Rear Admiral Suleiman Sa’idu (Rtd), former Chief of Naval Staff, has called for the promotion of girl-child education to secure a sound and productive society.
He made the appeal at a ceremony tagged: “Late Ma’aji Is’haq’s Award of Excellence Presentation” held at Alhudahuda College, Zaria, Kaduna State.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the ceremony, organised by the descendants of late Ma’aji Is’haq to honour some meritorious sons and daughters of the clan who distinguished themselves in different fields of life.
Sa’idu, who was represented by Dr Shehu Na-Allah Sa’idu, said the call became imperative in view of the importance of education to women.
He said: “When you educate a man you only succeeded in educating a person but when you educate a woman you actually educate a nation.
“We are therefore calling on people to ensure that the women folk get the necessary education of both Islamic and Western, this will give them a brighter opportunity to take care of their children.
“Remember, a woman is the first teacher of her child, she nurses, mentors and educates while the male parent is elsewhere fetching for the family, therefore, the more educated she is the better for the child and the society at large.”
While describing the occasion as extremely memorable, Sa’idu advised the younger ones to exhibit the fear of God Almighty in whatever they do in order to succeed in life.
He charged them not to embark on anything unless in accordance with the teachings of Islam, adding that they should respect their elders and have mercy on younger ones.
The Ward Head of Kakaki, Alhaji Yakubu Hamza-Is’haq, stressed the importance of respect among members of the clan, assuring that for young ones to command a degree of respect in future they must respect their elders.
He identified moral decadence as one of the major banes of societal decay, advising that children must learn to live by the commands of their elders and parents.
Dr Dalhatu Tanimu-Hamza, the Chairman, Local Organising Committee, advised parents to allow the womenfolk to attend the pinnacle in pursuit of education.
He described as a challenge upon the present generation of Ma’aji Is’haq clan to build on the works of the late Sheikh who wrote commentaries on “Qawa’idi and Khurdabi”, two fundamental guiding Islamic books.
“This is a great challenge before us, our parents were not opportune to build on what our grandfather did, these books are still available in his upstairs, In shaa Alłah we are going to build on what he has done.
“From what we learnt outside, our grandfather spent 27 years without sleeping but imparting knowledge, educating people, writing books for the use of the society, that’s what gave him pleasure and joy,” Tanimu-Hamza said.
In his short scholarly advice, Malam Auwal Abdullahi-Ridwan said seeking Allah’s intervention in life remained a critical path to attaining success.
He urged those in a position of authority to exhibit the fear of Allah in discharging the legitimate responsibilities vested in them, advising that they should bear in mind that they would one day give an account of how they lead those under them.
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“Whoever is given a position should first of all fear Allah, treat people justly, kindly and accordingly, he or she must bear in mind that he/she will stand before Allah to give stewardship of his tenure,” he said.
According to him, leadership is not only restricted to highly placed individuals, saying that everyone is a leader in his own capacity starting from family leadership.
Responding on behalf of other awardees, Dr Halima Sidi-Bamalli, appreciated the entire Is’haq clan for finding them worthy of the award and prayed for more fruitful relationship among the family members.
NAN also reports that six people were honoured at the occasion, including; Amina Sulaiman Abdullahi, A’isha Isma’il Is’haq, Dr Halima Sidi Bamalli, Safiya Bashir Is’haq, Abdullahi Ja’afaru Is’haq, Khadija Liman Hamza and Bello Abubakar Usman.