WINNERS have emerged in the 17th edition of the biennial Lagos Qur’an Competition, popularly known as ReciteLagos, organized by the Muslim Students’ Society of Nigeria, Lagos State Area Unit.

The competition was held on Sunday in honour of the pioneer president of MSSN and the former Secretary-General of the Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs, the late Dr AbdulLateef Adegbite.

During the event, which has the Sultan of Sokoto as the Spiritual Father of the occasion, 17 reciters emerged champions in various categories. Winners of the 20 Juz category are AbdulQuadri Atukale (Somolu Area Council) who emerged first; Umar Muhammad (Ikorodu), second; Bilal Abdurasheed (Iba), third.

In the 20 Juz category (individual) for females, Abidah Tajudeen, emerged first while
Mu’minah Bello came second. Abdussalaam Aliyy from Ifajo Ijaiye won the first position in the 10 Juz category while Muhammad Taiwo from Alimosho came second and Somolu’s representative, Uwaymir Sherifdeen, emerged third.

On her part, Rahmah Ismail from Bariga took the first position, followed by Lagos Mainland’s Hafsah Bello and Rumayzah Adegbindin from Alimosho, third.

12-year-old Bashir Tukur from Ifelodun put up a sterling performance to come first in the keenly contested Juz three category. He defeated Haroon Abubakar from Otto Awori and Yusuf Saeed from Apapa who emerged second and third respectively.

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In the female category of Juz three, impressive Asmau Bello from Lagos Mainland took the first position while 2nd Hawau Isa, Agboyi Ketu, came second and IrodatuLlah Abideen, Iba, clinched third.

Amir (president), Miftahudeen Thanni, said the theme of the competition, ‘Qur’an, the
making of a great nation’, was chosen to emphasize that Nigeria’s challenges are surmountable.

“Islam is a complete religion that has solutions for all problems. Obviously, there is a
need for divine intervention in the affairs of the country,” he added.

Chairman of the occasion, Mr Tunde Folawiyo, commended the youths for memorizing Qur’an.

Delivering a lecture at the competition, a former member of the House of Representatives, Usman Bugaje, warned against the division of Nigeria.

He explained that the people are calling for decentralization because of perceived discrimination and poor sharing of resources.

These challenges, the lawmaker said, could be addressed by following the
dictates of Islam.

He said, “Islam expects us to deal fairly with every human being. It is our character that gives us an edge, let us keep to the ethics of Islam. In Islam, you discriminate, look down on people.

“Even if there are people who want to leave Nigeria, the Muslims have no reason to separate. We have more reasons to move closer.

“There are a lot of things that are wrong in Nigeria – environmental issues and distribution of wealth. The idea of separation should not be for the Muslims. It is by coming together that we can be able to deliver on our mandate.

“Even if there are problems, we should be able to settle our differences and move on.”
Children of the honoree, Remi Folawiyo and Ladi Adegbite, commended the standard
of the competition.

“I have no doubt that my father will be happy that this kind of programme has continued in his absence. I am pleased that we can come together to hold this,” Remi Folawiyo added.

Ladi Adegbite said, “Everybody is a winner. This shows that it is not only those with Arabic as their mother tongue can recite the Qur’an very well.

I commend the MSSN Lagos chapter for a fantastic job.”

Vanguard News Nigeria