From Paul Orude, Bauchi
Governor Bala Mohammed of Bauchi State has commissioned the second oldest Mosque in Bauchi, the Yelwan Kagadama Jumu’at Masjid.
The mosque was reconstructed at the sum of N40 million, the Deputy Speaker of the State Assembly, Hon Danlami Ahmad Kawule, who represented the governor at the commissioning, disclosed.
The colourful ceremony pulled an unprecedented crowd of worshippers.
Commissioning the Jumu’at Mosque on behalf of the governor, the Deputy Speaker dwelled on the relevance to the Muslims of the Kagadama Mosque at Yelwa, a suburb of Bauchi metropolis.
Kawule commended the efforts of the governor in the reconstruction and renovation of various other mosques across the state towards the growth and development of the religion of Islam.
Welcoming the celebrants earlier, the Chief host and Executive Chairman of Bauchi Local Government Council, Hon. Mahmood Baba Ma’aji Abubakar commended also Governor Mohammed in promoting multi-religious facets in Bauchi State and urged people to rally around his administration.
The state immediate past commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, and chairman of the occasion, Hon Abdulrazaz Nuhu Zaki disclosed that the state government expended N40 million towards the successful completion of the mosque reconstruction work.
Zaki noted that had it been without the intervention of Governor Bala Mohammed on the project, he could not foresee the possibility of completing the construction work which started 22 years ago.
He commended the foresight of the Yelwa Muslim community led by Imam Mansur Isah Yelwa of the Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University (ATBU) who sought the assistance of the Bauchi state government in the completion of the mosque reconstruction work.
The former commissioner explained that as a sign of justice, equity and fair play coupled with the need for peaceful co-existence among the multi-religious community of Bauchi metropolis and its environs, the state government undertakes the construction and reconstruction of both Mosques and Churches across the state.
This disposition of the government, he said, is geared to promote not only peaceful co-existence among the heterogeneous Bauchi community but also to stimulate unity and brotherhood among the folkloric groups in the cosmopolitan environment.
The guest speaker at the occasion, ATBU, Bauchi Chief Imam Dr Mansur Isa Yelwa extensively dwelled on the need for unity among the Muslims Ummah for which the mosque was constructed to promote, hence universal message “The One Ummah, One Religion, One God”.
Describing the Mosque as the root of unity among the Ummah, Imam Isa Yelwa, on the significance of congregational prayers among the Muslim which, he exhibited, is more rewarding compared to singular prayers by a follower in Islam.
The Khutba Jumu’at Prayer and Pre-Khutba presentations were made by Imam Mansur Isa Yelwa and Chief Imam of the Masjidus-Sahaba, Bauchi–Imam Abdurrahman Ibrahim Idris that pulled an unprecedented crowd of worshippers within Bauchi metropolis and environs.
