Tribute to IEDPU National President, Alhaji Abdulmumini Ayo Abdulmalik: A Quintessential Nigerian

By Raheem Adeshina Ibrahim

Alhaji Abdulmumini Ayo Abdulmalik was born in the early 1950s and attended a local Qur’anic school at a very early stage of his life at Alfa Hassan Madrasat (Ile Kewu Alfa Hassan), Akodudu Quarters, Ilorin—the same place where his father, Alhaji Abdulmalik, began his own Qur’anic education.

Between 1959 and 1965, he attended Okelele and Okesuna Junior and Senior Primary Schools.

He secured admission into a secondary school in Ejigbo in 1966, but his father, after observing the prevailing doctrine of the school during a visit, withdrew him and sent him to repeat Primary Seven at Ballah Primary School. There, he lived in the household of the then District Head of Owode (Daudu Ballah), Mallam Saidu Alao Omo Oloni.

In 1967, he gained admission into Ilorin College, Ilorin (now Government High School), where he became the first enrolled student (001) and graduated in December 1971.

Shortly after completing his secondary education, he was employed in January 1972 by the Federal Office of Statistics for preparatory work for the 1973 Census. He left the Census Office in early 1974 after a brief posting to the Census Headquarters in Lagos for post-census analysis. He later worked with Kwara State Printing and Publishing Company, publishers of The Herald, between 1974 and 1977.

Armed with his A-Level certificates, he gained admission into Bayero University in late 1977 to study English. As a student, he served as a member of the Editorial Board of the Department of English and European Languages.

He earned a Bachelor of Arts (Special Honours) degree in English in 1980 and completed his National Youth Service in the old Oyo State.

In 1981, he was employed by the Kwara State College of Education, Ilorin, in the Registry Department. By 1988, he rose to the position of Senior Assistant Registrar (Academic Secretary). In 1989, he transferred his service to the then Federal Ministry of Internal Affairs (now the Ministry of Interior), where he rose to the enviable rank of Assistant Comptroller General of Immigration before retiring in early 2012.

While in the service of the Nigeria Immigration Service, he attended several courses and seminars, consistently ranking among the top participants, ma sha Allah. During a course at the Immigration Command and Staff College, Sokoto, he served as a member of the Editorial Board and as a lead writer.

Before his retirement, he headed five Immigration Commands in Yobe, Adamawa, Ogun, Edo, and Sokoto States, serving in each state successively.

Alhaji Abdulmalik, a firm believer in community service, was an active member of the Muslim Students’ Society (MSS) and the Ilorin Students Union (ISU) from his secondary school days. He later became the National President of the Ilorin Students Union between 1978 and 1979.

While serving at the College of Education, Ilorin, he began his leadership journey in the Ilorin Descendants Progressive Union (IDPU), first as the 1st Assistant National Secretary in 1987, and later as National Secretary between 1988 and 1989. Between 2022 and 2023, he served as the IEDPU National Vice President.

He was elected National President of IEDPU in December 2023 through the will and mercy of Allah (SWT) and was re-elected unopposed in December 2025 for another two-year term.

In 2021, he was appointed as a member of the Visitation Panel to the Federal University of Technology, Akure. Earlier, in 2004, he served as a member of the Committee on the Assessment Tour of Prison Yards in Akwa Ibom State, representing the Immigration Service. He also served as Chairman of the Federal Government Committee to check the influx of foreign nationals and their activities in Yobe State between 2007 and 2008.

Within his community, he is a member of the Working Committee of the Ilorin Central Jumu’ah Mosque, as well as a member of the Eid Praying Ground Development and Management Committee. He is also a member of the Ilorin Durbar Committee.

At the family level, he is a member of the Akodudu Assalatu Group and serves as an elder/advisor to the Akodudu Progressive Union.

His hobbies include writing, reading, and travelling. He has several publications to his credit and has visited cities in the United Kingdom, the United States of America, Saudi Arabia, and across West Africa.

He is happily married with children and grandchildren.