The Kebbi State Governor, Comrade Dr Nasir Idris, Kauran Gwandu, has flagged-off the 39th National Qur’anic recitation competition in Birnin Kebbi.
The nine-day long event is expected to be closed on Saturday, Dec. 28, with the crowning of Goni (best male reciter of the year) and Gona (best female reciter of the year).
The competition will feature 444 competitors with 222 males and 222 females, where each state of the federation presented six participants to compete in six different categories.
Declaring the completion open at the Umaru Waziri Federal Polytechnic, Birnin Kebbi, Gov. Idris expressed delight to have given Kebbi the opportunity to host the event after two decades, describing it as a rare privilege.
“I am the happiest person today, this is an opportunity for me and the good people of Kebbi to contribute to the success of Qur’anic recitation in Nigeria,” he said.
In his speech, the Shehu of Borno, who is also the Royal Father of the Day, Alhaji Abubakar Ibn Umar-Garbai said the gathering was not only for Qur’anic recitation but it was an avenue to appreciate values and traditions of one another.
The royal father observed that the Holy Qur’an “is the first teacher”, adding that there “is no problem on earth” that has no solution in the Holy Qur’an.
“I want to remind the reciters that you are not reciting the Holy Qur’an just for the purpose of memorisation but more importantly, you are conveying the message of Almighty Allah,” he said.
Presenting a paper on “the Historical Background of the Glorious Qur’an”, Prof. Aliyu Bunza of Usman Danfodio University, Sokoto (UDUS), said Qur’an first surfaced in Saudi Arabia and secondly in Africa, precisely in Ethiopia, then Saudi Arabia.
He said about 2,700 Tafsir were written but only 30 were authenticated and published, adding that so far Qur’an was translated in 100 different languages across the world.
Bunza noted with satisfaction that Nigeria has the highest number of Hafeez (Qur’anic memorisers) globally, confirming that Hausa/Fulani learnt recitation of the Glorious Qur’an from Kanuri.
Alhaji Sama’ila Muhammadu-Mera, the Emir of Argungu and Chairman, Local Organising Committee, appreciated Gov. Idris for providing the committee with all the necessary things to make its work easy.
He also acknowledged the support and contributions of traditional institutions, well meaning individuals as well as the entire Muslim Ummah towards the success of the recitation processes.
Earlier, the Vice Chancellor, UDUS, Prof. Bashir Garba, the organisers of the annual competition under the Centre for Islamic Studies, described the Holy Qur’an as a guidance and blessing to humanity.
He advised both participants and other attendees to consider the event as a reminder to reconnect with the Glorious Qur’an, by extension reconnect with their creator.
