Chief Imam of Auchi kingdom,Professor Zakariyau Idrees-Oboh Oseni" retires from Unilorin

An Auchi born and a reknown professor of Arabic & Islamic Studies, Professor Zakariyau Idrees-Oboh Oseni" has formally retired from the  services of the University of Ilorin, kwara state where he was a professor in the department of Arabic and Islamic  studies.

Prof Oseni  who holds the traditional title of Waziri of Auchi kingdom is the chief of Imam of Auchi community.

To  immortalized him while still alive, a   public book presentation was organized  in  honour of a man who was described as  Nigeria’s “Guardian of Arabic Language and Literature,.

 

 The festschrift, which consists of peer-reviewed essays, was put together by the 37 PhD students Professor Oseni supervised their theses in the Arabic Department of Unilorin.

The event, which held on Sunday November 8, 2020 at the FOMWAN Secretariat along Fate Road in Ilorin, was attended by dignitaries that include Chairman of the Occasion Malam Yusuf Olaolu Ali, SAN; Registrar of JAMB, Professor Ishaq Oloyede who was the Book Presenter; Book Reviewer Professor Moshood Mahmood Muhammad Jimba. 

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In his speech, the Vice Chancellor of Unilorin who was represented as the Chief Host at the event described Professor Zakariyau Oseni as a rare reference point in the field of Arabic Studies in Nigeria. According to him, Professor Oseni made sacrifices that propelled Arabic Department of Unilorin to become a Center of Excellence. He said “Professor Oseni served Unilorin faithfully, selflessly and honestly”; adding the Book Presentation event is a testimony that Allah (SWT) is happy with Professor Oseni “because he served God and humanity diligently”.

The bi-lingual book, which consists of 435 was edited by five of the PhD holders supervised by Professor Oseni, is made up of Arabic and English sections including a brief biography of the honouree. The Book Reviewer, Professor Jimba, noted that the contents of the book are exclusive of Professor Oseni’s over one hundred works, including fifty-five articles in learned journals, seventeen chapters in books, as well as about thirty other books and monologues.

While presenting the book to the audience, Professor Oloyede mentioned that Professor Oseni was his first contact with Unilorin (which he later headed as Vice Chancellor) as the latter’s lecture was the first class he attended as an undergraduate student in 1978. Oloyede who described Professor Oseni as a rare model said he considered his presence at the occasion as a matter of duty because Professor Zakariyau Oseni was his teacher and mentor. Professor Oloyede thereafter presented the book to “all lovers of knowledge” and purchased two copies for each university and college of education in the country that offers Arabic and Islamic Studies. 

A Arabic scholar, M.U. NDAGI , modestly defined  Professor Oseni as a classical intellectual and scholar who combines religious with traditional leadership by being the Chief Imam of Auchi as well as the Waziri of the same ancient town in Etsako Kingdom of Southeast Nigeria. He is a prolific writer, author, editor, poet, orator, Arabic novelist, playwright, literary critic, discourse analyst, and public speaker who writes from both sides of a paper; left to right and vice versa.

Born in Auchi on Wednesday 20th December 1950, Professor Oseni had his primary education in Auchi (1958-63); secondary education in Auchi (1964-66) and Owo (1967-69). He obtained the Teachers Certificate in Arabic and Islamic Studies in 1971 from the University of Ibadan (UI) where he was thereafter admitted in 1974 and graduated with a First-Class BA (Honours) degree in Arabic in 1977. He also earned his MA and PhD degrees from UI in 1980 and 1984 respectively.

Professor Oseni is the first and only Nigerian professor (for now) with unequivocal passion for creative writing. His creative works, which include “Al-‘Amid ul-Mubajjal” (The Honourable Dean) and “At-Tabaqat ul-‘Ulya” (The Upper Class), largely center on societal reforms. In �