Kunle Adelabu
The first Mosque in Igbogbo kingdom, Araromi Mosque built 125 years ago, was on Thursday, May 14, 2020, demolished to pave way for an ultra-modern structure.
The demolition, THE IMPACT gathered, was in preparation for the foundation laying ceremony for a modern structure scheduled to hold on the site of the old mosque on Saturday, May 16, 2020.
Although, a section of the community argued that the old structure should have been sustained because of its historic importance, but the Imam of the mosque, Imam AbdulGaniu Gazali, explained to our reporter that the old structure was demolished when they could not find land anywhere within the community to build a new mosque.
He also disclosed that plan for the construction of a new structure started around 2006 when he was installed as the lmam of the mosque and appealed for public support towards the completion of the new mosque.
“We thank God. The old Araromi Mosque, which was the first mosque in Igbogbo built 125 years ago, was demolished because we are planning to build a modern one in its place.
“We started planning for the project in 2006 when I became the Imam of this mosque. Our plan is to elevate the Mosque to a modern structure that will meet the standard of our own time. The plan has been on long before now”, he explained.
“We are planning to build a storey building mosque that will accommodate male and female sections, toilets and ablution section among other facilities.
“We thought of expanding the old mosque but we couldn’t get the needed space where we are and we cannot move Araromi Mosque to another location. In actual fact, we would have left the old mosque alone but since there is no available land, we decided to demolish it to give room for a new structure”, Imam Abdul-Ganiu stated while explaining the reason behind the demolition of the ancient mosque.
“We celebrated the 125 years of the construction of the mosque in February 29 this year and on that day, we launched an appeal fund of N20million for the new ultra-modern mosque”.
The Imam appealed to the public to support them in the construction of the new mosque.
“Though, we have been able to gather some money, we are still far from what we needed for the project.
“So, we are commencing the construction of the new mosque with the money that we have gathered so far so that it will not look like we just raised the fund and we are not doing anything”, he said.
“We still need help from our Muslim brothers and sisters and other public spirited individuals in building the new mosque”.
Imam Abdul-Ganiu revealed that among those expected at the foundation laying ceremony on Saturday (tomorrow) are the traditional ruler in Igbogbo and the council chairman.
“The foundation laying ceremony is scheduled to hold on Saturday, May 16,2020, and we are expecting His Royal Majesty, Oba Semiudeen Kasali, the Adeboruwa of Igbogbo, Chiem Imam Tanimose Andu,Chief Imam of Igbogbo/Bayeku LCDA, Hon. Sesan Daini, Chairman, Igbogbo/Bayeku LCDA, Hon Adebimpe Akinsola, former acting Commissioner for Tourism and Special Adviser on Arts and Culture, Lagos State, among others.
“We are appealing to Muslims and non-Muslims alike, indigenes and residents of Igbogbo and others to support us in building an ultra-modern mosque in place of the demolished oldest mosque in Igbogbo”, he appealed.
Alhaji Rafiu Rufai, Chairman, Building Committee for the new Araromi Mosque, also speaking with THE IMPACT, explained that they had to commence the process of constructing a new mosque to dispel rumour in certain quarters that they are going to divert the fund raised earlier this year for the purpose of building a new mosque.
“We are commencing the construction of the new ultra-modern Araromi Mosque not because we have anything near the sum that we needed for the project but because we are trusting in God and public spirited individuals for needed support.
“Those that we have ran to were complaining about the effects of COVID 19 but we are determined to commence the construction with what we have at hand.
“We are conscious of the fact that some people are saying that we do not intend to use the money that was raised earlier in the year for the purpose it was meant for “, he stated.
“This is our own way of showing that we are not converting the money for personal use but for the purpose of building an ultra-modern mosque”, he added.
“We will use the fund that we have with us currently to push the project to whatever stage we can get to before we start appealing again for support.
“We are appealing for financial support from the public and we are also going to accept material support like cements, blocks, sand, iron, etc”, the chairman of the planning committee pleaded.
“The original building was a bungalow but our plan for the new structure is to make it a storey building that will also accommodate hall for events to generate revenue for the maintenance of the mosque when completed”, he stated while mentioning some of the features of the new mosque.
