“Sheikh Ahmed Lemu synonymous to propagation of Islam ” – Blueprint Publisher, Alhaji MohammedI Idris Malagi
…Says he exemplified what he preached
Late Sheikh Ahmad Lemu has been described as a driving force behind the propagation of Islam in northern Nigeria in particular, and Nigeria at large.
The Chairman, Blueprint Newspapers, Alhaji Mohammed Idris Malagi, stated this when he paid a condolence visit on the family of the deceased cleric in Minna, Niger State.
Alhaji Idris, who bemoaned the vacuum late Lemu’s death has created in the field of Islamic education and propagation, said the late cleric was a worthy example to many.
“All of us who went to school in the 70s, 80s and even those who came behind in the 90s and thereafter, surely know the kind of contribution our late father made to the development of Islam especially in this part of the country.”
“Shiekh Ahmad Lemu is the only name that you will mention and people will recognize instantly, whether it is in Niger State or Lagos. Shiekh Lemu’s name is synonymous with the propagation of Islam.”
Alhaji Malagi said late Sheikh Lemu lived by example and epitomized simplicity, tolerance as well as personified dedicated, selfless and enduring service to humanity.
“His example was not only in what he wrote but what he practiced. He was one person that was teaching and also exemplifying those teachings. He was a big example to us and still is.”
The publisher added that late Sheikh Lemu has left a lasting impact on many across Nigeria and even beyond, noting that his literature has granted tutelage indirectly to many, who will forever remember him for such immense contributions.
“The centre that he built and nurtured, the literature he produced for the development of Islamic knowledge in this part of the country can not be replaced easily.
“A combination of him and also our late mother, Hajiya Aisha Lemu – they were to Islam what others before them were to Islam. Our prayer is that what he has bequeathed will be beneficial to mankind.”
Alhaji Malagi said Shiekh Lemu’s life and how he died would be the wish of every Muslim.
“His death didn’t come to us as a surprise because I have personally heard him say several times that he was already holding his ‘boarding pass’. – I told someone that Sheikh Lemu’s ‘boarding pass’ is one of the oldest ‘boarding pass’. His ‘boarding pass’ was more than 10 years before he ‘boarded’.”
“Alhmamdullillahi, when the time came for him to ‘board’, our late father ‘boarded the plane’ at the time and in a manner all of us will wish to. If there is an indication of what lies ahead in the hereafter, we have seen it in the life and the death of Shiekh Ahmad Lemu himself.”
Alhaji Idris Malagi who noted that late Sheikh Lemu was an irreplaceable institution, said his death marks the end of an era.
He stated that being an indigene of Gbako Local Government of Niger State, the death of Sheikh Lemu is a personal loss.
“Coming to pay condolence, I feel like i have come home to condole myself on the death of my own father.
“To begin with, I told my people that didn’t know: “the Lemu that you hear is actually the headquarters of Gbako Local Government Area of Niger State. I am from Gbako. Even though he was not staying in Lemu, we all felt proud.”
“On the other hand, the kind of tutelage we got even indirectly through the reading of his literature and all the writings he has done concerning Islam, we felt we were reading the book of our father and that’s how so many people outside the state regard Sheikh Lemu.”
Alhaji Malagi said the vacuum created by the demise of Shiekh Lemu would be difficult to fill, and urged the family to continue with the enduring legacy left behind by Sheikh Ahmed Lemu in order to preserve his nearly-a-century contribution to the body of Islamic knowledge and propagation.
“From Sokoto to Zamfara to Kebbi to Niger as far as Lagos and outside the shores of Nigeria, the shoes he left are extremely difficult to fill – his example is not only what he wrote but what he practiced.”
Condoling the deceased’s eldest son, Alhaji Malagi supplicated: “May Allah grant you the strength to bear the loss and you as the eldest son, may Allah give you the big shoulder to carry out what he left. This house is ours all. I believe you will always receive us.”
In his remarks, Mallam Adam Bakri Shiekh Lemu thanked the Publisher on behalf on the other family members for the visit and prayed Allah to bless and guide him in his endeavours.
In a similar development, the Publisher also paid condolence visits on the families of late Arch Umar Yahaya Eshi, former Executive Director, National Directorate of Employment in Minna; as well as the family of late Alhaji Isa Lakpene , Coordinator, Forestry, Niger state, in Bida where prayers were offered for departed souls.
He was accompanied on the condolence visits by Hon Ibrahim Gidado, Tafarkin Sakkwato, Alhaji Abdulmalik Muye, Barrister Bala Marka, Alhaji Ndako Worogi Edotsu, Alhaji Aliyu Takuma, Alhaji Ahmed Katcha. Alhaji Alhassan Kpakiko, Hajiya Aisha Lemu and other associates.
By PRNigeria
