The Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs (NSCIA), Egypt and Oyo State Government have commiserated with King Sidi Mohammed VI of Kingdom of Morocco over the 6.8 magnitude earthquake that struck the High Atlas Mountain range on Friday.
This is as rescue teams raced yesterday to find survivors from the rubble of the devastating earthquake.
Officials pegged the number of casualties at 2,800 while the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) said about 100,000 children were affected.
The Sultan of Sokoto His Eminence, Alhaji Muhammad Sa’ad Abubakar, who is the NSCIA President, said the council was devastated by the calamity.
Commiserating with the monarch and the country in a statement issued yesterday, the NSCIA Deputy Secretary-General, Prof. Salisu Shehu, quoted Surat Al-Baqarah: 155-157, which says: “We shall certainly test you by afflicting you with fear, hunger, loss of properties and lives and fruits. Give glad tidings, then, to those who remain patient; those who when any affliction smites them, they say: “Verily, we belong to Allah, and it is to Him that we are destined to return.
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“Upon them will be the blessings and mercy of their Lord, and it is they who are rightly guided.”
On behalf of the Muslim Ummah in Nigeria, the NSCIA prayed for the repose of the souls that have departed, quick recovery of the wounded and injured and the fortitude to bear the monumental losses.
Also, the Oyo State Government expressed its condolences and sympathy to the government and people of Morocco over the earthquake.
Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi also yesterday declared a three-day mourning to show solidarity with Morocco and Libya after the two countries were hit by natural disasters.
Sisi extended his and the Egyptian people’s sincere condolences to the victims of the earthquake in Morocco and the storm in Libya, the Egyptian presidency said in a statement.
The Egyptian president instructed the Armed Forces to send humanitarian aid to both countries, it added.
Governor ‘Seyi Makinde described the disaster as saddening, expressing the “solidarity of the people of Oyo State with the Moroccan Government at this trying period”.
Makinde prayed to God to grant repose to the souls of the deceased, while also wishing those injured a speedy recovery.
The earthquake, which was the strongest to hit the North African country in more than 60 years, affected the south of Marrakesh and damaged buildings in major cities.
The country’s interior ministry said the tremors were felt in neighbouring Algeria and Portugal.
Rescue efforts have proven complicated as the near magnitude 7 quake struck in a mountainous area where access is extremely difficult.
The Red Cross said it would take over $110m to provide desperately needed assistance in Morocco.