A prominent Arabic institution in Agege, Nurul-Islam Arabic and Islamic Training Centre, Lagos, has begun to commemorate its golden jubilee, beginning a series of celebratory events on November 17, 2025. The core ambition of the anniversary, announced by the founder and proprietor, Sheikh Daud Alfanla AbdulMajeed Eleha, is to fund and launch a new, expanded school in Ogun State.

Speaking at a world press conference to commemorate the events, which run from November 17 to December 2, 2025, Sheikh Eleha underscored the religious mandate behind the school’s half-century of work.

“The Holy Prophet encouraged us to do dawah [preaching] on the path of Allah if you have knowledge,” Sheikh Eleha explained.
He outlined the dual purpose of the Centre, saying it is to establish knowledge where it is absent and continuously guide those who may be misled back to the right path.

“We must continue from where our fathers stopped. The Prophet said it is better for one who hears my words and shares them, making it crucial for us to share what our leaders taught us, and that is why we established the Arabic school.”

Reflecting on the challenges of the past five decades, the Sheikh offered a candid view of the difficulties faced by educational pioneers. “If I have to explain the challenges I faced in the course of establishing this Arabic school, so many will not want to attempt to establish one,” he admitted.

He highlighted hunger as the most profound obstacle early on, using it as a universal lesson in perseverance. “There is no success story without a challenge. Don’t expect to start reaping immediately you start a project. We must be prayerful to excel.”

Sheikh Eleha, counting himself as one of the great successes of his own mentor, Sheikh Adams Al-Illory, paid tribute to the older scholar’s piety for allowing the establishment of a similar school so close to his own.
“How many renowned scholars would allow their student to establish a madrasa of this type close to him? This is because Sheikh Adam is a pious man.”

He noted that the primary focus of the anniversary drive is the fundraising and development of a major new campus in Ogun State.
“The current Agege location, now 50 years old, has become too small to contain the Centre’s vision.

“The proposed new school will integrate Western education alongside its core Arabic and Islamic curriculum, following a model the Centre has already successfully implemented at its branches in Ilorin, Kwara State (25 years old), and Oyo State (60 years old).

“Our new proposed school is trying to match together with Western education,” Sheikh Eleha confirmed, adding that Islam encourages the learning of various languages. “We already have an established primary and secondary in Ilorin and also Darusalam, and we are going to do this in the new proposed school.”

He noted the high academic standards already set, including the school’s successful registration for the Mbaise qualification, which holds the same status as WAEC and NECO for admission purposes. “Last year, we emerged in the first position in the whole of Lagos State. The institution also hosts visiting instructors and scholars, with some teachers descending from Egypt to do dawah. To date, the Centre estimates that over 5,000 students have graduated from its various programmes.”

The Chairman of Old Students, Husain Bakaniyah, confirmed that the association’s major goal for the anniversary is the development of the school project in Abeokuta, thanking supporters for assisting in the acquisition of the new land.

The Head of the School, Nurudeen Abdulsalam, attested to the legacy of qualified teaching and a comprehensive curriculum, which covers not just theology but also practical elements like leading prayers, naming, burial rites, and psychology.

“All students of Nurul-Islam qualify in all aspects of Islam; there is nowhere our students cannot talk in the world,” he reiterated, reflecting the Centre’s continuing commitment to producing well-rounded scholars.