A Letter To The Newly Appointed MSSN OAU Executives by Abdulhamid Mutohhir Olanrewaju ( A final year student )

Once again, the mantle of leadership has been passed on.

Alhamdulillah Rabbil Alamin. We give praise and thanks to Almighty Allah for making us witness that day. We thank Him for guiding the Shurah committee, and we thank Him for His choice of leaders.

For those of us who attended the programme, we would all agree that that day is a memorable one. It's not every day you see your leaders breaking down at the moment of appointment. And if there's a lesson to be learnt from that, and from the fact that Great men like Umar and Uthman cried as well, it's the fact that crying is not always a sign of weakness. Sometimes, it's a sign of inner strength.

To our dear newly appointed excos, with our congratulations and prayers for Barakah comes our suggestions and advice. Of course, not all of us have been class reps, not to talk of attaining positions like an Ameer and an Ameerah, so we can't exactly tell you what to do and how to do it. However, being at the grassroot, we are the ones observing and receiving whether negative or positive. It is for this reason that these few tips might be helpful during your administration:

1. LEARN FROM THE ERRORS OF THE PAST EXECUTIVES: To be honest, this past executives were wonderful in power. Perhaps the administration gets better as the tenure changes, Alhamdulillah for that. However, as wonderful a team as they were, a few minor errors might have been made that you will need to learn from.

2. MAINTAINING THE PEACE BETWEEN THE OAU MUSLIM COMMUNITY AND MSSN OAU: This is not to say that there's tension between the two bodies. Far from it, it is obvious from the several MSSN programmes that the Muslim community is solidly with us. However, this is just a call for our relationship with these wonderful mummies and daddies of ours to be strengthened.

3. AVOIDING DISCRIMINATION AMONGST THE STUDENTS: Some people from several sects feel unrecognised for reasons that are most likely beyond the control of the excos. That's fine. But you are implored to handle the ones within your control and try to foster unity amongst the students. Very often, it should be pointed out to everyone that so long as you testify to “Laa ilaha illa Allah, Muhammadur-Rasulullah”, you automatically fall under the umbrella of MSSN OAU.

4. WORK WITH THE STUDENT UNION EXECUTIVES: This could make recognition of the Muslim students and their rights better and easier. Occurrences like classes clashing with Jumu'ah time can constructively be tackled without any form of violence or inappropriateness.

5. MONITORING OF STUDENTS ON CAMPUS: In the last administration, there were reported cases of Christian preachers approaching our dear Freshers to change their Faith. This administration should organise measures of regular hostel visitation, particularly for the freshers. Alhamdulillah, this past administration strove to and succeeded in welcoming the current part 1 students and getting them actively involved in MSSN activities. Alhamdulillah once more, some of them are now members of the excos, and are recipients of this message too; another sign of the success of the previous administration.

To the Ameerah, we are grateful to Allah Azzawajal, Who has made you the Big Sister of every single female Muslim student of this prestigious institution. Your contributions and capabilities, along with Allah's Will, has brought you this far. May this same Allah ease your tenure and bless your efforts at serving Him with this position.

To the Ameer, Whom Allah has put at the hem of affairs, your dedication to building MSSN OAU, along with the will of Allah, has pulled you up to the captain of the ship. You're the one we follow and the one in charge. May Allah make your administration a smooth one. We cannot pray that there won't be challenges, because there most definitely will be. So we pray that Allah grants you the ability to overcome them, and to make each challenge and stepping stone for you and the entirety of MSSN OAU. Aamiin.