Jutha Gupah, Maiduguri
The Sultan of Sokoto, Muhammad Sa’ad Abubakar III; on Friday commissioned the Maiduguri Central Mosque (MCM) along with dozens of Shehus and Emirs from North. The mosque was completed by Governor Kashim Shettima of Borno state, 33 years after the mosque project commenced. While addressing a mammoth crowd of Muslims, Abubakar said: : “Borno is lucky to have Governor Kashim Shettima, especially at challenging times; because he has proved more than capable of wreathing Boko Haram insurgency storm. “He understands the needs of people to complete this mosque that touches hearts of many citizens.” The commissioned 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 the mosque is prayer halls, have 37 air conditioners, 34 wall & standing fans as well as 28 Soffit fans. The Mosque also has 90 ablution points,18 conveniences, eight water reservoirs, a dedicated transformer and two standby generators. It was originally built in 1918 around the Shehu’s palace in Maiduguri, before it was demolished in 1986 for the purpose of building a bigger one to accommodate growing number of worshipers. Despite several efforts by successive government and contributions by prominent citizens, the multi-million naira mosque project was stalled, until Governor Shettima in 2012, approved an accelerated completion by his administration to meet the May 29, 2019 deadline. On his part, the Shehu described Governor as a true leader and one that will forever remembered and celebrated by the people of Borno. Governor Kashim Shettima said that his administration intervened to meet a peculiar need of the populace in Borno state. Governance, according to him, is about addressing basic needs and some wants that are peculiar to every society since all societies have their peculiarities. He said there are various to mention; who had made contributions towards the mosque foundation laying and different stages of completing the mosque project. He said that most of the contributors to completing the mosque, have passed away. The Commissioner for Religious Affairs, Mustapha Fannarambe disclosed that the secret behind completion of the mosque was the Governor’s multiple unscheduled visits to the site; as that placed all workers and supervisors under pressure to the completion deadline. “The Central Mosque; was tastefully built with the best standards. All facilities at the mosque are of high quality and they were subjected to quality and functionality tests most times on the orders of Governor Shettima,” he said.
