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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