…UMA holds AGM/Congress, charges youths, leaders on skills acquisition, job creation
A veteran sports journalist and Executive Consultant with the Complete Sports, Dr. Mumini Alao, has emerged the new President of the University of Lagos Muslim Alumni (UMA).
The announcement was made on Sunday, 13th October at the 35th Annual General Meeting/Congress of the association, which took place at Hall 36, LUTH, Idi-Araba, Lagos State, with the theme: “Nigerian Youth Exodus: Matters Arising”.
Dr. Alao, who takes over from Prof Khalid Adekoya, was unveiled alongside other members of the new national executive of the prestigious association.
The sports thespian and communications guru, at the end of the shurah committee report headed by Prof Luqman Adams, was announced the president of the association to steer it for the next two years.
Muslim News gathered that the new UMA President has held several leadership positions within the association, starting out as a Public Relations Officer (PRO) for two terms of four years. He then served as the Secretary-General for two terms, and most recently Vice President for another two terms.
Dr. Alao is a respected stakeholder in the media industry. He is an award-winning sports journalist, columnist and public relations expert. He is the current Executive Director at Medianomics Limited, a marketing communications firm.
* We’ll give our best for UMA, Deputy President says
Dr Alao who was in a national assignment outside Lagos State participated in the AGM virtually.
Represented by Alhaja Muhidat Kemi Bello, the newly elected Deputy President III, Dr Alao in his acceptance speech promised that the new cabinet will give its best in leading the association.
He sought the support of all members, noting they are looking to revitalise UMA.
“On behalf of my new President, Dr. Mumini Alao, I hereby accept his nomination to be the President of UMA for the next two years. We will try and give it our best. We pray to Almighty Allah to give us the wherewithal, the ability to be able to move UMA to higher heights.
“The preceding executives for so many decades have done quite a good job. The majority of our members have also been quite supportive. We also seek the indulgence of all the members of the association to support this new executive. There are a number of us that have been here for a long time, and we’ve seen the evolution of the University of Lagos Muslim Alumni.
“We are looking to revitalise the association, and put in a lot more. We will try to ensure that the trying times that we have do not let us lose sight of what still need to be done. We need your support and prayers. We will also continue to run back to former leaders to give us needed support and push wherever possible.
“I hereby accept this on behalf of the new President. I pray that Almighty Allah makes it easy for us,” she said.
* Join us to relaunch UMA, Dr. Alao appeals to members
Speaking to Muslim News in a telephone chat shortly after the inauguration, Dr. Alao said he couldn’t attend the AGM physically but was following the proceedings through the live coverage of this medium.
“I want to thank Muslim News for the live streaming of the AGM/Congress of UMA. That was where I actually followed the proceedings of the conference through her Facebook page,” he said.
Dr. Alao noted that the new exco has a big challenge because the association has been relaxed for some time, saying that their primary objective will be to revitalise the association for all members to get a sense of belonging.
“As you have heard from a member of the Board of Trustees, UMA is a leader when it comes to Muslim Alumni Associations in Nigeria. But we have slept a little bit, and the BoT is challenging us to revitalise the UMA.
“So, we will be coming up with new initiatives after our meeting. The new exco, we are going to hold an inaugural meeting where everybody will bring ideas to the table. Obviously, our objective will be to revitalise the organisation so that our members far and wide, both in Nigeria and abroad can have a sense of belonging, and everybody will want to participate in our activities. This will be our primary objective.”
Dr. Alao charged Muslim alumni of the University of Lagos to get ready for the relaunch of the UMA.
“I hope that I will get the cooperation of all our members in every sector of the Nigerian economy and in the Diaspora as well. It will be our duty to mobilise all of them. I hope that when we call on them, they will respond so that we can reposition the organisation for us to play the kind of role we should be playing in the Nigerian society and for the Muslim Ummah in particular,” he said.
* Lack of basic necessities responsible for youth exodus – Dr Waziri
In his lecture at the event, Dr. Waziri Adisa, an Associate Professor of Sociology in UNILAG, said young people in Nigeria continue to leave the country because basic necessities of life are unavailable.
Dr. Adisa spoke on the topic, ‘Nigerian Youth Exodus: Matters Arising’, underlining unemployment among young people as a major driver of migration in Nigeria.
“Since the end of the cold war and the return of democracy to Nigeria and a good number of African countries, there has been this agitation that the government should do more. The absence of this has led to the mass exodus of our youths to foreign countries including Canada, USA, UK, and others.
“In doing this, we have seen the use of unusual places like land, desert, Mediterranean sea. All of these usually come with dangers, death, disappearances, exploitation, modern slavery, and several consequences. But the youths are ready to face the consequences because their country Nigeria is unable to provide for them basic necessities of life.
“For the youth, that age is a productive age. So every youth, whether a lady or a guy, deserves decent living, a decent job. Social security must be adequate. We turn out graduates almost every year, but many of these graduates are not employed. It’s a major challenge. That’s one of the drivers of migration in Nigeria.”
Dr. Adisa charged the government to improve on the economy, infrastructure, create jobs and promote skills acquisition.
“One thing we should also note is that not all of these youths are moving out of the country to the West or Europe. Many of them move to other African countries, including South Africa, Ghana, places where they think their economies are good.
“That’s a lesson to Nigeria that we need to improve on our economy, infrastructure, job creation, skills acquisition, so that we can attract our youths. We should not be spending huge money producing professionals, and then allowing these professionals to leave the country and develop other countries of the world,” the sociology teacher stated.
He said the Nigerian state must be able to manage the economy and improve the standards of living of citizens.
“The state is the agent, while the youths are the principals. So, the state must be accountable. One of the ways of being accountable is to manage the economy, cut down inflation, and improve the standards of living of citizens,” he said.
* Our administration supported members with scholarships: Prof Adekoya
Earlier in his remark, the outgone president, Prof. Khalid Adekoya, who steered the affairs of the UMA for the one term (two years), said his leadership was able to strengthen the programmes of UMA by organising the webinar series every two months to discuss germane issues affecting Nigeria.
He said his exco also supported Muslim students, both at the undergraduate and postgraduate levels, with scholarships and advisory services, leading to a huge number of Muslim undergraduates finishing with first class honours.
He said, “We’ve been able to bring erudite scholars to discuss contemporary issues in the areas of policies, economy, agriculture, and social wellbeing. We have been able to support our students in the Muslim Students’ Society (MSS) both monetarily as well as in advisory capacity.
“One of the things we have been able to achieve in the advisory capacity was making sure that during the last three years, the Muslim students, particularly the Amir, finished with first class. We contributed our quota to the extent that 30 of MSSN members finished with first class, and our post graduate students also did well, because of the involvement of UMA.
“We have also been able to support graduates with scholarships. Last year, we were able to give over 30 scholarships for PhDs and undergraduate programmes to our members.”
The outgone president said it is the first time the AGM of the association is taking place in Idi-Araba, adding that it is part of the effort to make the host and other branches of UMA get involved.
The Professor of Genetics, UNILAG, said the journey was gratifying with the support of the university management and members of UMA.
He advised the new exco to continue on the path already established by the preceding administrations.
“I was lucky to have leaned on what my predecessors have done in making sure that UMA is in the limelight. I will advise that we continue in this stride and do more. We need to be more involved in activities that will keep UMA on the front burner.
“UMA will continue to grow in leaps and bounds. As we continue to produce scholars who are showing what they are made of, and UMA supporting the scholarship programme, and then producing graduates of substance who go to the labour market to have an impact. We know that UMA has something to offer this nation, even in politics. We have been put in the line by what we learnt in UNILAG and what we have been advised by Prophet Muhammad (SAW) in making sure that we contribute our quota and be of relevance in all endeavours of life.”
* Other elected executive members
Other members of the newly sworn in executive committee include Alhaji Muhammad Salam, Deputy President I; Prof Habeeb Tijani, Deputy President II; Alhaja Muhidat Kemi Bello, Deputy President III; Prof Shakirudeen Odunuga, Vice President I; General Secretary, Alhaji Tajudeen Adebanjo; Assistant General Secretary, AbdulHakeem Qasim; Public Relations Officer I, Dr Ganiyat Adenle-Tijani and Public Relations Officer II, Alhaja Zainab Shogbesan.
Others are Abdulkabir Taiwo Kuye, Financial Secretary; Alhaji Muftau Tijani, Treasurer; Babatunde Yusuf, Internal Auditor; Prof Taofeeqah Adesalu, Welfare Officer I and Mr Sofiyullah Oladipo, Legal Officer.
The shurah committee chairman, Prof Luqman Adam, enjoined them to ensure proper promotion of the association’s objectives and cardinal goals.