Ilorin Central Mosque

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Name: Ilorin Central Mosque
City: Ilorin
Use: Religeous
Status: U/C (To Be Completed this year (2010)

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http://ilorincentralmosque.com/images/new1.jpg

Ilorin Central Mosque for completion this year

From Abiodun Fagbemi Ilorin

Monday, February 01, 2010

RECONSTRUCTION work on the multi-million naira Ilorin Central Mosque is to be completed by the end of September this year, the architect in charge, Mr. Azmi Fekhouri, has said.

Fekhouri, speaking shortly after paying a courtesy call on the Emir of Ilorin, Alhaji Ibrahim Sulu Gambari, disclosed that indigenous contractors would primarily handle the project.

The existing Central Mosque in Ilorin was built some 29 years ago. Despite being touted as one of the best in the country at that time, the Mosque today has become dilapidated, apparently due to the effect of the weather on the structure.

Kwara State Governor, Dr. Bukola Saraki had some five months ago led some eminent Nigerians in a fundraising launch for the project.

Fekhouri said the project, which is the symbol of the community, would be upgraded with modern building materials, especially its outer layers and the domes.

According to him, a big dome would be erected at the entrance, while walls would be constructed with stones in line with Islamic patterns. Besides, the main gates would be built according to historical Islamic tradition.

Receiving the architect, the emir expressed his happiness over the commencement of the building project and urged him to ensure that works commences on it immediately.

Besides, he urged those in charge of the construction to live up to the expectation of making it one of the best Mosques in Nigeria.

Guardian Nigeria (http://www.ngrguardiannews.com/homes_property/article14//indexn3_html?pdate=010210&ptitle=Ilorin%20Central%20Mosque%20for%20completion%20this%20year&cpdate=010210)

The ‘New’ Ilorin Central Mosque

This project, the rehabilitation, refurbishment and redecoration of the Central Mosque is an effort to restore the glory of this all-important cultural icon, and show that we are indeed, worthy inheritors of a great tradition. The planning work had started in 2007 when HRH, Alhaji (Dr) Ibrahim Zulu Gambari, CFR, the Eleventh Emir of Ilorin, with great assistance from H.E. Dr. Abubakar Bukola Saraki, the Turaki of Ilorin, and the Executive Governor of Kwara State, set up a technical committee on the rehabilitation and enhancement of the central mosque. The committee has worked actively and had invited expertise from specialists in mosque construction from around the World, expecially the Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Nigeria.

Features of the Refurbished, Renovated and Expanded Mosque

In addition to the general restoration of enhancement of the mosque, it will now have a total of 99 domes of different diameters, 75 feet above the floor. The large dome will be of gold finish while the four big domes around it will be coated in green and reflective illumination. The mosque form is enveloped within a pyramid shape of square base and 45 inclinations for the faces. It has four accessible minarets each standing at the height of 150 feet.
In addition to all these, all the dilapidated domes and minarets with mosaic finishing will be restored and the finished with cut-to-size marble. The exterior and interior will also be covered by special marble while the expanded courtyard will be constructed with heat-absorbing granite (marble) finish. The doors and windows will be replaced with specially designed ones befitting the new mosque concept.

Added Facilities

* 3 Modern Ablution centers with toilets facilities, each able to hold 100 worshipers at a time.
* A well equipped multi-purpose hall.
* An Islamic library with modern facilities.
* A car park.
* Modern lighting equipment, air-conditioners and long-range speakers for salat calls among others.

Ilorin Central Mosque (http://ilorincentralmosque.com)

Such a great Design:banana:

Ilorin Mosque Contractor Receives Mobilisation

Ilorin — Charvet Nigeria Ltd, handlers of the Ilorin Central Mosque rehabilitation has received a cheque of 500million naira represent only 42 percent of the total contract sum of N1.2billion for the commencement of the projects before April ending.

Presenting the cheque ,the board of Trustees of the Ilorin Central mosque rehabilitation and re-construction committee to the contactor , the Chairman Central Working Committee of committee, Alhaji Shehu Abdulgafar, said the essence of the payment of the money is to enable the contractor mobilize to site and commence the Job so that it will be completed at the approved time of ten months.

Alhaji Abdullgafar said that the payment was made through e-payment , which will later transfer to the company's account through as required by the law of the Central bank. In his remark the project co-ordinator of Charvet Nig Ltd, Abdulrasaq Olayanju thanked the people of the state for finding them worthy to be given the contract to rehabilitate the mosque.

http://allafrica.com/stories/201004280539.html

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Is that the only Saudi Arabia investment in the North for Nigerians?

I don't think it said Saudi Arabia were investing in the project. Besides, If they were putting any money in this project it will be more of a donation and not an investment.

From what I read, it says, and I quote "The committee has worked actively and had invited expertise from specialists in mosque construction from around the World, expecially the Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Nigeria."

All Photos Courtesy of Sambhav Kothari

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All Photos Courtesy of Sambhav Kothari

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All Photos Courtesy of Sambhav Kothari

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All Photos Courtesy of Sambhav Kothari

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All Photos Courtesy of Sambhav Kothari

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All Photos Courtesy of Sambhav Kothari

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good.......

wow it looks nice, but why I'm I reading that the state government injected billions of naira into this project (http://nationalmirroronline.net/news/10554.html)? wouldn't that money have gone to do better things that will actually affect peoples lives. just look at the environment around the mosque, priorities. Government has no business involving themselves in these pointless projects.

beautiful mosque:cheers:

A gorgeous building.

*Shakes his head and walks off*

this could have been a university. smh.

this could have been a university. smh.
Because yet another "university" is what Nigeria has been lacking.

While I personally do not think that governments should be involved in these sorts of projects, I would rather see public money put to good use in preserving important cultural icons than go to yet another glorified secondary school whose graduates most Nigerian businesses realize are too poorly-trained to hire. Of course, the renovation and expansion of the Ilorin Central Mosque (see the pre-renovated mosque below) was actually an private project before the state government injected itself into it probably for self-serving political purposes.

Nevertheless, it is not one or the other. The reality is that the state government has more than enough to contribute to this project and still beef up education -- and not by erecting yet another substandard vanity "university" but rather by rebuilding existing hard and soft educational infrastructure from the primary levels (before even thinking of universities). Instead, this same state has poured billions into a rarely-used "banquet hall" (whatever that means) at the Government House and insists on running a hotel where the rodents and roaches outnumber paying guests.

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Could have been a hall of science for an existing university. how ever you want to word it, it's a waste of state funds.

Could have been a hall of science for an existing university. how ever you want to word it, it's a waste of state funds.
Because the existing university does not have a science hall? Development is not one-dimensional.

You want to compare it to this mosque?

wow it looks nice, but why I'm I reading that the state government injected billions of naira into this project (http://nationalmirroronline.net/news/10554.html)? wouldn't that money have gone to do better things that will actually affect peoples lives. just look at the environment around the mosque, priorities. Government has no business involving themselves in these pointless projects.

Wow! You took the words out of my mouth.

http://img52.imageshack.us/img52/3218/08112011709.jpg

Look at the homes to the left of the Mosque, look how the Mosque seems out of place within the environment. if you have such grandiose buildings being should the rest of the built environment not reflect similar positive development?

I fear for our people and religion...!

Look at the homes to the left of the Mosque, look how the Mosque seems out of place within the environment. if you have such grandiose buildings being should the rest of the built environment not reflect similar positive development?

I fear for our people and religion...!
Exactly. Nothing should ever be fixed until everything can be done at once. :ohno:

Could have been a hall of science for an existing university. how ever you want to word it, it's a waste of state funds.
Btw, thought this rather ironic coming from the same person that saw nothing wrong with a N31bn boondoggle so-called the "Hand of God" project in his state. :ohno:

IT wasn't proposed as a religious site, just had a goofy name. peace

http://img52.imageshack.us/img52/3218/08112011709.jpg

Look at the homes to the left of the Mosque, look how the Mosque seems out of place within the environment. if you have such grandiose buildings being should the rest of the built environment not reflect similar positive development?

I fear for our people and religion...!

All those homes are structurally sound and really just need a splash of paint. That's the thing about building with cement. Unlike brick homes in Europe, you've gotta repaint them every decade or so or they start to look decrepit.

Every year in Nigeria. I was talking to a painter about why that was. Back home we don't use a buffer. You have to buff cement before painting it because it's porous surface have thousands of little holes that will suck in the paint over the weeks until it starts to peel and crack and buffing them closes these pours. After they have to apply primer, and with the amount of cement we use, we should be applying a lot of primer (a layer of paint before the paint) then paint it with the surface layer.
I'm sure some people follow the method but clearly not everyone.



you're 100% right about them being ok structurally. a lot of these cities simply need a paint job and some regulation on the ground.

Why is the mosque nice but the landscape looking like a barren wasteland? Random bricks here and there the grass looking like death did it in. Has the environment been a non-factor in Nigeria since forever?