Thousands of mourners attended the funeral of Nigerian president Umaru Yar’Adua in the northern Nigerian town of Katsina yesterday.
Mr Yar’Adua (58) died in the capital, Abuja, late on Wednesday after a long illness.
Crowds of men in multicoloured traditional robes flocked to the stadium in Mr Yar’Adua’s arid hometown near the border with Niger, on the edge of the Sahara desert, for the Islamic funeral.
Mourners carried Mr Yar’Adua’s body, covered by Nigeria’s green and white flag, on a bamboo stretcher to an open field for prayers and then to a nearby cemetery for burial.
“The death of President Yar’Adua is a great loss to democracy and a loss to the country and the whole of Africa in general,” said Katsina resident Ibrahim Ahmed (56).
A who’s who of the Opec member state’s political elite, including newly sworn in Nigerian president Goodluck Jonathan, traditional rulers, former heads of state and other dignitaries, paid their respects.
Thousands more sat quietly under the shade of trees outside the stadium under the watch of armed police and soldiers. Businesses and shops were shuttered and side roads were clogged with bumper-to-bumper traffic.
Mr Yar’Adua died peacefully in the presidential villa after a long fight with kidney and heart complaints.
Mr Jonathan was sworn in as head of state in Africa’s most populous nation hours later and must now pick a new vice-president. The two will then see out the unexpired term of office ahead of elections due by next April.
Mr Yar’Adua served two terms as governor of Katsina before being plucked from relative obscurity as the ruling party candidate in the 2007 polls that brought him to office.
“The nation has lost an honest leader that meant well for all Nigerians,” Nigerian senate president David Mark said in a statement.
“His record of prudence and administrative excellence both as a state governor and president will remain evergreen in our memories.”