- The Ilorin central Jumaat Mosque is facing a water scarcity problem.
- The water scarcity is most acute during the weekly Friday Jummah service.
- The mosque has made several attempts to address the water scarcity problem, but so far, no solution has been found.
Water scarcity has hit the Ilorin central Jumaat Mosque in Kwara State.
The architectural masterpiece that was renovated in 2012 attracts visitors and tourists from all over the world.
Water scarcity is most acute during the weekly Friday Jummah service when worshippers require a large amount of water for ablution and other purposes.
During a conversation with reporters about the water situation, Alhaji Suleiman Bayero, Secretary of the Mosque’s Management Committee, stated that the Mosque could no longer provide enough water for the congregants.
He stated that the situation is becoming unbearable and that it is even worse on Fridays during Jum’aat Services.
You know the importance of water to the Muslims in a mosque especially during the Jumaat service. Though, we made adequate provision for water supply to the mosque by requesting for a dedicated water pipe which was granted by the State Water Corporation and it was working perfectly until about two years ago when people around the vicinity started to tap the dedicated pipe.
The Water Corporation also reduced the number of days of water supply to the mosque from three to one day.
Though, we also dug a 280 meter borehole to complement the supply of water to the mosque, but irregular supply of electricity to pump the water to the four tanks of 40,000liters capacity tanks could not satisfy the water needs of the congregation.
We need water to flow in the mosque 24 hours because visitors from far and near including foreigners come to visit the mosque everyday, he said.
Bayero urged the state government to assist the mosque, saying, “our water experts have been invited to assess the situation, but there is currently no solution in sight.” We urge the state government to intervene in order to address the poor water supply to the mosque, particularly for Friday Jum’aat services.”