OBJ woos North with N350m mosque, Arabic school

By DAUD OLATUNJI, Abeokuta
Ahead of 2015 general election, former President Olusegun Obasanjo  on Friday wooed northerners  especially Muslims as he laid  the foundation of N350,000000 (three hundred and fifty million naira)  ultra modern central mosque  and arabic school within the premises of his Presidential Library in Oke-Mosan Abeokuta.

Saturday Vanguard reliably gathered that, Obasanjo decided  to construct a mosque within the premises of the controversial Presidential Library so as to make the place look international and as well erase the impression that, he hates notherners  and their religion which is Islam.

An insider at the Obasanjo hiltop building hinted that, the four governors in the north held a closed door meeting with Obasanjo before the event where the 2015 election top the agenda and how President Goodluck Jonathan would  be  either convinced or stopped from re-contesting to pave way for  Northerner as the next President.

Eminent peronalties  who were  at  the foundation laying and fund raising of  Olusegun Obasanjo Baytus Salam central Mosque were   four governors from the North. They are  Kebbi,Usman Dakingari, Kano State, Rabi Kwakwanso, Sokoto, Aliyu Wamakko, Katsina state governor, Sheu-Shemma  Shetima who  was  represented by  his deputy.All of them donated N20 million each  for the construction of the mosque.

Among those that contributed to the Obasanjo’s  mosque  and arabic school  were the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Aminu Tambuwal who pledged N2 million, Chairman of Damngote group of companies ,Alhaji  Aliko  Dangote who  also promised  N25 million, former governor of  Kebbi State,Senator  Adamu Aleru  who also pledged N10 million.

Ex-governor of Kwara State,  Senator Bukola Saraki   also pledged N2 million while   former vice President, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar  also sent   a sum of five million naira pledge towards the construction of the mosque.

Also  the governor of Central Bank of Nigeria, Mallam Lamido Sanusi who was in his traditional attire donated N5 million.

Other States that contributed to the construction of the mosque were Adamawa, Niger, Kaduna, Katsina Zamfara Kogi, Kwara and  Ogun  States which all  sent their pleges of  N20 million each  through the Sokoto state governor.

Addressing the people at the gathering, Obasanjo  who counseled religious people to be tolerant and accommodating said  “ I  believe that the more you know your God, the better you will be able to serve him .

I believe that, if you are at the fear of a particular religion, you must be educated in the destiny of that religion .And in any case if you are a good religious man, you will bea  good citizen.