Barihi Adetunji
| Barihi Adetunji | |
|---|---|
| Born | April 13, 1948 Apomu, Old Oyo State now Osun State, Nigeria |
| House | Sunkunmole, Alusekere House |
| Father | Raji Olayiwola |
| Religion | Islam |
| Occupation | Arabic Scholar, Academic and Spiritual Leader |
Barihi Adetunji, (born 13 April 1948) is a prominent Arabic and Islamic Studies Scholar, a writer, a cleric and a poet from Ibadan in the southwestern part of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. He was trained at the Universities of Jos, Ibadan and Ilorin where he obtained a B. A. Honours Second Class Upper Division in Arabic (1982), Certificate in Arabic and Islamic Studies (1979) & M. A. in Arabic & Islamic Studies (1984) and PhD. in Arabic (2005). He has over 35 years' experience in teaching Arabic and Islamic Studies in Nigeria. He has over 100 publications in Arabic, Islamic Studies and Literature ranging from Academic articles, collections of poems in Arabic, novel (Arabic and English), Arabic play,[1] collection of short stories in Arabic, books, monographs and other creative works in Arabic most especially his recent Maqamah title "Kiswah al-'Ari fi Maqamat 'Abd al-Bari (Ar. كسوة العارى فى مقامات عبد البارى). He was with Federal College of Education (1995–2013) and rose to the highest rank in the college career, which is Chief Lecturer. He was a Visiting Program Leader, Department of Arabic and Islamic Studies, National Open University of Nigeria and wrote many course materials for the unique institution.[2] He also served as a Visiting Senior Lecturer to Al-Hikmah University and was the HOD of its Department of Islamic Studies (2008). He is a prominent member of the influential Ibadanland Chief Imam-in-Council till now. He was a Fellow of Arabic Literature and Islamic Studies of Nigeria (FALISN), a Fellow of Strategic Institute for Natural Resources and Human Development (FRHD) and a notable member of the League of Imams and Alfas in Yorubaland.[3] He is blessed with biological and academic children who are also prominent contributors to the field of Arabo-Islamic scholarship, notable among them are Prof. Amidu Olalekan Sanni (Chief Imam of Lagos State University Central Mosque and Former Dean of Arts) and Dr. Izzudeen Adetunji (Senior Lecturer, Crescent University).[4]
Birth and Family[edit]
Full name is Abdul-Bari’ Aremu Adetunji (born 13 April 1948). Adetunji was born in Apomu (now of Osun State, Nigeria.) on the 13th April 1948 to the family of Pa and Mrs Raji Olayiwola Adetunji who migrated to Apomu town from their native Sukunmole Family of Alusekere Compound, Popoyemoja Area of Ibadan. His father, Pa Raji was a notable politician of the first and second republic of Nigeria and a father to the Business Mogul in the Music Industry and the present Olubadan of Ibadanland Oba Saliu Adetunji. Barihi Adetunji is, therefore, a stepbrother to the 41st Olubadan.
Early Life and Education[edit]
He started his primary education at the Ansar-ud-Deen Primary School, Apomu where he passed out in 1960. He then proceeded to the nearby St. Augustine Secondary School, Ikire (now of Osun State, 1961-1963) for his Modern III Certificate. In 1977, Adetunji got admission to the University of Ibadan as a student of Certificate course in Arabic and Islamic Studies. With this certificate, he was able to get direct entry admission into the University of Jos, now of Plateau State, Nigeria. He graduated with BA Honours in Arabic with Second Class Upper Division. He returned to Ibadan for his Masters of Arts in Arabic and Islamic Studies (1984) and Postgraduate Diploma in Education (1988). He bagged his Doctoral Degree from the University of Ilorin Nigeria in 2005. Adetunji Barihi did not restrict himself to the western education but also had some pure and local Arabic and Islamic educational background. He attended local Arabic school where he was able to gain tremendously from local Arabic scholars notably Shaykhs Muhammad Sadiq Ali Folorunso (d. 1988) and Mudaththir Abdul-Salam (d. 1991) who happened to former Chief Imams of Ibadanland. He equally attended Kharashi Memorial Arabic Secondary School, Oke-Odo, Ibadan (founded in 1945) which is the first modernised Arabic School in Yorubaland. He graduated from the school in 1960.
His career[edit]
Adetunji started his career as secondary school teacher and has taught in reputable secondary schools in and outside Ibadan such as Moslem Grammar School, Odinjo, Ibadan, Community Secondary School, Araromi-Aperin, Ibadan, Arabic Institute of Nigeria, Elekuro, Ibadan and Ahmadiya Grammar School, Eleyele Ibadan (now Anwarul-Islam Grammar School, Eleyele, Ibadan). After serving as part-time lecturer in various higher institutions of learning in Nigeria, he joined the service of the Federal College of Education, Osiele, Abeokuta, Nigeria in 1995 where he rose to the highest rank in the academic line of the institution known as Chief Lecturer. He was also the head of the institution’s department of Arabic between the years 2000 – 2004. While in the service of the college, he worked as an adjunct and visiting scholar to the National Open University of Nigeria and al-Hikmah University, Ilorin, Nigeria. Until his retirement in 2013, he was the Chief External Examiner to a number of state and national colleges of education in Nigeria. He has participated in many local and international conferences and has given many public and keynote address in a number of the conferences and public lecture. He belongs to many national and international academic and social associations of repute.
Arabic Language and Literature in Nigeria[edit]
He has tremendously contributed to the development of Arabic Language and Literature through his important creative and artistic works. He is one of the very few people who wrote Arabic Play in Nigeria. His play was titled Destined to Survive (بقاء مقدر¬). He also wrote Arabic novel under the rubric The Run-Away Boy (الولد الهارب) to mention but a few out of his numerous contribution to the area of Arabic Language and Literature in Nigeria which is discernible in the list of his publications found below. Notable, however, is his Maqamah work with which he imitated the styles of the classical Arabic writers al-Hamadhani and al-Hariri in their Maqamat. This is through the newest book of the Barihi Adetunji with the title: Robbing the Unrobed: The Maqamat of Abdul-Bari (كسوة العارى فى مقامات عبد البارى).
His College[edit]
As part of his determination to disseminate knowledge by any means available, he founded an Arabic School. College of Arabic and Islamic Studies, Olomi, Ibadan is the cradle of many new generation scholars who have become important in the society. The was established in the late eighties and the name was changed to Bari College of Arabic and Islamic Studies in the latter part of the first decade of the twenty-first century. The school operates Arabic Secondary School Studies together with Diploma in Arabic and Islamic Education. With the Diploma certificate, students of the school have succeeded in securing admission into many Nigerian Universities such as University of Maiduguri Borno State, Kwara State University Malete, Kwara State, al-Hikmah University, Ilorin and Crescent University, Abeokuta. In addition, the Higher Islamic Certificate offered by the school is also tenable for admission into Colleges of Education in Nigeria, especially Federal College of Education (Special) Oyo where considerable number of students had graduated and received National Certificate of Education (NCE).
Awards and Achievements[edit]
- Federal Government Scholarship Merit Award (1981-1982).
- Akinjide‟s Prize for the Best Student in the Department of Religious Studies, University of Jos (1983).
- Order of Muslim Dignity Merit Award (OMDIMA) Shaykh Abdul Azeez Bn Baz Shariah College of Nigeria, Iwo. An Affiliated with Ahmad Bello University, Zaria (2002).
- Agbesinga Adeen (AGBA) Shaykh Abdul Azeez Bn Baz Shariah College of Nigeria Iwo. An Affiliated Institution with Ahmad Bello University, Zaria (2002).
- National Merit Award – Fellow of Arabic Literature and Islamic Studies of Nigeria (FALISN) by National Association for the Promotion of Studies in Religions Education, Languages and General Studies. (NAPSRELGS) (2008)
- Fellow of Strategic Institute for Natural Resources and Human Development (FRHD), Abuja. (2009)
- Distinguished Excellence Award (DEA) Federal college of Education, Abeokuta, Ogun State, Nigeria. (2011).
Local Life and Islamic Endeavours[edit]
Barihi Adetunji’s deep involvement in academic and creative endeavour did not jeopardise his engagement in social and local activities most especially concerning the Islamic activities of Ibadan. He has been a prominent member of the Council of Imams and Alfas of Ibadan for more than twenty-five years until he rose to be among the foremost members of the Ibadanland Chief-Imam-in-Council. He equally a public speaker of Da‘wah who is widely recognised by all and sundry.
References[edit]
- ↑ http://cscanada.net/index.php/hess/article/view/5621
- ↑ https://archive.org/stream/Rhetoric1Bayan/Rhetoric%201%20Bayan_djvu.txt
- ↑ http://leadership.ng/features/437061/when-ibadan-got-new-chief-imam
- ↑ Musa, Abdulganiyi & Abdullah, A. Salisu, 2014. Drama and Society-A New Trend for Arabic Playwrights in Nigeria: Barihi’s Baqaun Muqaddar (Born to Survive) as Paradigm, Higher Education of Social Science, Vol. 7. No 2.
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