* Decries low representation of PhD Muslims scholars
• We want to encourage Muslims to get to peak of education: Prince Olusi
• Stay committed, Senator Adebule charges beneficiaries
The Muslim Community of Lagos State (MCLS) has flagged off a scheme to award scholarship to Muslims undertaking doctorate studies across tertiary institutions in the country.
Chaired by the chairman of the Governor’s Advisory Council (GAC) in Lagos, Prince Tajudeen Olusi, the Ph.D scholarship award ceremony was held on Sunday, May 19, 2024 at the University of Lagos Central Mosque Event Hall.
The well-attended event was graced by prominent Muslim personalities, political leaders, philanthropists, royal fathers, captains of industry and leadership of foremost faith-based non-governmental organisations in Nigeria.
Muslim News gathered that 10 Muslim doctorate students from different universities across Nigeria benefited in the first batch of the scheme.
The scholarship awardees are Rayhana Davies-Sanni (Lagos State University), Adam Umar (Lagos State University), Sogbesan Zaynab (College of Medicine, University of Lagos), Mikail Saheed (Olabisi Onabanjo University), Yusuf Zen-Adideen (Olabisi Onabanjo University), Yahaya Isiaq (Al-Hikmah University), Ahmodu Tajudeen (Lagos State University), Oke Aliyu (Ladoke Akintola University of Technology), Jembi Rafiat (Tai Solarin University of Education) and Sulayman Latif (Olabisi Onabanjo University).
Speaking at the event, President of the Muslim Community of Lagos State, Prof. Tajudeen Gbadamosi, said the scholarship covers the tuition fees and other official fees and cost for research work and production of final thesis.
“The mission cum vision of this scheme is to help and build up our human capital in order to energise the growth and development of our country. As some scholars have said, PhD holders are catalysts of development. They are researchers who can drive innovation, analyse problems, provide solutions for all sectors of human activity.
“The PhD award is available to brilliant students but who are financially challenged and have been allowed by the university to proceed to PhD work. It is an expensive venture, but we believe it is a noble venture to encourage our brilliant youths to get the necessary training and expertise that would enable them not only to stand on their own but also to make their contributions to the development of the country,” he said.
Prof. Gbadamosi lamented the low percentage of Muslim PhD holders in Nigeria and emphasised the need to move faster in bridging the gap.
“As at 2023, it was estimated that Nigeria has 80,000 PhD holders and probably, the figure may be around 100,000 now at most. The developed countries such as America, Canada and many European countries each produce between 20,000 to 70,000 PhD annually. Indeed, Japan has 125 PhD holders per 1 million people and plans to triple this figure by 2040. Clearly, our country with 80,000 PhD holders to 240 million people has a long distance to cover in order to get near these developed countries.
“Secondly, As far as the Muslim community in Nigeria is concerned, we do not even have up to 1000 PhD holders. As late starters in acquisition of western education, we have to garner our loins and be ready to sprint or even gallop in order to make our own impact and contributions to national development.
Hence, today is a beginning, a modest beginning in this exercise,” he noted.
The President urged influential Muslims in Lagos State and all over the country to support the initiative both morally and financially.
Stay committed, Senator Adebule charges beneficiaries
In her remarks, the guest speaker, a distinguished serving Senator, Dr. Idiat Adebule charged the beneficiaries to stay committed and be great ambassadors of Islam during their programmes.
She also cautioned against plagiarism and the abuse of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in their research.
“I urge you all to stay committed to the academic programme (PhD). You have all signed up for this, so it’s important to show commitment. Similarly, as Muslims, wherever you are undertaking your programme, people should see Islam in you. You are a mirror of the Muslim ummah. You should make the Muslim community proud of you. Please, shun things that are contrary to the teachings of Islam — whether openly or secretly,” the Senator representing Lagos West Constituency noted.
“I also advise you to study hard. You should read previous works on your areas of research, but do not copy them as that will amount to plagiarism. You should also be careful in using Artificial Intelligence (AI). Your lecturers are aware of this technology and it is not usually accurate.
“I also want to encourage you to have it at the back of your mind that you are going to be part of the Lagos Muslim Community after your programme, so that you can also contribute to assisting those coming after you. That’s the way we can grow the initiative of which you are a beneficiary today.”
We want to encourage Muslims attain greater heights, education: Prince Olusi
Chairman of the occasion, Prince Tajudeen Olusi, explained that the scheme seeks to encourage Muslims to attain the peak of academics, noting the current number of PhD holders who are Muslims in Nigeria is not encouraging.
“This initiative was organised to assist Muslims in the area of education. We have specifically chosen PhD for the scholarship opportunity because it is a very special area. It is our way of encouraging our people and assisting them to get to the peak of academic education. The number of people undertaking PhD within the Muslim community is not much. So, we want to use this to encourage our Muslim brothers and sisters.”
We’ve mobilised resources to support, encourage Muslim PhD students: Dr. Ekemode
For his part, Chairman Planning Committee of the PhD Scholarship Award, Dr. Naimdeen Ekemode, said a lot of Muslims undertaking PhD face financial constraints, noting the Muslim Community of Lagos State has decided to mobilise resources to support them through the scheme.
Dr. Ekemode said the community is targeting increase in the number of beneficiaries in the next edition.
He said, “From our survey, we found out that less than 10 percent of the lecturers in higher institutions in Lagos State are Muslims. Muslims are, however, in the majority when we look at the population of Lagos.
“So, when we examined it further, we found that we the Muslim community in Lagos State have to help our children who are undertaking a PhD. We believe a lot of them have financial constraints, hence, we decided to mobilise resources to offer them scholarships. We are starting with ten (10) beneficiaries. By next year, we hope to improve the number to 50, 100 or even more.
“This initiative is also to stimulate our children to be determined and face their challenges so that they would be useful to the society.”
It’ll support my PhD programme: Beneficiary
One of the beneficiaries, Rayhana Davies-Sanni, who spoke to Muslim News, said the scholarship opportunity would go a long way to assist her research and PhD programme.
She expressed gratitude to Almighty Allah and the organisers, saying the gesture was overwhelming for her.
“The opportunity will really assist me because I’m presently doing my bench work which is very tasking and financially draining. As a science-based research, it’s really expensive to run. So, the scholarship will go a long way to assist the research,” she added.
Davies-Sanni, who is currently pursuing her PhD in Organic Chemistry at Lagos State University, narrated that the application process was rigorous and thorough, restating her gratitude for the opportunity by MCLS.
She is working on the thesis; “Chemical Composition and Biological Potential of Selected Medicinal Plants from Nigeria”.
“I got to know about the opportunity from the Muslim Teachers Association of Nigeria (MUTAN) platform. I saw the circular there including requirements for the selection. I applied, and an interview followed. It was rigorous. It was a long journey, but Alhamdulilah I made it. I’m most grateful for the opportunity, she added.
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