The Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs (NSCIA) under the leadership of its President-General and Sultan of Sokoto, His Eminence, Alhaji Muhammad Sa’ad Abubakar, CFR, mni, received with sorrow and grief the announcement of the death of the Chairman of the Punch newspaper, Mr. Wale Aboderin, whose death was announced fortuitously last Thursday morning. He was said to have died after a brief illness.
At a relatively young age of 60 years, if it were possible for any mortal being to alter the programme of the immortal Creator, perhaps Mr. Aboderin’s death would have been averted. But alas, death is such a mysterious phenomenon that cannot be prevented from carrying out its own natural assignment. We shall all die when it is time for it.
The late Chairman of the Punch, Wale Aboderin’s professional impact on that newspaper within the short time he held sway in its management was manifestly evident in scoop and in readership. It is difficult to talk about the vibrancy of Nigerian media today without mentioning the Punch newspaper. Indeed while alive, the late Aboderin really proved to be a rare manager of human and material resources.
However, death is a mysterious phenomenon which snicks into human life without hint or warning. When it is time for it to come, no Jupter can prevent its coming. And that is what confirms the reality of destiny in the life of man.
As mortal beings, we can only propose while disposing is for the Almighty God. We live to die on earth in order to live again without death in the hereafter.
The irony of life in this kind of circumstance, however, is that when death comes to lay its icy hand on certain people, life opens an avenue for certain other people to grow like a tree sprouting its foliage into the firmaments of the orbits. That is the nature of life which cannot be altered by any mortal being.
The President-General of NSCIA, Alhaji Muhammad Sa’ad Abubakar and the entire Muslim Ummah of Nigeria condole with the management of Punch newspaper and commiserate with the family of Aboderin, praying the Almighty God to grant them all the fortitude with which to bear the agony of Wale’s death. We are all from God and to God we shall all return.
No matter the circumstance in which we may find ourselves, we should always remember that our coexistence as human beings and as Nigerians, irrespective of any differences in our faiths and tribes, has a purpose. We must, therefore, jointly and sincerely ventilate a peaceful atmosphere for all and sundry to live in harmoniously.
GOD BLESS NIGERIA!
Signed
Prof. Is-haq Oloyede, OFR, FNAL
Secretary-General,
