoming a scarce commodity.
We also appealed last year for certain infrastructural development such as Public Schools, Public Health Institutions, Markets, Police Presence, Recreation Centres and Roads to cover certain new communities that are emerging around Ilorin, the state capital. We strongly believe that this appeal is receiving attention.
We wish to additionally appeal for:
If these are done, they will improve economic activities along those corridors. It is our sincere belief that your proposed smart city will capture many more roads and other infrastructural facilities towards making all Kwarans very proud.
The Union is deeply concerned about the resurgence of banditry, kidnapping and spate of other forms of criminalities in the country. The Union particularly laments the recent insecurity challenges in the state and sympathizes with the affected communities. The Union happily, commends measures being put in place and those taken so far by both the federal and the state governments to confront crime challenges and criminalities generally. The swiftness with which the state government acted to safely recue the thirty-eight people kidnapped in Eruku recently, is highly commendable. Well done, Your Excellency. We wish you many more dramatic successes. Aamiin.
While we commend, very strongly, the state government’s constant support to the security agencies with provision of logistics and other wherewithal, we wish to suggest, additionally, provision of advanced technological gadgets to aid the agencies in combating increasing crimes and criminalities in our society.
On our own part as IEDPU, and to assist the government, we have put in place Emirate Advisory Security Council under the Chairmanship of a distinguished retired Assistant Inspector-General of Police, Alhaji Baba Adisa Bolanta, fwc. The Council, which comprises top-ranking retired senior Millitary, Police, DSS and Paramilitary Officers of Ilorin Emirate origin, is charged with the responsibilities of working with security agencies and other stakeholders as proactive measure to ensure that the peace of our community is not violated. We are happy to note that the state government has replicated the initiative by establishing a similar Security Committee/Council at the state level.
As part of the Union’s clamour for improved education for indigenes and residents of Ilorin Emirate, we are fervently praying the Federal Government to establish an Air Force Secondary School in Ilorin to complement the existing primary school as the Nigeria Police Force has done by establishing a Nigerian Police Secondary School at Ballah. If this prayer is answered, it will prepare our youths for future career in the Air Force. We urge our representatives at the National Assembly to pursue this matter vigorously. Meanwhile, we commend the State Government and our brother, Air Vice Marshal Lanre I. Olowatoyin, the 7th Chief of Defence Space Administration (CDSA) who retired recently for their efforts in this regard.
At this juncture, we want to thank the state government for the efforts made so far on the relocation of Police Training School in Kwara State to a better and spacious place in the Emirate. Our particular gratitude goes to our Royal Highness and Father, Mai Martaba, Sarkin Musulumi, the Emir of Ilorin, Dr. Ibrahim Sulu-Gambari (CFR), for graciously providing an alternative and adequate land space for the institution.
Your Excellency, the Executive Governor of Kwara State, while we appreciate your tireless developmental efforts, we would like to draw your attention to the Children hospital project at Ita-Nmo, Ilorin, which has been abandoned by the Federal Government. We appeal to your government to either undertake the completion of the project or press necessary buttons for it to be reactivated and completed by the Federal Government for the overall benefits of all residents of the state capital.
At this point, Your Excellency and distinguished guests, as we commend the State Governor, we like to commend our law makers at the National Assembly, too, for their various economic, educational and developmental interventions. We, therefore, appeal to them and the State Government to continue to work closely together and harmoniously, first, among themselves and similarly with the state government to ensure smooth execution and completion of their constituency projects before the pertinent Budget year runs out. Such projects include the proposed Overhead Bridge at Oko-Olowo, Federal College of Education, Afon, Federal Medical Center, Fufu, Federal College of Education, Oke-Oyi as well as others.
As we draw near 2027 electioneering, we recall very sadly the dark times of “Saalaake” and “Gboosaa” during which times, our people were severely traumatized. We, therefore, wish to appeal very strongly to all our brothers and sisters, who are political leaders and activists, to activate their religious conscience and continue to play brotherly politics with dignity, honor, maturity and high sense of responsibility, devoid of rancor, acrimony and character assassination to ensure our community is peaceful before, during and after the 2027 elections and thereby maximize the dividends of democracy for our people. After all, it is only Allah that gives and takes. Whatever is destined by Allah will certainly be.
Once again, distinguished guests, each time I think of Ilorin Emirate, I rejoice that we are a lucky community, because Allah has been so kind to us. For example, apart from the position of President, indigenes of Ilorin Emirate have been blessed to occupy virtually all highly placed positions in government, both at the federal level and in the state. Hence, indigenes of Ilorin have been Chief of Staff, Supreme Headquarters (which was equivalent to Vice-President), State Governors, Regional Ministers, Federal Super Permanent Secretaries, Chief Justice of the Federation, President Court of Appeal, Chief Judge of Federal High Court, Chief of Staff to two Presidents, Chief of Defence Staff, Senate President, Ministers, Commandant-General of Fire Service and so on. And presently incumbent Governor in the state!!!.
Before concluding this speech, I wish to invite you all to reflect on these verses from Suratul An-Nahl, Qur’an 16:
“If ye would count up the favours of Allah, never would ye be able to number them: for Allah is oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful.” (Verse 18).
“Allah sets forth a Parable: a city enjoying security and quiet, abundantly supplied with sustenance from every place: Yet was it ungrateful for the favour of Allah: so Allah made it taste of hunger and terror (in extremes) (closing in on it) like a garment (from every side), because of the (evil) which (its people) wrought." (Verse 112).
May Allah continue to be pleased with us and our community at large. Aamiin.
As-salamu Alaykum WarahamatuLlahi WabarakatuHu. Thank you so much for your patience. Ma’a Salam.
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