Sultan of Sokoto commissions Maiduguri ultra modern multi billion central mosque after 33 years

By Ahmed Abu, The Nigerian Voice, Maiduguri

The Sultan of Sokoto, His Eminence, Alhaji Muhammad Sa'ad Abubakar III today led dozens of Emirs, chiefs and Imams acroos the north and other parts of the country to commis‎sion the historic Maiduguri Central Mosque completed by Governor Kashim Shettima after the project began 33 years ago.

The mosque was designed as an Islamic resource centre with ten classrooms, two libraries one of which is an electronic-library, media center and other offices while its prayer halls have 37 air conditioners, 34 wall & standing fans.

The ‎Mosque also has 90 ablution points,18 conveniences, eight water reservoirs, a dedicated transformer and two standby generators.

After commissioning by the Sultan, the first Juma'a prayer was held amidst large turn out of worshipers who filled inside and surroundings of the 15,000 capacity mosque.

The mosque, originally was built in 1918 around the Shehu's palace in Maiduguri, was demolished in 1986 for the purpose of building a bigger one to accommodate growing ‎number of worshipers.

Despite several efforts by successive governments and contributions by prominent citizens, the project was stalled until Governor Shettima in 2012, approved accelerated continuation by his administration with a completion target set before May 29, 2019.

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 of waiting.

He said, "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 at a pre-commissioning ceremony around the mosque.

On his part, the Shehu of Borno, HRH, Abubakar Ibn Garbai El Kanemi described Governor Shettima as a true leader and one that will forever be remembered and celebrated by the people of Borno.

Speaking, Governor Kashim Shettima said his administration intervened to meet a peculiar need of majority population in the state.

"Governance is about addressing basic needs and some wants tha‎t are peculiar to every society since all societies have their peculiarities" Shettima said.

He then took time to mention persons who he said had made contributions in the foundation and different stages of the mosque project, majority of whom had passed on.

The state Commissioner for Religious Affairs, Mustapha Fannarambe said the secret behind completion of the mosque was Governor Shettima's multiple unscheduled visits to the site as that placed all workers and supervisors under pressure of meeting the deadline.

He also spoke on the quality of workd delivered through his ministry's supervision. "The Maiduguri Central Mosque is tastefully built with the best standard.

"All facilities at the mosque are of reputable quality and they have been subjected to quality and functionality tests most times on the orders of His Excellency, Governor Kashim Shettima" Fannarambe said.