The Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Muhammad Sa’ad Abubakar, has announced an annual donation of half a million naira to the best graduating student from the Department of Islamic Studies, University of Ilorin.

Speaking at the opening of International Conference on the Life and Works of Sheikh Adam Al-Ilory, held at the University of Ilorin, the Sultan said the establishment of special prize in the name of Shaykh Al-Ilory, beginning from next convocation of the university, will go a long way to publicise the life and work of the late Ummah.

The royal father pointed out that if Muslims could emulate the legacy of this great and outstanding personality, some of the problems confronting Islam would be solved.

His Eminence stressed the need to put in place right institutional framework for the training of future Ulama in order to check errant ideas and behaviour that are bound to cause chaos.

“It is imperative for the Muslim Ummah to be able to apply his seminal ideas and teachings in addressing some of its pressing problems.

“The legacy of Shaykh Al-Ilory is undoubtedly a legacy worthy of emulation. We must consciously cultivate an active and dedicated class of scholars who would dedicate its life to the pursuit of knowledge and its dissemination.

“We must all realise that Islam is predicated on knowledge and Muslim societies are necessarily knowledge societies
“The neglect of learning in whatever form it presents itself must be resisted at all costs,” the Sultan added.

Abubakar urged Muslim Ummahs nation-wide to strive to establish a model society that thrived on knowledge and wisdom with a view to solving various problems confronting the nation.

The Sultan disclosed that he had embarked on active programme for the translation and production of Sokoto Caliphal Literature, authored by Shaykh Uthman Ibn Foduye and his assistants.

Earlier, the Vice Chancellor, Professor Is-haq Oloyede, in his address of welcome, said the international conference was put in place so that all could keep the memory of the great Islamic scholars, Al-Ilory, alive and to benefit from his vast intellectual legacies.

Oloyede noted that Al-Ilory, as an academic and quintessential scholar, left a worthy academic honesty as a legacy.

He explained that the centre for Ilorin studies was thus interested in the works of Ilorin scholars, the term that included scholars who are Ilorin indigenes anywhere in the world or who lived and worked in Ilorin in various disciplines.

Governor Abdulfatah Ahmed, who was represented by his Commissioner for Commerce, Alhaji Raji Mohammed, explained that the avalability of the lierature of the late Ummah would provide the younger generation with a comprehensive view of Islam.

He pointed out that his administration accord much priority to education and acquisition of skill that make young graduates employable and employers of labour themselves.