By Ibrahim A. Jagaba
Sunday, April 7, 2024, will remain evergreen in the hearts of hundreds of guests and residents of Agege and Lagos metropolis who witnessed the 3rd edition of Pa Abdel Azeez Egbeyemi (Babaloke)and Alhaja Sariyu Ayinke Arikewushola Egbeyemi Ramadan lecture, held at the towering Babaloke Villa on Market Street, Isale Oja, Gbogunleri, Agege, Lagos.
What normally holds as a dedicated annual Ramadan Public Lecture in solemn memory of the late parents of the Commander, Lagos State Rapid Response Squad (RRS), CSP Saheed Olayinka Egbeyemi, somewhat, transformed into a sort of a religious carnival, judging by the mammoth crowd that graced the event, including non Muslim guests from within and beyond Agege.
The lecture, third in line as earlier mentioned, is put together annually by the RRS helmsman, in fond memory of his beloved, late parents, Pa Abdel Azeez Egbeyemi and Alhaja Sariyu Ayinke Arikewushola Egbeyemi for the spiritual purpose of invoking eternal mercies of Allah upon their departed souls.
Expectedly, the lecture is usually a mix of sermons and Islamic religious teachings wrapped in a strategic topic delivered by a renowned cleric selected for the year.
Attendees at the 2024 lecture will for a long time relish the symbolic experience of a carnival like religious time-out especially with the in-depth delivery on the topic of the year “Five Pillars of Islam” by the invited cleric Sheikh Rufai Salaty
Chief host and convener of the annual spiritual exercise, CSP Saheed Olayinka Egbeyemi, was all glow throughout the lecture as guests and residents trooped-in, in droves from the beginning to the end of the day’s events, non stop.
Sheikh Rufai Salaty, who was the preferred choice for the 2024 Lecture, rendered an expert dissection of the year’s topic, as he rounded off with a compassionate call on Muslim faithfuls to identify fully with the five pillars of Islam, emphasizing that, it was the only recipe to the true practice of the religion, which in effect, guarantees success in this material world and the hereafter.
The lecture climaxed with the break of fast (Iftar);:chief host and convener, CSP Egbeyemi, treated the mammoth crowd of attendees with a very rich and sumptuous pack of meal and soft drinks to complete an uncommon experience that eminently qualifies for what one can tag as a religious carnival worthy of emulation going forward
