Lagos MSSN unveils digital literacy academy to mark 70th anniversary

The Muslim Students Society of Nigeria (MSSN), Lagos State Area Unit, has unveiled a Digital Academy to mark the 70th anniversary of the Islamic organisation.
 
Founded at Kings College, Lagos on the 18th of April 1954 by some young Muslim students led by Abdullateef Adegbite, Sunmola Laguda and others, the Islamic group has since become a beacon of hope and a voice for Muslim students across Nigeria, empowering them spiritually, morally and providing academic assistance for students in secondary and tertiary institutions.
 

He said: “I want to use this medium to express our gratitude to our mother, Alhaja Sikiratu Adetutu Azeez who donated the land to us and to our Shaykh, Prof. Isa Pantami, who nominated the construction of Digital Training Centre built on the land. This centre is crucial to our vision of equipping Muslim students with the necessary digital skills to thrive in the modern world. However, we require significant funding to bring this vision to life.”
 
In his remarks, Deputy Governor of Lagos State, Obafemi Hamzat, who was the Special Guest at the anniversary, deplored the emergence of two rival leaderships in the MSSN Lagos State Area Unit, warning that such division might hinder progress and undermine the efforts of its past leaders.
 
Hamzat, who spoke through the Special Adviser to Lagos State Governor on Islamic Affairs, Jebe Abdullahi, urged the group to put aside their differences and work towards a common goal that aligns with the vision of the founding fathers.

The chairman of the event, National Secretary, All Progressives Congress (APC), Ajibola Basiru, highlighted the significant role MSSN revolution played during the ‘60s, especially when Islam in the South West was facing challenges from other western religions.
 
He noted that during this era, the founders remained undeterred “despite all efforts of making Islam unattractive which include propagation, subterfuge, and coercion were put in place as a lot of falsehoods were spread against Islam.”
 
Basiru also commended the leadership of the MSSN for establishing a digital academy, which he believed would help to project Islam in the modern era.
   
In his lecture, former chairman of the National Hajj Commission of Nigeria (NAHCON), Zikrullah Hassan, identified some major challenges besetting the present MSSN, stating that the issue of divisiveness and different theological affiliation have created strong disunity among the Muslim students.
   
Hassan, who was represented by a lecturer of Islamic Studies at the Department of Religions and Peace Studies of the Lagos State University, Mustapha Bello, said: “We are at a point whereby we are so much concerned about theological affiliations and, thus, we have made Islam to be called an exclusive club. The inclusiveness which Islam intended to use as a weapon to be able to galvanise brotherhood and solidarity is being lost on the altar of theological considerations.”