The faceoff between Minister of Communications, Chief Abdurraheem Adebayo Shittu and Alhaji Tajudeen Imam, his former aide, may have been resolved. This follows a high powered reconciliatory meeting convened by the Muslim Ummah of South West of Nigeria, MUSWEN, held at Islamic Mission for Africa (IMA) Centre, Abeokuta, Ogun, last Sunday. The President of IMA and former Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Prince Bola Ajibola (SAN), presided over the reconciliatory parley.
Recall that the Minister had been at loggerheads with his erstwhile aide, Imam, over the issue of unpaid salaries. Furthermore,the minister and his supporters were in a media war with those who were sympathetic with Alhaji Imam too. The issue which started like a storm in a tea cup snowballed into a full blown media war, leaving many Muslims wondering if they were Muslims. Both of them are prominent Muslims.
Islam preaches dialogue as the just and sure way of resolving conflicts. Yes and the noble Quran is also a book of dialogue. We have evidences of Allah’s dialogue with His angels, prophets, pious men and women and even with non-believers. MUSWEN in preventing an escalation of the conflict and establishing a durable and self-sustaining peace, called the feuding parties to a table. Alhamdullilah, it was successful.
After the meeting, which lasted several hours, MUSWEN, in a communique signed by its Executive Secretary, Prof. Dawud O.S. Noibi and made available to Vanguard , stated that the dispute had been amicably resolved with both parties embracing each other with peace and love.
According to the statement: “In the last few weeks, the media, both conventional and social, were awash with stories that point to a crisis of confidence between the Honourable Minister of Communications, Barrister Abdur-Raheem Adebayo Shittu and some of his aides. The indecent way the misunderstanding was handled in the public space became a source of concern to patriotic Nigerians, Muslims and non-Muslims alike.As part of its religious, social and civic obligations, the Muslim Ummah of South West Nigeria (MUSWEN) which is the umbrella body of all Muslims in South West Nigeria, the Minister’s home base, took practical steps to ensure that the cause of disagreement was adequately and amicably addressed.
“MUSWEN was all the more worried seeing that most of the dramatis personae in the faceoff are Muslims.MUSWEN’s intervention in the crisis culminated in a peace meeting which was held at the IMA Centre, Abeokuta on Sunday, 29th March, 2018. The meeting involved the Honourable Minister, Barrister Abdur-Raheem Adebayo Shittu, one of his recently disengaged aides, Shaykh Tajudeen Oyebanji Imam, who represented the aggrieved aides, and top leaders of the Muslim community in the region.
“MUSWEN’s 10-member mediation team which was led by the Chairman of the Board of Trustees, His Excellency, Prince Bola ‘Abdul Jabbaar Ajibola, SAN, KBE, CFR and the Executive Secretary/CEO, Professor Dawud Noibi, OBE, included Alhaja Sekinah Adekola, Iya Addini of Yorubaland and member of the Board of Trustees; Alhaji Sulaiman Ogunlayi, Deputy Chairman of the Elders’ Forum; Prof Tajudeen Gbadamosi, President of the Muslim Community of Lagos State; Alhaji Yakubu Sanni, President of the Ekiti State Council for Islamic Affairs; Alhaji Femi Abbas, member of the Elders’ Forum; Alhaji Abdulfattah Adedokun who represented the Chairman of the Muslim Community of Oyo State; Imam Abdurrazaq Abdussalaam who represented the Chief Imam of Ibadanland; and Alhaji Mustapha Bayo Oyero, Chairman, Ibadan Muslim Community and member of the Elders’ Forum who represented Muslim elders in Oyo State.
“Guided by Allah’s directive in Qur’an 49:9 & 10 and in accordance with the principle of fair hearing, the panel allowed both parties to present their cases and clarify issues. Both parties being Muslims were reminded of the need to uphold Islamic values both in word and in the hereafter.With regard to the relationship between Barrister Abdur-Raheem Adebayo Shittu and Shaykh Tajudeen Oyebanji Imam, the meeting established the following:
That both of them have had close relationship as brothers in Islam for almost two decades; 2. That they never had any friction between them until after Shaykh Tajudeen became an aide to Barrister Shittu; 3. That the supporters of both parties escalated the avoidable social media war; 4. That, unfortunately, in the course of the social media war, wrong allegations were made and a lot of issues that were not connected to the cause of disagreement were thrown into the public space; and 5. That both men regretted the level that the issue degenerated to as witnessed recently; 6. That both parties expressed their readiness to put the misunderstanding behind them.”
However, at the end of the reconciliatory meeting, it was agreed by both parties that the misunderstanding between Barrister Abdur-Raheem Adebayo Shittu, the Honourable Minister of Communications, and Shaykh Tajudeen Oyebanji Imam, the erstwhile Special Assistant (Special Duties) to the Minister is now adequately and amicably settled.Again, both parties regretted the escalation of the feud and agreed to put everything behind them including all the media war. In fact, it was revealed that both parties agreed to do all that they could to resume their relationship as brothers in Islam.They both agreed to properly brief their respective supporters on the outcome of the mediation and the need for peace to reign between them and among our people and against this background, and in the interest of peace, the elders appealed to other former aides of the Minister to act in similar manner.As Muslims, we cannot be in peace with Allah except seeking peace within our own selves, living in peace with other human beings, and in peace with our immediate environment. To the facilatators, Jazakumullahu Khairan.
