Kareem Haruna
— June 1, 2014
The Emir of Gwoza, Alhaji Shehu
Mustapha Idrisa Timta, who was killed
by Boko Haram gunmen on Friday, was
buried yesterday in his domain amidst
tears.
Though the first-class monarch was
killed while on his way to attend the
burial of the Emir of Gombe, Alhaji
Shehu Abubakar, none of his colleagues
from within and outside the state was
able to attend his interment due to the
unpredictable security situation on the
way to and around Gwoza town.
Borno State governor Kashim Shettima,
who was accompanied by deputy
governor Zanna Mustapha and Senator
Muhammed Ali Ndume who is from
Gwoza, were the highest public officers
that led other state government
functionaries to attend the burial.
Shettima and his entourage left
Maiduguri amidst tight security powered
by a combined force of about 150
soldiers of the 7 Division, Maiduguri, the
police special squad and the Civilian
JTF who actually took the lead through
the 135km deserted Maiduguri-Bama
road.
While the officials of the local vigilante
were also seen in couple of places
manning the road, an aircraft fighter jet
hovered over the governor’s motorcade
until the entourage finally got to Gwoza.
The Maiduguri-Bama road had been a
no-go area for months now as Boko
Haram gunmen turned the route into a
slaughter slab where commuters were
attacked, killed or robbed on a daily
basis.
Shettima’s convoy arrived Gwoza about
1pm after which he drove to the palace
and immediately participated in the
burial of the monarch about 2pm.
The crowded Islamic funeral was led by
the chief imam of Gwoza, Alhaji Ibrahim
Ahmad Bamanga.
The atmosphere was drenched with
tears as the monarch’s remains were
being placed into the royal grave dug
near that of his late father, Alhaji Idrissa
Timta, within the precincts of the
palace.
Even Mother Nature shed tears for the
deceased monarch: a heavy downpour
commenced the very moment the late
monarch, who was severally described
as a man of unquantifiable tolerance
and peaceful disposition, was being
placed in his final resting place. The
rains abruptly stopped shortly after his
grave was covered.
Senator Muhammed Ali Ndume, a son of
Gwoza, wept profusely when he
addressed mourners shortly after the
interment. “Today is a sad day for us,”
said Ndume. “The only baobab tree that
casts its royal shade upon all of us has
fallen; but if we could all be patient and
very patient in our plight, another
branch will sprout from its deep roots
and cast even a bigger shade upon us.
We in Gwoza have lost a father, a leader
and a man of peace. We shall miss His
Royal Highness, but we pray God should
give us yet another illustrious and kind
king that will even promote the
esteemed virtues for which we remember
the late Emir. Gwoza has been
distressed, our people have suffered
serious attacks and displacements but
our father remained with us and stood
for us, until he eventually passed away.
May he rest in peace.”
Ndume commended the Borno State
governor for defying all odds on the
road to Gwoza to attend the Emir’s
burial.
Governor Shettima, who also battled to
control his tears as he delivered his
tribute and condolences, described the
late Shehu Idrissa Timta as “a man who
spent the better part of his reign
preaching peace and tolerance”.
“This is not a day for long speeches; it
is a day of mourning of our late father
and monarch. May Allah give us yet
another monarch that will love his
people in the manner the late Shehu
Idrissa Timta did; in his lifetime, he was
being eulogized as one king that can
keep a venomous viper in his pocket,
because of his superlative love for peace
and tolerance; he was known as a
monarch who never showed discrepancy
whether of religion or tribe. The late
Emir has lived an exemplary life; he was
a paragon of everything that is good in
a leader. Those that assassinated him
may have done their worst, but they
should know that, as they would
continue to wallow in their tormented
guilt, the Emir is being celebrated to
have died on a Friday, which in
accordance with the Islamic belief is a
day of blessing for any one that dies
naturally, talk more of one whose life
was brutally taken by another person on
that blessed day. We pray that, in the
next seven days
when the next Emir of Gwoza will
emerge, we shall have yet another Emir
that will even be celebrated more than
the late Shehu Idrissa Timta. We are in
difficult times, we are challenged by
insecurity, but what is very sure is that
we will not remain in this condition for
ever, because everything in life is a
passing phase,” he said.
The late Emir was survived by his
centenarian mother, 28 children, 14
grandchildren and 14 siblings.
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