Rasak Musbau
The passage on Tuesday, 9th January 2024 of Baba Adinni of Lagos – (His Eminence, Sheikh Abdul Hafeez Ashamu Abou, OFR) at the respectable age of 101, was not just the departure of an individual from the earth. To many, it was like a part of the sky above the city of Lagos had collapsed.
The size and diversity of mourners who besieged the Lagos Central Mosque located at the busy Nnamdi Azikiwe Street where his Janazah (funeral prayer) was observed yesterday (10th of January 2024) from where thousands trekked to Abari cemetery at Tapa Street to catch the last glimpse of the prominent Islamic leader spoke volumes about this singular man who held no public office and yet figured meaningfully in the lives of thousands of his compatriots, the powerful and the lowly alike.
Sheikh Abou was a fine gentleman- simple, humble and disciplined. His generosity was legendary. His more enduring recognition came from the deep respect he enjoyed from the mighty and the lowly. This placed him in a position to influence individual lives and contribute to public policy.
Other men would have exploited such pre-eminence for material gains but not Sheikh Abou. He was untouched by the baser values, which have robbed many of our religious leaders of the dignity of their calling. He lived for the common good and placed his private and intellectual resources at the service of the community.
Though the physical demise was expected, the passing away of Sheikh Abou despite crossing a hundred, was a colossal loss.
He was a Hafiz (memoriser of the whole Holy Qur’an); he was healthy and had a very sound mind. The Baba Adinni was a role model and father figure to generations of younger men and women who drew inspiration from his dedication to service, commitment to the public good, and personal distinction in whatever task to which he devoted his time and energy.
He was one of the few men this nation has produced who are giants, men who stand tall and magnificent, above the pettiness, self-centeredness and bigotry of the elite in today’s Nigeria.
Shaykh Abuo was born in the Ita Akanni area of Lagos on 10th August 1922. He inherited a strong tradition of Islamic scholarship and leadership. His father, Late Imam Tijani Faramobi Abou was a grandson of a former Chief Imam of Lagos, the Late Muhammad Nolla. His mother, Nusirat Abou was the daughter of the Late Imam Muse of the Olowogbowo family in Lagos, as well as the first Iya Sunna of Surulere (New Lagos) Central Mosque.
Baba started his quest for knowledge at the Lagos Government School and later the Ansar-Ud-Deen Primary School, Alakoro. He attended the prestigious Al-Azhar University, Cairo between 1944 and 1958, where he obtained Al-Allamiyyah Certificate B.A in Arabic and Islamic Studies and a Licentiate in Islamic law from the faculty of Shari’ah in the Judiciary section of the University.
During his stay in Egypt, Sheikh Abou wined and dined with various international organisations and attended to different prominent leaders in the likes of King Farouq of Egypt, President Jamal Abdul Nasir of Egypt, Prime Minster of Pakistan Muhammed Alli, President Nkrumah of Ghana, Hurchv of the Soviet Union in different States representing the good people of Nigeria.
He had the honour of receiving and introducing visiting founding fathers Late Chief Obafemi Awolowo, Late Sir Sadauna of Sokoto, Late Ahmadu Bello, Late Alhaji Muhammed Ribadu – Former Minister Mines and Power and Late Emir of Kano Alhaji Sanusi to the government of Egypt at that time.
He also served as an Executive Member of the World Assembly of Muslim Youths from 1954 in Karachi Pakistan.
He served as a delegate to many International conferences, including the first World Afro-Asian Writers Conference in Teshkand (USSR) Pecking, in China in 1958 and the All African People’s Conference, in Accra Ghana in the same year. He also served as a delegate to the World Youth Festival in Moscow.
Back home in Nigeria in 1959, he took up a teaching appointment at Ansar-Ud-deen College Isolo, where he became a Housemaster, Vice Principal and Acting Principal until his retirement in 1972.
He joined the Ansar-Ud-Deen Society in 1960 and has since served in various capacities, especially as a member of its Mission Board.
At the National level, Sheikh Abou was a member of the Governing Council of Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University, Bauchi between 1990 and 1992.
He was a patron of the Muslim Students Society of Nigeria (MSSN) in the 1960s; a member of the Fatwa Committee of the Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs, the National Missioner of the Muslim Association of Nigeria; a member, of the National Committee on Shari’ah and member, Council of Ula’mas.
He was turbaned as Baba Adinni of Lagos on August 14, 2009, as a crowning glory of his years of service.
In action and words, in education, he groomed some of the best minds and captains of industries in our beloved country.
In religion or whatever, he was a role model that coming generations would use as an example.
Sheikh Abou served nobly. His contributions towards school establishment was exemplary.
The Ansar-Ud-Deen Society of Nigeria conferred an award of excellence on him after many years of service.
The Lagos Central Mosque is Sheikh Abou’s special love. He valued the noble traditions he met. He, as a chairman, had dedicated himself to embracing its prominence and centrality amongst Mosques in Lagos.
His name lent credibility to the unity cause in the formative period of the Muslim Ummah of South West Nigeria (MUSWEN).
He was knowledgeable and of correct intellectual disposition. Youth associations, scholars, Islamic, Arabic or Western, drank from his cool font of wisdom and knowledge. No wonder, everyone was interested in catching the last glimpse and be involved in the funeral yesterday.
In his youthful days, Sheikh Abou was involved in athletics, football and bodybuilding, little wonder that at 101 before he died, he still lived an active life as a religious leader.
Sheikh Abou was an embodiment of peace, clean of scandals and ill-reports. He was a man of integrity and honour; honest, humble, modest and unassuming. He was very patient and disciplined with a lot of self-restraint.
He was ever content with the provisions of his Lord and ever grateful to Him. He lived a very simple and decent life. He was a polished gentleman with rich international experience and contacts.
The moral and religious qualities and quest for knowledge are lessons to learn from Sheikh Abdul Hafeez Abou.
Indeed, it was almost as if Sheikh Hafeez Abou regarded life itself as a mission to render obligations to his fellow men. The whole life of the centenarian is an open book full of lessons for both the young and old. He made the world a better and happier place for all who were fortunate to encounter him, and he did so with grace and grace humility.
Baba Abou will be thoroughly missed. Posterity, no doubt, will most surely be kinder to him and his legacy.
May Allah give his family and the entire Muslim ummah in Lagos and beyond the rare strength and fortitude to bear the great loss.
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