By Abdulwarees Solanke
Sa’eed Ahmad Rufai is a doctorate degree holder in education from Universiti Islam Antarabagsa (international Islamic Universiti) Malaysia. His primary background is Arabic Language with compelling authority from his youthful days which earned him distinctions anywhere he found himself as a student or school.
Saeed, an alumnus of the University of Lagos like me is an academic itinerant whose luminous star shone brilliantly at every stop in his impressive career life which has taken him to many countries of the world, the latest being in Jeddah Saudi Arabia as a consultant to the Islamic Development Bank.
Our intellectual engagements usually see us interrogating the maladies of our world and challenging the Muslim intelligentsia to demonstrate leadership in reversing the misfortunes of the societies in which they live.
We are usually on the same page on the cultural disorientation affliction our youth and the ravaging corruption crippling the economies of our world.
When he got the IDB job, I congratulated him but I also set an agenda for him to bring honour home, facilitating development that would inspire more people to take to education, especially Arabic education, which many consider unrewarding as a calling.
Recently, I received from him a beautiful message confirming that he is not departing from my charge.
In concluding his inspiring message, he explained: “The purpose of disclosing this to you is to request you to say “Alhamdu lillah” on my behalf. May Allah reward you as you kindly do so. Jazaakumullahu khayrah. “
To me, it is a message of inspiration, of faith and trust in Allah. It resonates with the value of pursuit of excellence at all times and of belief in diligence as the cornerstone of success.
It was late Chief Bola Ige who I came close to at a musical performance at Alliance Francaise sometime in 2001 while I was a news editor at National Guide that sharpened my understanding of diligence.
On that cold night at Ikoyi while praising the musical dexterity of the beautiful Nubia, Segun Akinlola, he said, the difference between something that is good and something that is excellent is attention to details.
He supported his assertion with a biblical reference that if a man is diligent at his work, he shall sit and dine on same table with kings and princes in their palaces of opulence.
The news from Dr. Rufai in Jeddah celebrating Nigeria and confirming us as a nation blessed with talents goes thus:
Salam alaykum, It gladdens me to inform you that I participated in an international Arabic poetry competition hosted today as part of the World Arabic Language Day celebration at the headquarters of the Islamic Development Bank, Jeddah.
The United Nations set December 18 aside for the celebration of the World Arabic Language Day. Please watch the full video recording of the Jeddah event through the link below.
The Bank Management constituted for the purpose of the competition a committee of experts headed by Prof. Ahmad Masluh, an expert in Arabic Language and Prosody. Submissions were received and considerable ones were selected for preliminary where another round of selection was made for further presentation which again culminated in a further selection subsequently scheduled for presentation at the quarter final and the semi final.
Seven submissions made it to the final which was held as a segment of the World Arabic Language Day event in Jeddah today.
The seven finalists were one Saudi, one Yemeni, one Egyptian, two Sudanese, one Mauritanian and myself, a Nigerian.
Alhamdulillah that I won the First Prize which was presented to me by the President of the Islamic Development Bank, Dr. Bandar Hajjar, as captured in the video and the photographs below.
Mauritania came second and Sudan, third.
The purpose of disclosing this to you is to request you to say “Alhamdu lillah” on my behalf. May Allah reward you as you kindly do so. Jazaakumullahu khayrah.
As I join my colleagues in The Society of MODELS to congratulate a distinguished and passionate scholar, I am forced to reflect a little on the quality Nigeria parades where knowledge is being celebrated.
The question I ask is what is it that subjects Nigerians to underperformance on our rich soil and excellent clime and he becomes a superstar outside?
We can go on excursion in search of solution. Before then, let’s relish Dr. Rufai’s resounding achievement which I want to place near Prof. Wole Soyinka Nobel prize for literature. Soyinka was crowned for mastery of literature written in English. Dr Rufai’s is in Arabic.
On his behalf as he requested of me, I say Alhamdulillah robbil aalameen