Campus News

VC leads Muslim officials to celebrate Christmas with Christian staff…..hails Unilorin’s interfaith harmony

As Nigerians joined the rest of the world in celebrating Christmas, the Vice-Chancellor of the University of Ilorin, Prof. Wahab Olasupo Egbewole, SAN, last Wednesday (December 25, 2024), led a delegation of Muslim Principal Officers, Deans, and Directors to pay homage to Christian members of the University community.

The delegation visited notable staff members of the institution, including the Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research, Technology, and Innovation), Prof. Adegboyega Adisa Fawole; Council Member, Prof. Foluwasayo Ologe; the Dean of Life Sciences, Prof. Rotimi Arise; the Dean of Agriculture, Prof. Oluyemisi Fawole; the Director of Renewable Energy Centre, Prof. Peter Oladipo Adeoye; and the Director of the General Studies Unit, Prof. Rotimi Omotoye.

Speaking with UNILORIN Bulletin, Prof. Egbewole explained the significance of the visit, describing it as an effort to strengthen the bonds within the University community saying that it also demonstrates the institution’s commitment to unity in diversity.

The Vice Chancellor used the annual visit to call on Nigerians to emulate the mutual understanding and harmony between Christian and Muslim groups at the University in order to promote national unity and development.

“Whatever religion we profess is a personal relationship between us and our Creator. It should not affect our relationships with fellow human beings”, the Vice Chancellor said, adding that “the nation has a lot to learn from the unity within the University of Ilorin. Religion is a matter of the heart, and today’s visit has not diminished our faith nor that of our hosts. Instead, it has fostered love within the larger family and community of the University.”

While welcoming the Vice Chancellor and his entourage to his house, the Deputy Vice Chancellor (Research, Technology and Innovation), Prof. Adegboyega Adisa Fawole, said he felt highly honoured by the open expression of brotherly love, and his family was very delighted to host the Muslim colleagues.

Prof. Fawole said though the visitation sounds routine and official by the Unilorin Community to the houses of Christians by our Muslim brothers and sisters at Christmas, he and his wife appreciate the deep love and affection that go with it.

While praying for the Administration of Prof. Egbewole to continue to record achievements and successes in leaps and bounds, the Deputy Vice Chancellor “thanked each and every one in the entourage, especially our principal officers, and other distinguished men and women that accompanied the Vice Chancellor on the visit.”

He said, “Particularly, we want to thank more, our mothers; the wife of the Vice Chancellor – Mrs Egbewole, and the wife of the Deputy Vice Chancellor Management Services, Mrs Ambali, who supported us for many hours to receive you into our home. We thank you very much for leading the University Community to visit us in our house. We must say that this visitation has further shown your kind of person, worthy of emulation, and it has moved you on to the highest esteem in our hearts.”

Commenting on the lessons Nigerians can learn from the peaceful coexistence that exists in the University of Ilorin, the Deputy Vice Chancellor said, “The lesson Nigerian communities can learn from this gesture is that we are one. The University has always worked together as one, and we thank our leader, the Vice-Chancellor, who has made it easy for us by not emphasising the differences in our faiths”.

On her part, the Dean of the Faculty of Agriculture, Prof. Oluyemisi Bolajoko Fawole, said that Nigeria should learn tolerance and unity from the University of Ilorin.

The Dean, who welcomed the team to her residence along with her husband, said, “The country should understand that we must be tolerant of one another because we are brothers and sisters. There is no home, particularly in the South West, where you won’t find Muslim and Christian brothers and sisters within the same family. This is something that should exist across the country. We should coexist in love”.

Speaking further, she said, “We are so glad to have the Muslim officials of the University celebrate with us during this Christmas festivity. It just shows the love that binds us together in the University. For them to leave their homes to come and celebrate with us, it shows love, and we are appreciative of that. We are glad to have people around us at this time of the season”.

“We should continue in this spirit. When it is on Christmas time, they celebrate with us, and when it is Ileya time, we celebrate with them. We belong to the same community, and it is the love of God that binds us together. My prayer is that the blessings of this season will abide in our homes,” she added.

On his part, the Director of Renewable Energy Centre, Prof. Peter Oladipo Adeoye, expressed gratitude to the Vice-Chancellor and his team for the visit, describing it as an honour during the festive season.

Prof. Adeoye, who is a former Director of the Technical and Entrepreneurship Centre (TEC), said, “It’s really impressive that the Vice-Chancellor took time to celebrate with us during this special season. It is a joyous moment, and I’m glad the University leadership joined us today. We must work collectively to achieve the shared vision of the University.”

Speaking in a similar vein, a Council Member, Prof. Foluwasayo Ologe, described   the visit as a testament to the existing harmony between different faiths at the University. The Otorhinolaryngologist said, “This demonstrates that Muslim members of our University are happy to collaborate with colleagues of different religions. This is the kind of unity the country needs.”

Similarly, the Director of the General Studies Unit, Prof. Rotimi Williams Omotoye, expressed his appreciation, saying that the gesture of the Muslim community signifies love and unity within the University.

Prof. Omotoye, whose academic focus is on Christian Studies, Church History, and Ecumenical Studies,  observed that “Muslims visiting Christians during Christmas, and Christians visiting Muslims during their celebrations, is a tradition worth upholding. I pray for continued progress for our University. This brotherhood is commendable.”

On his part, the Dean of the Faculty of Life Sciences, Prof. Rotimi Arise, described the visit as a good gesture that fosters peace and unity in the University. “This visit is a demonstration of love, and we must all embrace and sustain it. I feel elated and have a sense of belonging that the Vice-Chancellor and his team found time to celebrate Christmas with us. It is truly a thing of joy,” he added.

Meanwhile, a Council member who was part of the Vice Chancellor’s entourage, Prof. Rasheed Adeoye, called for sustaining the spirit of unity and the rejection of religious intolerance in the University. He said, “This gesture affirms the essence of one God, one culture, and one world. Fanaticism and bigotry must be avoided, as they breed divisiveness”.

“We should sustain this tradition of mutual celebration. Muslims visiting Christians during Christmas and Christians reciprocating during Eid-l-Kabir. The warm interaction across all places we visited today exemplifies true unity,” he concluded.

Other members of the Vice Chancellor’s delegation were the Deputy Vice Chancellor (Management Services), Prof. Suleiman Folorunsho Ambali; the Registrar of the University, Mr Mansur Adeleke Alfanla; the Bursar, Mr Abiodun Lawal; the University Librarian, Dr Kamaldeen Tunde Omopupa; and the Director of Corporate Affairs, Mr Kunle Akogun.

Others were the Director of TEC, Prof. Usman Raheem; the Director of LABTOP; Prof. Muhammed Jimoh Saka; the Director of Ilorin Business School, Prof. Ismaila Bolarinwa Kadiri; the Dean of Environmental Sciences, Prof. G. Amuda-Yusuf; the Director of Physical Planning Unit, Q. S. Toyin Jimoh; the Director of UNILORIN Health Services, Dr Rasheed Odunola; the Director of Centre for International Education, Prof. Ibraheem Onireti; the Deputy Registrar, Office of the Vice Chancellor, Mrs Azeezat Q. Ibrahim;  Assistant Director in the Directorate of Corporate Affairs and Protocol Officer of the University, Mr Segun Alabi, Personal Assistant to the Vice Chancellor, Mr Mubarak Akintola; and the Senior Assistant Registrar, Office of the Vice Chancellor, Mr Bashir Hamid.