10 Edo reciters to compete at national Qur’anic contest in Jigawa

The reciters were selected at a grand finale held for participating Qur’anic students in Benin City, Edo State.

Announcing the results, Hamza Umar Usman, the Edo State Coordinator of Musaabaqah, said the selected reciters finished first in their respective categories.

He added that the reciters would undergo a one-month camp to improve their memorisation of the Holy Qur’an and their recitation skills.

Earlier, in his welcome address, Ahmed Musa Momoh, Special Adviser to the Edo State Governor on Islamic Religious Matters, said the competition was organised to encourage children to learn and memorise the Glorious Qur’an.

He said it also aimed to promote Islamic knowledge and moral discipline among youths, foster unity, peace and brotherhood among Muslims in Edo State, and select the best reciters to represent the state at the National Musaabaqah.

Momoh commended Governor Monday Okpebholo for supporting Islamic activities and creating an enabling environment for religious harmony in Edo State.

In his remarks, Kelvin Danesi, the traditional ruler of South Ibie and state Musaabaqah chairman, said the competition had been decentralised to ensure that Muslims across the state’s three senatorial districts could participate.

Danesi said coordinators would be appointed in the three senatorial districts as part of efforts to reform Musaabaqah activities and encourage wider participation, rather than restricting the programme to Edo North Senatorial District.

According to him, “I want to say that this is the first time Musaabaqah activities have been held in the capital of the state, Benin City. We are all aware of the obvious reason why all the activities have been limited to Edo North Senatorial District.

“But we now think that there must be reform. Islamic activities should not be limited or restricted to a part of the state. It should be all-inclusive, and that is why we have embarked on reform.

“This reform is to ensure that everybody is included in what the government is doing. We want to be sure that all Edo Muslims are part and parcel of this movement. That is why we have decentralised it.

“We have even made recommendations that there should be a deputy coordinator in every senatorial district, working with the state coordinator to make this exercise very effective and productive.

“We have children in Edo South and Edo Central, and I can say for sure that they have not been participating actively.

“This is the first time we are extending the programme to Edo South so that nobody will feel excluded or left behind. Those are some of the reforms we are part of. We do hope that it will be beneficial to the entire community,” he stated.

On his part, Umar Musa Ikhilor, the Secretary to the Edo State Government and chairman of the competition, commended the state Musaabaqah coordinator and the judges for their efforts.

Ikhilor said the competition should encourage Muslim children and their parents to take the study and recitation of the Qur’an seriously.

“I believe that, by seeing the participation of these children, it is going to serve as motivation for those who have not yet participated,” he added.

He also commended the state governor for supporting religious activities across all faiths.