[size=14pt]Afraid that my children would turn my house into a church, I sold it to build a mosque - Otaru of Auchi[/size]

Sunday, March 27, 2011


Nothing plucks a smile so easily from his face than the mere fact that he, the people of Auchi and wellwishers were instrumental to the building of a superb mosque in Auchi. KEHINDE OYETIMI after an interaction with His Royal Highness, Alhaji Aliru H. Momoh, Ikelebe III, Otaru of Auchi Kingdom, relates the depth of sacrifice in the construction of the central mosque.


Alhaji Aliru H. Momoh, Ikelebe III, Otaru of Auchi Kingdom

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ENTERING Auchi from the axis of the Federal Polytechnic located in the town, students, travellers, traders, artisans, civil servants and all, provided the trappings of a busy community. They presented the hurry-scurry of the typical Nigerian urban dwelling. It was not difficult to locate the palace of the monarch of Auchi. The commercial motorcyclist who agreed to take Life and Living to the monarch's abode sped circumspectly through the labyrinths of the road network of the hilly town. The sun was high, annoyingly high. Its sharp rays penetrated deep into all that it covered, causing both motorcyclist and passenger to whisper in quiet protest.


After a quick bend, a stretch of road with very few commuters came on sight. On either side of the quiet terrain were stretches of trees which provided momentary relief from the biting scorch of the sun. At the far end of the road was a bold inscription welcoming everyone to the palace of the Otaru.


From the gate, down through the lawns, pass the conference hall was a mosque which towered resplendently. A cow mooed quietly as it grazed in the open compound in the Otaru's palace. Men in flowing apparels with skull caps, women with veils, and children just returning from school spoke in low tones as they moved from one end of the palace to the other. Life and Living was ushered into the reception wing of the monarch.


His appearance betrayed the fanfaronade of the typical African crowned head. With no beads, no crested crown, no noisy entourage, the Otaru of Auchi quietly walked in. With the Muslim praying bead conspicuously held, clad in a raw silk, enmeshed in praying mood, the Otaru made for his seat. "You are the Tribune man. Welcome!" He said. This reporter replied: "Your majesty, (cuts in)" "Do not refer to me as your majesty. It is Allah that has all majesty. You can refer to me as your highness," he quickly corrected.


Asked on his experience as the monarch of Auchi, he enthused about the contradictions that he met when he was enthroned over a decade ago. "When I came in, I discovered that Auchi was seriously divided. There was division between the elders and the palace chiefs. There was also a problem with the royal dynasty. If peace is absent, you cannot have prosperity. I ensured that everybody was in the scheme of driving Auchi to prosperity. I set up a committee of mallams and elders to go in and reconcile the chiefs and elders in the various communities. Where it was impossible for the committees to resolve the issues, I personally resolved them. We had to pray to God to give us the capability to do that and Insha Allah, we did it," he revealed.


WHILE many may only assume that the mosque

in the Otaru's palace may have been raised by the society's big shots, the monarch quickly spoke after a few probing from Life and Living that there was much behind the history of the mosque. According to him, many Islamic dignitaries who had visited Auchi had spoken on the need for a befitting prayer venue for Auchi people. "I had had a mindset since 1991 that Auchi deserved a befitting mosque where we could have Jumat service and congregational prayers every Friday. The roof of the mosque that we had in 1991 was blown off. I said that God was telling Auchi that we need a new mosque that would be big enough to accommodate Auchi people and even strangers. Some of the personalities, who visited during my reign, including Abacha, had made comments that Auchi had a very small mosque for the population of Muslims. When former vice president Atiku visited Edo State came to say his Friday prayers in the mosque and equally remarked that we needed to build a new mosque.

http://odili.net/news/source/2011/mar/27/614.html

Don't mind that Auchi man jare, Only in Nigeria does your company give you a house and you can sell it after you retire!