Sokoto in mourning after plane crash
By Dave Huff,WNS Africa Correspondent
LAGOS - Thousands of people have gathered outside the huge, ornate palace of the Sultan of Sokoto, waiting to pay their respects following his death in a plane crash on Sunday. The whole city feels like a graveyard - offices, shops, banks and markets are all closed and are likely to remain so until Friday, when the period of mourning ends in the state. The crowds - young and old, rich and poor - wait patiently, some in tears, for their turn before entering the palace in small groups to meet the family of the late Sultan Muhammadu Maccido and other traditional rulers.
"To me this is a terrible event because I loved the sultan. May the Almighty give him peace," Liman Muhammadu, an elderly trader among the crowds told Reuters news agency. President Olusegun Obasanjo paid his respects on Monday, along with a host of other dignitaries, including two former presidents. The son of former President Shehu Shagari also died on the ADC Boeing 737, which crashed just after taking off from the capital, Abuja, on its way to Sokoto. The sultan's son, Mohammed, one of his grandsons and another northern senator were other victims of the crash which has decimated northern Nigeria's elite.
The Sultan of Sokoto was the spiritual leader of Nigeria's 70m Muslims and Sultan Maccido was particularly well respected for his efforts to end conflict between Nigeria's Muslims and Christians. He also tried to end a boycott of a polio vaccine by some northern Muslim clerics, which has set back efforts to eradicate the disease by several years. Our reporter says the crowds of mourners are likely to remain outside the sultan's palace for many weeks - some travelling from neighbouring Niger and other West Africa countries with large Muslim populations, such as Chad, Mali and Senegal. A group of seven traditional rulers, known as kingmakers, is to start drawing up a shortlist of candidates to become the next sultan, possible as early as Tuesday - if they can find time among the mourning and condolences. There should be eight kingmakers but one of them also died in the crash.
The Sultan of Sokoto was the spiritual leader of Nigeria's 70m Muslims and Sultan Maccido was particularly well respected for his efforts to end conflict between Nigeria's Muslims and Christians. He also tried to end a boycott of a polio vaccine by some northern Muslim clerics, which has set back efforts to eradicate the disease by several years. Our reporter says the crowds of mourners are likely to remain outside the sultan's palace for many weeks - some travelling from neighbouring Niger and other West Africa countries with large Muslim populations, such as Chad, Mali and Senegal. A group of seven traditional rulers, known as kingmakers, is to start drawing up a shortlist of candidates to become the next sultan, possible as early as Tuesday - if they can find time among the mourning and condolences. There should be eight kingmakers but one of them also died in the crash.
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