Jos metropolis on Tuesday came to a standstill following unprecedented crowds that witnessed the funeral prayers of a prominent philanthropist, Alhaji Sama’ila Mohammed, popularly known as A S Mai-block.
Prominent Islamic scholars, government officials, politicians, friends, family and residents of the city were among the thousands of sympathisers who stormed the deceased’s country home behind the Jos-Bauchi motor pack.
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After the prayers, another tumultuous crowd took over the corpse on the way to the burial ground, a situation that caused gridlock for over two hours along the busy Bauchi-Jos road. It took the intervention of dozens of first aiders, vigilantes and other security agents to clear the road for commuters and other users.
According to a family source, the late A S Mohammed died at the age of 90 years after a protracted illness and is survived by three wives, 38 children and many grandchildren.
The deceased was popular in Jos for his humanitarian service for over 30 years in the area of education, health, religious activities and support to the less-privileged.
One of his sons, Sadis A S Mohammed, told Daily Trust that the death of their father shocked the family and threw them into deep grief because of his simplicity, care, patient and moral-spiritual guidance not only to his immediate family but his neighbors and the society in general,
He said, “Whenever you meet him, he will receive you smile and pray for Allah’s blessings and guidance.”
“(The death of) our father has thrown us into an unimaginable sorrow, but we have been comforted with two things. First, the kind of testimonies of his virtues and generosity we have received from hundreds of people revealing how he was secretly rendering support to them without the knowledge of his family relieved us from the shock.
“The second thing that relieved our minds is the number of people that turned out to attend his funeral prayers and accompanied him to his grave. We are extremely happy for him about the number of people mourning his demise because it is a sign of his moral virtues; we wish and pray to get this kind of gesture.”
Meanwhile, the deceased house has become a beehive of activities as hundreds of people have been trooping to commiserate with the family.
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