National Amir Welcome Address at the Opening Ceremony of Dawah Holiday Camping National Youth Service Orientation Camp IseyinC

Being welcome speech delivered by the National Amir of The Companion –Engr. Kamil Olalekan, FNSE at the formal opening ceremony of The 2021 Dawn Holiday Programme (DHP) held at NYSC Orientation Camp,Iseyin, Oyo State on Saturday, 25th December, 2021. (21st J. Awwal, 1443 AH)

Auzu billahi mina shaetani rajim bismillah rahamani raheem To Allah belong all praise and adoration. I testify that He is one and bear witness that Holy prophet Mohammed (SAW) is His messenger. I seek the blessing of Allah upon the soul of Prophet Mohammed, his household, his companions and every Muslim who follow his path till the Last Day. I greet you all in the noblest manner. As salam alaekum waramotullah wabarakatuh. (May the peace and mercy of Allah abide with you all). Amen. Protocols His Excellency, – Senator Seyi Makinde, the Governor of Oyo State, His Excellency, Engr. Rauf Aderemi Olaniyan, FNSE, Deputy Governor of Oyo State Hon. Mufutau O. Abilawon, the Chairman of Iseyin Local Government Area Our Royal Father & Host, His Royal Majesty, Kabiyesi, Oba (Dr) Abdul-Ganiy Adekunle Salau, Ajinese 1, The Aseyin of Iseyin Land The Chief Imam of Iseyin, Sheikh Abdul Hakeem Babatunde Olajori The Chairman of today & Baba Adinin of Oke Ogun, Alhaji Ahmed Raji , SAN Distinguished Guest Speakers of today: Professor Muslih Tayo Yahya (Executive Secretary of MUSWEN) and Dr Ibrahim Uthman of The Dept. of Arabic & Islamic Studies, University of Ibadan Other Distinguished Guests, Chairman Board of Trustees & other Elders of The Companion & The Criterion District Amirs & Amirahs of The Companion & The Criterion Members of the National Executive Council of The Companion and The Criterion, The National Amir and officers of The Dawn, Distinguished Parents and Guardians, Members of The Companion and The Criterion, Participants at the 2021 DHP, Distinguished members of the Press, Brothers and sisters in Islam, I have the singular honour and pleasure to welcome you all on behalf of The Companion and The Criterion to the ancient town of Iseyin on this occasion of the formal opening ceremony of the 20th edition of our annual youth camping programme otherwise known as The Dawn Holiday Programme (DHP). It is indeed exciting to be back in Iseyin since 2017 when we held a similar ceremony during the 16th edition of the DHP. I am also particularly honoured because this is my first DHP as the National Amir of The Companion. I recall that this time last year, the outbreak of COVID – 19 pandemic coupled with the restrictions put in place by the government prevented us from holding the usual DHP. Instead, we had to settle for a virtual DHP. Allah in His infinite mercy has kept us alive and hearty to witness another year. We thank Him and praise Him. May He accept our thanks and spare our lives to witness many more years in His worship. Amen. The DHP platform was created by The Companion in conjunction with The Criterion with input from The Dawn as one of our annual programmes specifically designed for youth development and capacity building. It is a ten day camping programme which features various activities in youth training in soft and hard skills such as communication, leadership, problem solving, teamwork, creativity, healthy living, time management etc. It also provide avenue to train the youth in vocational and entrepreneurial skills as well as community service and Islamic ethics. Other engagements include sports, excursion, Qur’an memorization and quiz competition. The Companion and the Criterion appreciate that the youth is our future and their ability to provide worthwhile leadership will depend on the quality of training they receive while growing up. It is in the light of this desire to equip the Muslim Youth with adequate leadership skills and imbibe all-round development personality that the DHP was put in place. The timing was also carefully chosen to give all Muslim children and youth the opportunity to attend and participate in the programme and to prevent the temptation of being involved in the un-Islamic activities usually associated with the Gregorian calendar year end. The programme has been comprehensively designed to cover different areas of interests and stimulating activities for the participants. Our ultimate aim is to raise God conscious and morally upright youth who would be leaders of tomorrow and pride of Islam. The DHP is open to Muslim children and youth in general especially students within the age bracket of 10 and 25 years. It is also open to young graduates from our tertiary institutions. Token registration fee is charged because the programme is usually heavily subsidized with financial support from The Companion, The Criterion and public spirited individuals and organizations. Leadership and day to day running of the Camp is largely provided by The Dawn (The Youth Wing of The Companion & The Criterion) with minimal supervision by few members of The Companion and The Criterion. The theme for this year’s DHP is “The Transformative Leaders” and two erudite scholars have been carefully selected to speak on the theme from different perspectives. Our Guest Speakers are Professor Muslih Tayo Yahya (the Executive Secretary of Muslim Ummah of South West Nigeria, MUSWEN) and Dr Ibrahim Uthman of The Department of Arabic and Islamic Studies, University of Ibadan. I urge you to listen to their lectures attentively in order to benefit from their vast knowledge and experiences. The theme was carefully chosen in line with the aspiration of The Companion, The Criterion and The Dawn to train and develop Young Muslims not only in terms of our Deen, but also in all round leadership skills to be able to lead and inspire a followership to transform and change the society to a better and suitable environment for rapid growth and development without compromising Islamic ethics and values. It is therefore, important that we start to nurture young minds to acquire the characteristics of successful leaders who are conscious about the need for human and societal progress. I wish to specially commend the parents and guardians of our DHP participants for entrusting the care and safety of their children and wards to us at a difficult time like this when another variant of COVID – 19 called omicron is ravaging and spreading. I wish to assure you that we have taken necessary precautions to guide against contacting and spreading the virus on camp. All COVID – 19 protocols will strictly be observed and enforced. Adequate medical facilities and personnel are also on ground for the health care needs of our participants. I call on our participants to adhere to camp rules and regulations and also open your minds to enrich your knowledge and experience in order to benefit immensely from your stay in camp. Permit me to use the opportunity of this event to call on the government at all levels to take youth training and development as a matter of priority. The knowledge and digital economy where the world is heading actually belong to the youth. They should therefore be encouraged and given leadership positions in the economic and political space in order to tap into their potentials and prepare them for greater responsibilities and trust. It is by so doing that the future as well as orderly progress and development of our society will be assured. No effort should be spared to provide a level playing ground and equal opportunities for the youth to thrive and develop to their full potential for the overall benefit of the country. Mr Chairman and other distinguished guests, I wish to use the opportunity of this speech to express our gratitude to you for honouring our invitation and pray Allah to also honour you, elevate you and support you in your endeavours. We are also grateful to the NYSC leadership for granting us the permit to use their facilities. Our commendation also goes to our various donors and supporters for their assistance in cash and kind. May Allah richly bless you all. Members of The Companion, The Criterion and The Dawn including the National and Local Organising Committee are also commended for their selfless service and contributions towards this year’s DHP. May Allah reward you all abundantly. Amen Finally, I thank Almighty Allah for sparing our lives to witness this occasion. I also reiterate my call on the participants to be actively involved in all activities in the camp and wish everyone a pleasant camp experience. I thank you all for your attention. As salam alaykum waramotu Llahi wabarakatuh. As sala, alaykum waramotu llah wabarajhatuhu