A Community Loses One of Its Builders
The Nigerian Muslim Community in Ireland has announced the death of Imam Abdul-Ganiy Adeleke Asubiaro, widely known as Alfa Gani — a scholar, mediator and community organiser whose work shaped the lives of Nigerian and Yoruba Muslims living across Ireland for many years. He passed away on Sunday, 7 September 2026, leaving behind a community that described his loss as deeply felt, even as members accepted it as the will of God and drew strength from the legacy of service he leaves behind.
The following points capture what defined Imam Asubiaro’s contribution and how his community has responded to his passing.
What His Death Means for the Diaspora Community
The passing of Imam Asubiaro is a significant moment for Nigerians in Ireland, not simply because of the personal grief it has caused, but because it marks the loss of a man who did the quiet, unglamorous work of holding a diaspora community together. Pioneering figures of his kind — those who arrive early, build institutions from scratch and make themselves available to ordinary people navigating difficult circumstances far from home — are not easily replaced. His annual Ramadan lectures were not grand public spectacles; they were practical, family-centred gatherings designed to address real problems in real households, and that grounded approach earned him the trust he held.
Muslim organisations across Ireland have offered prayers for him and his family. His death comes not long after that of Niger State-born Islamic cleric Abdullateef Aliyu Maiyaki, known as Mufti Yaks, who died at the National Hospital in Abuja following a brief illness — a reminder that the Nigerian Islamic community has lost several prominent voices in a short space of time. The work these men did, whether at home or in the diaspora, deserves to be recorded and remembered clearly, not reduced to passing tributes.