By Olukayode Michael, Maiduguri
Sultan of Sokoto, Muhammad Sa’ad Abubakar on Friday led dozens of Emirs to commission the Maiduguri Central Mosque.The mosque, began 33 years ago, was designed as an Islamic resource centre with ten classrooms, two libraries, one of which is an electronic-library, a media centre and office accommodation.
Its prayer halls have 37 air conditioners, 34 wall & standing fans as well as 28 Soffit fans; it has 90 ablution points,18 conveniences, eight water reservoirs, a dedicated transformer and two standby generators.
After the massive complex was commissioned by the Sultan, the first Juma’a prayer was held with many worshipers having a feel of the 15,000 capacity mosque.
The mosque, was first built in 1918 around the Shehu’s palace in Maiduguri, but was demolished in 1986 to enlarge and remodel it.
Despite several efforts by successive government and contributions by prominent citizens, the project was stalled until Governor Kashim Shettima in 2012, approved the accelerated work on the project.
At the commission of the mighty edifice, Sultan Abubakar and the Shehu of Borno (who is custodian of the Mosque) both showered encomiums on Governor Shettima for putting an end to 33 years wait.
“Borno is indeed lucky to have Governor Kashim Shettima especially at challenging times because he has proved more than capable of weathering the insurgent storm. He understands the needs of Borno people and certainly completing this mosque touches the heart of many citizens,” the Sultan said.
On his part, the Shehu described Governor Shettima as a true leader and one that will forever be remembered and celebrated by the people of Borno.
Shettima said his administration intervened to meet a peculiar need of the majority population in the state.
He said: “Governance is about addressing basic needs and some wants that are peculiar to every society since all societies have their peculiarities.”
He took time out to mention persons who he said had made contributions from the foundation stage until the mosque project was completed. He lamented that majority of them had passed on.
The state Commissioner for Religious Affairs, Mustapha Fannarambe said the secret behind completion of the mosque was Governor Shettima multiple unscheduled visits to site as that placed all workers and supervisors under pressure of meeting deadline. He also spoke on the quality of work delivered through his ministry’s supervision.
He said: “The Maiduguri Central Mosque is tastefully built with the best standard. All facilities at the mosque are of reputable quality and they were subjected to quality and functionality tests most times on the orders of Governor Kashim Shettima.”