INTERNATIONAL WOMEN'S DAY: MIMBAR COLLEGE HONOURS PROF. (MRS) MORUFAT OLORUNTOYIN BALOGUN. International Women’s Day comes up every 8th of March as it is a global event celebrating social, economic, social and cultural achievements of women around the world. The day also marks a call to action for accelerating women’s equality. This year's IWD at MIMBAR, with the theme (Gender equality today for a sustainable tomorrow), was packed with so much educative activities than ever before, as the school was privileged to have the presence of an erudite scholar “who had an hour session with both the students and pupils of MIMBAR COLLEGE and MIMBAR CHILDREN SCHOOL respectively at college.
The School honoured a Professor of Genetics, and a Tissue Culture Specialist”, in person of Professor (Mrs) Morufat Oloruntoyin Balogun (The 4th Muslim female professor in the 71 years existence of the University of Ibadan), as part of the programme to commemorate the international Women's Day.
Prof. Balogun was welcomed by the School Administrator, Mrs Rasheedat Agbaje-Akinlabi and one of the parents and a Member of the school governing council, Hajia Sadiat Adeoye.
The programme kicked off with a recitation of Qur’an from one of the pupils from Children school, Maryam Adebola. Followed by Prof.'s citation which was read by Zainab Wahab, the Head Girl of MIMBAR COLLEGE.
Speaking at the occasion Prof. Balogun encouraged all the students not to relent in their academic pursuit. She urged them to use one key resource that they have judiciously, which is their time. She emphasized on the importance of Time-Management and that students should not waste their time on unproductive activities, as this is one of the secrets to her achievements. She further stated that the pen of a scholar is mightier than the sword of a matyr. When asked what motivates her to keep seeking knowledge, she responded that all we need for a successful life is in the holy Qur'an and that Allah has said that 'those who know are better than thoae who do know not. And that it is only those who have knowledge that will appreciate Allah and His creations, and hence will be able to worship Him. Moving further, she narrated the event that happened between “Prophet Adam and Iblis” and how Allah SWT placed Adam above Iblis because of the knowledge he possessed and Iblis was condemned because of his pride and arrogance.
She also drew the attention of the students towards giving more priority to knowledge seeking where she quoted the hadith that says “Knowledge is the lost property of a believer, wherever he finds it, he should grab it”.
She further mentioned that in her research she found some uniqueness in all living things which points to the divinity and oneness of Allah. On her research on yam, she said that she realized that yam was an orphan as not many people wanted to research about it. Knowing the importance of yam she felt it is a worthy area to work on. She also stated that yam is the king of food, that even diabetics can eat it and that people should do away with imported foods.
She urged the students to judiciously manage their time and resources (both monetary and non-monetary). She then emphasized that the girls should remain focused, keep doing well and not relent in their efforts in order to shape their lives for a better and sustainable tomorrow.
The students learnt a lot from her as she is a shinning light and a source of inspiration to the Muslim girl.