Agbotomokekere (born May 4, 1935 1354AH) is a Nigerian religious leader. He is the Chief Imam of Ibadanland. He became Imam Abdul-Ganiyy AbuBakr Agbotomokekere Oke-Koto in 2015.

Early life

Sheikh A’bdul Ganiyy was the son of Abuubakr Agbotomokekere (Gatta or Gaataa), son of As-shaykh Abu Bakr Agbotomokekere, son of Muhammad, son of Hassan son of Ishaq. It has been established that his father was a royal immigrant from

Bida Bida is a Local Government Area in Niger State, Nigeria and a city on the A124 highway which occupies most of the area. The LGA has an area of and a population of 188,181 at the 2006 census. The postal code of the area is 912. Geography Bida ...

, in present day Niger state. His great grandfathers hailed from

and were stationed in Ibadan for advancing

Islam Islam is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the Quran, and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims, who are estimated to number Islam by country, 2 billion worldwide and are the world ...

. His father served as the grand

Mufti A mufti (; , ) is an Islamic jurist qualified to issue a nonbinding opinion ('' fatwa'') on a point of Islamic law (''sharia''). The act of issuing fatwas is called ''iftāʾ''. Muftis and their ''fatāwa'' have played an important role thro ...

of Ibadanland, a position he held until January 3, 1954. He was a renowned preacher of Islam, who in collaboration with his brother, Abdu Salam bn Muhammad, became famous for his excellent literary abilities, proficiency, and leadership of Muslim communities in West Africa. Abdu Salam bn Muhammad authored books on Islamic studies and preaching in Islam. These include ''Tuhfatul-Wa muhaditheen wa-lghaafiliin'' and ''Sirajul-Wa ‘izeen'' which were expanded and published by his son تحفة المحدثين والغافلين للشيخ العلامة مفتى المالكية عبد السلام بن محمد
Poem by Sheikh abdul Ganiyy

Career

A’bdul Ganiyy Agbotomokekere started learning Quran">Qur‘an from Sheikh Isa Shitu Abonde. He later completed the Quranic study under Sheik Ibrahim Abu Bakr. He continued study under Sheikh Shitu Junaid Abonde and Sheikh Abdul Wahid Alafara at Oje. Then he studied under Grand Mufti Sheikh Burhanudeen Sanusi Alaka. He then attended Al-Kharashi Memorial Arabic school, Odo Okun, where he became fluent in Arabic. He completed the Hajj in 1975. He continued as an Arabic and Islamic studies teacher at Oke Agbo in Ijebu Igbo, Ijebu Igbo under Islaahudeen society from 1961 to 1963. He served as a teacher under the Western Region Government at IDC, Akinkunmi Adifa, Akinyele Local Government. He then joined the staff of Kharashi memorial school in 1970 (the first formally established Arabic and Islamic centre in the South West region of Nigeria. He educated scholars in various branches of Islamic studies. He is one of the preachers of Islam in Ibadanland appointed by the then chief Imam Mudathir Abdul-Salam on 23 January 1989. He was appointed by the late chief Imam Shuarau Baosari Harun as

Ashura Ashura (, , ) is a day of commemoration in Islam. It occurs annually on the tenth of Muharram, the first month of the Islamic calendar. For Sunni Muslims, Ashura marks the parting of the Red Sea by Moses and the salvation of the Israelites ...

Lecturer. He was installed and turbaned to succeed his father (as Magaji) in 2002 under late chief Imam Shuarau Baosari Harun III. He became Mogaji Barika Jum ‘ah in 2007. He was appointed the chief Mufassir for Ibadan in 2009 and on 16 November 2013 he was installed as the Grand Mufti for Ibadanland by chief Imam late Alhaj Shu‘arau Baosari III. He organizes regular lectures in front of his house and he specifically chose the 9th and 10th of

Muharram Al-Muharram () is the first month of the Islamic calendar. It is one of the four sacred months of the year when warfare is banned. It precedes the month of Safar. The tenth of Muharram is known as Ashura, an important day of commemoration in ...

every year for a special annual lecture; continuing his father's practice. He undertakes other social responsibilities such as conflict resolution and social development. He became the provost of Kharashi Memorial Arabic College in 1994. He became Chief Imam of Ibadanland on 15 May 2015.

References

{{reflist 1935 births Living people African imams Nigerian Muslims