The Nigeria office of the IIIT (International Institute of Islamic Thought headquartered in Herndon, USA) through its Sister’s Directorate organized a 2-day national conference on Nurturing Youth for Nation-Building focusing on the role of effective parenting as the neglected component. The Conference took place in Bayero University, Kano from 14 to 15 June, 2013. The Vice Chancellor, Bayero University, Kano, Prof. Abubakar A. Rasheed was the Chairman of the Opening Ceremony that was attended by about 1000 people, largely students.
Several important dignitaries attended the Opening Ceremony including the Wife of the Vice President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Hajiya (Dr.) Amina Namadi Sambo, who was the major sponsor of the Conference. After she declared the conference open, the National Coordinator of the IIIT Nigeria, Dr. Salisu Shehu presented the keynote Address titled: Empowering the Youth for National Development: An Islamic Conceptual Model for Charting a New Course and Plan of Action. Altogether, the conference comprised of five plenary sessions and a total of 17 papers, including the keynote paper delivered by Dr. Salisu Shehu.
In the First Plenary Session, four papers were presented as follows: 1. Globalisation and Parenting in the 21st Century, by Prof. Fatima Batul Mukhtar, the Dean of the Faculty of Sciences, Northwest University, Kano. 2. Islam and the Child Rights Act, by Prof. Muhammad Tabiu of the Faculty of Law, Bayero University, Kano. 3. The Role of Parents under Islamic Law: Its Impact on Nurturing Youth for National Development, by Dr. Juwairiyya Badamasuiy, former Head, Department of Public Law in the Faculty of Law, Bayero University, Kano and also the Director, Sisters’ Directorate of the IIIT Nigeria. 4. The Attitudes of Muslim Youth towards Premarital HIV/AIDS Test: A Case Study of Ungogo Local Government of Kano State, by Dr. Aisha Garba Habib, Head, Department of Islamic Studies, Northwest University, Kano and also the Director, Educational Resources, IIIT Nigeria.
In the second Plenary Session, the following papers were presented: 1. Youth and the Prospects and Challenges of Information Technology, by Dr. Bashir S. Galadanci, the Chairman, Board of Trustees of the IIIT NIGERIA and the Dean, Faculty of Computer Sciences and Information Technology, Bayero University, Kano. 2. Modern Information Technology and the Challenges of Muslim Adolescents in Osun State, Nigeria, by Dr. Rafiu Adebayo of the Department of Religions, University of Ilorin. 3. Time Management from the Theological Perspectives: Implications for National Development, by Dr. Vaffy Foday Sheriff of the Department of Islamic Studies, Usmanu Dan Fodiyo University, Sokoto.
In the third Plenary Session, the following papers were presented: 1. The Muslim Youth and the Challenges of Leadership in Nigeria: The Imperatives of Social and Community Responsibility Training in a Cosmopolitan Society, by Professor Abubakar Mustapha of the Department of Islamic Studies and Shari’ah, Bayero University, Kano and former Vice Chancellor, University of Maiduguri.: 2. Youth and Urban Violence: Nigeria’s Ticking Time Bomb, jointly presented by Dr. Mahmud M. Lawan and Mal. Aminu Muhammad Dukku. 3. Youth and Violence in Politics: The Case of Drug Abuse, by Dr. Saidu Ahmad Dukawa of the Department of Political Science, Bayero University, Kano and the Director of Finance and Administration, IIIT NIGERIA. 4. Ilimin Zamani: Kalubalenku Matasa (Muslim Backwardness in Education in Nigeria: A Challenge to the Youth).
In the fourth Plenary Session the following presentations were made: 1. Tolerance, Peaceful Coexistence in Diversity of Identity by Dr. Garba Bala Muhammad Jega of the Department of Political Science, Usmanu Dan Fodiyo University, Sokoto. 2. The Quest for Peaceful Coexistence in Nigeria: A Challenge for Muslim Youth, by Sister Safiyya Ahmad Nuhu of the Faculty of Law, Bayero University, Kano. 3. The Economy, Family Dysfunction and Unanticipated Youth Socialization in Nigeria, by Professor Baffa Aliyu Umar of the Department of Sociology, Bayero University, Kano.
In the fifth Plenary Session the following papers were presented: 1.Traditional Qur’ānic Education System (Almajiri) and the Challenge of Youth Development in Kano State, by Dr. Binta Tijjani Jibril, Honourable Commissioner for Women Affairs, Kano State.2. State and the Family: Necessary Partners for Political Socialization, by Associate Professor Aisha Abdul-Ismail, the Head, Department of Political Science, Bayero University, Kano, Deputy Director Sisters’ Directorate, IIIT NIGERIA, and the Chairperson of the Local Organising Committee to the Conference.
At the end of the sessions on the second day of the Conference, a communiqué was read, corrected, adopted and released to the general public through the press. What may appear very appealing and indeed, can be said to be a positive fall out of the Conference was the offer made by two local FM radio stations, i.e. Rahama Radio and Cool FM to disseminate the proceedings of the Conference by serialising its sessions on air. Similarly, the Federation of Muslim Women Association of Nigeria, Kano State Chapter is also planning to use it for step-down training.
[The writer is Chair, Local Organising Committee, IIIT Nigeria]