Since last year when he attended the annual Maulud of Sheikh Ibrahim Nyass in Sokoto, Governor Bello Mohammed sought for the hosting right of this year’s Maulud celebration in Zamfara State. He was granted.
For the past three days, the State was plummeting with human population from across the Country and beyond. Today, in Gusau, it’s Mecca of a sorts where Muslims from all walks of life gathered at the new Cargo Airport being constructed in Gusau to celebrate the annual event.
It was a hectic task reaching the venue of the event, even as the Governor’s convoy burrowed through the thick crowd of visiting participants.
Governor Bello Mohammad Matawalle pleaded for patience with visitors as he patiently, himself, sat in the bus conveying him and some dignitaries, submitting to the mercy of enthusiastic celebrants.
It was a grand scenario beholding the array of religious, political and other opinion leaders as the tents erected shadowed down on its occupants to make it easy to concentrate.
It’s the month of March, but the normally harsh weather bowed down to the supremacy of the occasion as the scorching sun experienced in the previous few days mellowed down by the power of God to make it easy on the ever-busy celebrants.
When one beholds the spectacular scenario at the venue, one would easily notice a cluster of activities in a very proud way of feeling the powers of Sufists’ way of expressing love for their leaders.
Some chanted songs of praises, some busy helping others to some food or water and some were simply busy selling local medicants, others selling assorted wares, girls singing the arabic songs of praises…everyone doing his own thing to make his contribution count at the occasion.
Governor Matawalle which underscored the essence of gatherings in islam where everyone is expected to pray as God accepts the prayers of his servants done collectively. Zamfara State needs the prayer of every one to ease and even eliminate its multifaceted trials, especially at the security front.
The newly-crowned leader of Tijjaniyya Movement in Nigeria, Emir Muhammadu Sanusi 11, enjoined all Muslins to be abreast of the changes taking place in their society and join hands to move ahead for the progress of the Ummah. He promised to help the movement to count in National and International discourse.
The leader of the Tijjaniyya Movement, Sheikh Muhammadu Mahi Nyass, made a similar call on members of the movement, especially their leaders to join hands in uniting the members of the movement and eschew actions that can lead to their division. He thanked all the leaders of the movement in Nigeria for their decades of service to the group and to Islam as a whole.
Zamfara State has finally hosted an international event where enormous number of people gathered from across the World very successfully. This is a feat never envisaged to happen in Zamfara State before the advent of Matawalle’s administration.
The basic lesson derivable from this success is that honesty of purpose, resilience in pursuit of goal and being truthful to the people can fetch a leader the success that elude his contemporaries.
We pray that peace will continue to increase and reign in Zamfara State where everyone can come in and conduct one’s business and leave or stay unscathed.
Bappa is the Special Adviser to the Governor on Media
