By Uche Amunike
The Emir of Gombe, Alhaji Mu’azu Muhammad Kwairanga 111 has just died at the age of 45, barely 16 months after he was installed as Emir by Governor Muhammadu Inuwa Yahaya in May 2021 after his elder brother died on the throne.
Governor Yahaya, in reaction to the sudden demise of the traditional ruler, described his death as a monumental loss, not only to the state, but also to the nation.
Speaking through a press statement released by his Senior Media Aide, Ismaila Uba Misilli, Governor Yahaya reiterated that the government of Gombe State and indeed, the people of Gombe state had lost one of their finest traditional rulers: ‘who worked relentlessly with other royal fathers in the state and offered counsels and fatherly guidance for the peace, unity, growth, and development of the state in particular and Nigeria as a whole’.
He described the late Emir as a humble, decent, and down-to-earth monarch who cared more for his subjects as well as the unity and progress of the state, describing his 16 months of reign as remarkably eventful.
He also expressed his deep condolences on behalf of the government and people of Gombe state, the royal family, the people of Funakaye Local Government Area of the state, the Chairman of Gombe State Council and the Emirates Councils, while letting them know that the funeral prayers for the late traditional ruler will hold, Sunday August 28, 2022 at the traditional palace of the Emir of Gombe in Bajoga town.
Nigerian President, Muhammadu Buhari has also expressed his pain as he mourned the late Emir of Gombe, whom he described as an ‘advocate of the less privileged who worked for the common people’ in a statement signed by his Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, GARBA Shehu.
According to the statement which was titled ‘President Buhari Mourns Emir of Funakaye, Extols his Kindness and Humility’, the Emir passed on on Saturday in Bajoga, Gombe State, a day after he attended the commissioning of the Central Mosque in Kaltungo and shortly after collecting humanitarian assistance offered to his people by President Buhari, following the losses they suffered from the torrential floods.
The statement partly read: ‘The mostly food items were delivered through Professor Isa Pantami, the Minister of Communications and Digital Economy and had not fully been off-loaded when the news of his death was broken’.
While commiserating with the devastated family of the deceased Emir of Gombe and indeed, the entire state President Buhari described him as ‘a most committed, most articulate advocate of the less privileged who endeared himself to many with his politeness, kindness and commitment to the well-being of his people.’
Hear him: ‘His demise has left me as well as many others saddened. He loved working for the common people. He was a proud and dedicated citizen. May his soul attain peace. In this time of grief, I express condolences to the family, the government and people of Gombe State’.
The late Emir was said to have died in his sleep.
