Examples to Model After: A Quick Look at Dr. Umar Oseni (Mufti of Auchi) and Chief Anthony Momodu Oseni (Afeakhuye of Auchi) through the Eyes of Prof. Z.I. Oseni

In the wake of the double enviable feats attained by Chief Dr. Umar Oseni, a son of Auchi Sacred Kingdom born to the Afeadokhai Family of Utsogun Heritage Zone, ABS News Network paid a courtesy visit to Professor Zakariya Idris Oboh Oseni, Waziri of Auchi who doubles as the Chief Imam of the community.

Dr. Umar earlier in the Month of April was appointed into the Financial Regulation Advisory Council of the Central Bank of Nigeria and as if that was not big news enough, news of his appointment as the Secretary General of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation Arbitration Centre OIC-AC.

Let’s dig into our convo with his father, a professor, scholar of Islamic and Arabic Studies.

WHO IS DR. UMAR OSENI?

Dr Omar hussaini is the third child of Professor Z.I Oseni, retired professor of Arabic Language and Literature and he is trained as a lawyer -not just a lawyer but one who combined Sharia which which means he studied Sharia law at the University of Ilorin and after his graduation in the Law School he was called to bar in year 2007 before went to Malaysia in 2008 for his masters and PHD programs in combined law -combining Sharia again with common law and he did that in the International Islamic University in Malaysia where he bagged his masters degree in 2009 as the overall best student in a class of up to 150 international students with a CGPA of 3.94 over 4.0. He went straight for his PHD, he got his PhD in 2011 and went for a post doctoral program on dispute resolution at the Harvard University. He spent one year there, it was there the Rector of international Islamic University of Malaysia the woman who went there to deliver a lecture said she was not going to leave this boy for Americans so the university appointed him as an assistant professor, 2 years later he was promoted to the status of a professor and then several appointments which he handled competently followed.

Umar has two elder brothers who are medical doctors, I brought them up in my modest way and my children attended public schools. even though my mates were sending their children to private schools, I couldn’t afford such because of the nature of my family -my father died early and I was the first son so I had to take full responsibility of my siblings.

I thank Almighty Allah that they obeyed me. Being a teacher myself, I ensured that my children are very close to me. They can tease me with jokes and we play with each other as if I’m their elder brother. There was no gap between us.

HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT THIS GREAT FEAT?

We thank Allah subhanah wa ta’ala, because anything he does is as good as already done. Dr. Umar Oseni, the Mufti of Auchi has the requisite qualifications for whatever he comes for or whatever he’s been nominated for.

Well, my reaction to this appointment is praise be to Allah and we know that many more are coming based on his qualifications.

Things don’t just happen in a void. You have to qualify for something before you can be appointed because if you are appointed for what you are not qualified for, there’s going to be a problem. So, Alhamdulillah! My prayer is that he succeeds. Dr. Umar Oseni is a global figure.

WHAT’S YOUR TAKE ON PARENTING TODAY?

It’s unfortunate most of us parents have failed because most parents don’t have time for their children. They think paying school fees in an expensive school, buying food and paying the bills is all they need to do but that’s not enough. You have to draw your children close to you -supposing you don’t have anything to hide. Most parents don’t draw their children closer to themselves because they have something they are hiding away, so they don’t want the children to know. If you are clean, why are you afraid of letting your children be around you? Some parents fail to be financially responsible towards their children -especially towards the female because they need to fix their hair, by pads and other necessary things but tomorrow when the child is working they think s/he is a business enterprise.

PROF Z.I. OSENI ADVISED THAT PARENTS BE PRESENT IN THE LIVES OF THEIR CHILDREN AS IN DOING SO WILL THE SOCIETY BE BETTER.

As the conversation ensued we delved into the life and times of his late uncle, Chief Anthony Momodu Oseni, Afeakhuye of Auchi -a father figure who greatly inspired him while growing up.

Many are of the opinion that Tony is the first University Graduate from Etsako.

TELL US ABOUT CHIEF ANTHONY:

My uncle, Chief Anthony Momodu Oseni was born in 1924 (precisely on the 3rd of June) in Auchi. The mother -honorable madam Aishetu Abutudu was the first woman to attend school (private school) in Auchi. She had only two boys -Dirisu and Mamudu popularly known as Mallam Oboh.

Being an educated woman she brought up these two children by herself because the husband died very early. My grandfather died very early in October 1927. Tony was 3 years at the time.

Tony went to a government school in auchi and he was a very quiet type of person. After government school he attended Edo College in Benin City and after which he completed his secondary Education at Centenis Memorial College in Onitsha. He studied botany and graduated in 1954 from University College Ibadan. After that he went for a master’s degree program at Oxford University in UK and got his MA in 1956 -at that time, I was 6 years old when he returned from England. By 1970 he became the director of forestry for the whole country -in fact Hausa people used to call him “Sarkin Itache “king of trees”. He was a very jovial person. People used to say say that he had the mind of a child and they loved him. Yes, he knew what he was doing and was focused. Even though he was a Catholic he contributed to my Arabic and Islamic training.

WHAT ARE SOME OF THE THINGS YOU REMEMBER HIM FOR?

In the 1950s he acquired a plot of land and built a family house at that time not for himself but for the family.

He was just very kind. He had three children which were triplets -Hilda, Harold and Humphrey.

As a director of forestry, when we were young there was this very big lorry used in carrying cassava sticks that yielded within 9 months and only God knows the number of families that Tony fed children. I regard that as the greatest thing he did for this community which most people don’t know.

YOUR ADVICE:

As a Muslim and as an Islamic scholar, I usually tell people to always practice what the Qur’an asks us to do. I encourage people to know the message of Allah -people are now so materialistic to the extent they build houses they don’t even need, they acquire properties and vehicles they don’t even need and when you do that how would you be able to give to somebody who is in need? That’s the fear I have and that’s the tragedy we have in the modern times. We would continue to preach and teach examples and perhaps many more people will get the lesson.

I hope you learnt something from the Osenis?

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️ Jeremiah Kadiri | AUCHI BLOG & SERVICES | absnews.net.ng | auchiblog@gmail.com | 30/04/024 | Auchi, Edo State | +2348069055018