Sanusi hails Ilorin new Chief Imam’s appointment
….. pledges documentation of ascension
By Abubakar Imam
The Director of the Centre for Ilorin Studies (CILS), University of Ilorin, Prof. Issa Olanrongbe Sanusi, has said that the tranquility that heralded and accompanied the appointment and assumption of office of the new Chief Imam of Ilorin, Shaykh Muhammad Bashir Dasuki, represents one of the critical cultural heritages of the people of Ilorin Emirate that the Centre was created to study, document and transmit to the younger and future generations as well as the outside world.
Prof. Sanusi stated this penultimate Friday (June 19, 2026) while speaking with UNILORIN Bulletin in his office on the development.
The don described the Islamic religious institution, particularly the Office of the Chief Imam of Ilorin, as one of the most respected institutions of the people of the Ilorin Emirate, which needs to be studied, saying that the appointment of the holder of the position in Ilorin is quite different from how such is done in other places.
Prof. Sanusi added that the historical hierarchy of Imamship in Ilorin Emirate constitutes an important object of study in the Humanities, particularly at the Islamic Studies Unit of the Department of Religions, University of Ilorin.
The don said that the significance of the Office of the Chief Imam of Ìlorin in the ‘Ìlorin Emirate Council administrative hierarchy’ was empirically depicted in a recent research work carried out by the CILS and that the output of the research was officially approved and presented to the Emir of Ilorin, Alhaji (Dr) Ibrahim Sulu-Gambari, CFR, on January 30, 2025, by the Vice Chancellor of the University of Ilorin, Prof. Wahab Olasupọ Egbewole, SAN, in his palace.
The Director explained that the Centre has taken note of the development and would secure both the written and audio-visual records of the events and the forthcoming formal turbanning for the new Chief Imam for preservation and consultation by researchers.
While congratulating the Emir of Ilorin, Alhaji(Dr) Ibrahim Sulu-Gambari, CFR, on the peaceful emergence of the new Chief Imam, the Director also congratulated Shaykh Dasuki on his appointment as the 13th holder of the position.
Prof. Sanusi also thanked the leadership of the University of Ilorin Muslim Community for paying the new Chief Imam a congratulatory visit within a few days of his appointment. He said that the visit would promote the existing good relationship between the University and its host community.
The Director, who teaches at the Department of Linguistics and Nigerian Languages, wished the new Chief Imam long life and sound health to enable him discharge his responsibilities to the fullest.
