The Association of Quranic reciters executive committee for Ogun State have been inaugurated at the palace of the Onirete of Irete Ijebu Kingdom, Oba Abdul Ganiyu Olusegun Awokoya, with a call for better understanding of the Holy Quran.
National Chairman of Association of Participants and Winners of National Quran Competition, APWON,Dr. Aliyu Muhammad Tukur performed the inauguration ceremony
Effectively, Al Haafidh Rifat Pasha Kolawole Abdus Salaam and his executive have been given the task of ensuring that more Nigerians read and memorise the Holy Quran.
Dr. Aliyu Muhammad Tuku said Qur’anic recitation competitions did not just emerge by coincidence but carefully introduced as a response to a growing concern and the rise of different kinds of sports, games, entertainments and other distractions affecting Muslim youths.
According to him, the Qur’anic recitation competitions were traced to Malaysia, in 1951. Over time, it developed into a national competition in 1960, and by 1961, it had grown into an international event, initially hosting just a few neighbouring countries. A major turning point in 1979, when the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia established
the prestigious King Abdulaziz International Qur’anic Recitation Competition.
This landmark initiative was designed to encourage, promote, and preserve the Qur’an in thehearts of young Muslims. It set a global standard and provided the entire Muslim world with
a renewed sense of direction in advancing the cause of the Noble Qur’an.
“The structure of this initiative is both strategic and inspiring: countries across the worldorganize Qur’anic recitation competitions beginning from the grassroots—progressing from local levels to state and national stages. The finest reciters who emerge at the nationallevel are then given the honour of representing their countries on the international stage, hosted in the sacred precincts of Masjid al-Haram. It is through this noble platform that Nigeria proudly sends its representatives.”
QURANIC RECITERS EXCO OGUN STATE
And by 1985, it had evolved into what we now know as the National Qur’anic Recitation Competition of Nigeria. For over four decades now, this competition has continued to serve not just as an event—but as an institution. An institution that has produced outstanding reciters who have gone on to represent Nigeria on international stages—and excel. An institution that has contributed to the emergence of Millions of Huffaz across the country, with remarkable mastery and precision in recitation.
He explained that the Qur’anic recitation competition in Nigeria has become a unifying force, for more than forty years, bringing together Muslims from different backgrounds, different schools of thought, and different traditions—under one platform Whether Sunni, Tijjaniyya, Qadiriyya—differences are set aside.
In his words, “the Qur’an becomes the centre. And remarkably, throughout these decades, there has been no record of conflict, no record of division, no record of violence. That alone tells us something profound about the power of the Qur’an. And perhaps one of the greatest outcomes of this journey…Is the emergence of a community. A large, dynamic, and highly impactful community of individuals who passed through this system.Today, among them are scholars, academicians, professionals… administrators,business leaders… and individuals contributing meaningfully across every sector of society.All connected by one thing: The Qur’an.
QURANIC RECITER RECEIVING AWARD
In 2020, during the National Qur’anic Recitation Competition hosted by Lagos State, APWON was conceived. APWON evolved into a truly inclusive national body—the Association of Participants and Winners of the National Qur’anic Recitation Competition. This inclusivity means that membership is open to everyone who has ever participated in the Musabaqa at any level—whether at the school stage, local government, state, or national level.
