Former Managing Director of Nigeria Airways, Captain Mohammed Joji, has been described as a patriotic Nigerian, committed Muslim, generous philanthropist and experienced pilot whose death is considered a major loss to the country and the aviation industry.
Joji, who also served as Managing Director of Skypower Express Airways, died in Kaduna on Thursday night and was buried on Friday after funeral prayers at Sultan Bello Mosque, Kaduna.
The funeral prayer was led by Islamic scholar Sheikh Ahmad Gumi, who also led prayers for three other deceased residents, two men and a woman, at the mosque.
Joji’s death has drawn tributes from religious leaders, friends, associates and prominent Nigerians, who recalled his contributions to Islam, the Sultan Bello Mosque community, the northern region and the aviation sector.
Speaking after the funeral prayer, Gumi described the deceased as a committed Muslim and patriot who cared deeply about the religion, the North and Nigeria.
He said Joji’s death came at a time when the country needed the experience and advice of people like him.
“He was an experienced pilot who contributed greatly to this region. Therefore, his death is a loss to his profession and to the country,” Gumi said.
“Especially now, if you look at the situation, you will see that the country needs the advice of people like him. Unfortunately, Allah has taken him. You can see that this is a great loss to the country, losing someone like him.
“We pray that Allah has mercy on him and forgives him because he made his contribution to the development of the religion.”
The Chief Imam of Sultan Bello Mosque, Professor Sheikh Muhammad Suleiman Adam, also described Joji’s death as a major loss, recalling his commitment to the mosque despite his ill health.
He said that whenever Joji was in Nigeria, he continued to attend meetings at the mosque even when he had difficulty walking and had to use a walking stick.
“He was the financial secretary of our mosque, and he was also an ex-officio member. Even when the mosque committee was dissolved, he wasn’t removed because of the contributions he had been making,” the Chief Imam said.
According to him, Joji’s generosity extended beyond the mosque.
“There is nothing we can say about his death except to pray that Allah has mercy on him. Even when he was in London, whenever the mosque needed assistance, he would send his contribution.
“Whenever he returned to Nigeria from time to time, he would come to the mosque and visit all the junior staff and give them money. He would even give me mine, although I am a senior member of the mosque.”
The Chief Imam said members of the mosque had visited Joji in hospital shortly before his death.
“When we heard that he had been admitted to hospital, we visited him. At that time, because of his illness, he didn’t know who was around him, so we prayed for him.
“I returned home intending to take Dr Gumi to visit him at the hospital. But after Maghrib prayer yesterday, Thursday, I received a call informing me that Captain Joji had died,” he said.
He described Joji as a man with extensive life experience who provided useful advice to members of the mosque.
“He was a man with a lot of life experience, and he assisted us greatly with advice. Whatever reward comes to this mosque, he had a share in it because of the contributions he and the former chairman of the mosque, the late Malam Saidu, and others made to the development of the mosque,” he added.
A Kaduna-based public analyst, Haruna Ibrahim Nasarawa, described Joji as “a good man who loved Nigeria, the North and ordinary people.”
Nasarawa said Joji made significant contributions towards assisting victims of the 2011 post-election crisis in Kaduna.
“I personally worked with him during the 2011 crisis. He and some people, including Kurfi, helped ordinary people who were affected by the crisis and were staying at Mando Camp at the time. They provided food and other forms of assistance,” he said.
He also recalled Joji’s involvement with the Waff Road Mosque before he became a member of the Sultan Bello Mosque committee.
“I also know that he once served as the secretary of Waff Road Mosque in Kaduna before becoming a member of the Sultan Bello Mosque committee. He contributed greatly to the development of Islam and the Sultan Bello Mosque,” Nasarawa said.
He described Joji as a highly experienced pilot whose knowledge of aviation was evident whenever he spoke about the profession.
Former councillor of Unguwar Sarki, Zubairu Shanuna, also described the late pilot as a good and generous man.
Shanuna said Joji contributed to the development of the Sultan Bello Mosque, the northern region, and aviation.
He described him as “a patriotic individual who loved his country and the people especially youth empowerment.”
Meanwhile, Professor Isa Ali Pantami expressed his condolences over Joji’s death in a post on his Facebook page.
Pantami described the deceased as “a respected elder, a seasoned pilot and former Managing Director of Nigeria Airways.”
He recalled a personal encounter with Joji in 2011 when the late pilot invited him and his family to his home in Aberdeen, Scotland, for dinner.
“He spent several hours with us, and the memory of their excellent hospitality remains with me and my family to this day,” Pantami said.
He prayed that Allah would forgive Joji’s shortcomings, admit him into Aljannatul Firdaus, and give his family and others affected by the death the strength to bear the loss.
Joji’s journey into aviation
Born on May 15, 1947, in Kulgalarom village near Barkin Ladi in present-day Plateau State, he was raised by his grandmother and began his education in an Arabic school in Jos. In an account of his early life, Joji recalled how his interest in formal education began when he regularly accompanied his younger brothers to school and stood by the window answering questions asked by their teacher.
His performance eventually impressed the teacher, who advised his grandmother to enrol him in school.
He later attended technical education in Pankshin after his ambition to join the military was blocked by his grandmother.
Joji had wanted to become a soldier and had passed the military examination, but his grandmother opposed the idea, saying people from his area were not keen on joining the military to kill others.
He eventually studied practical skills, including carpentry, shoemaking and bricklaying, before joining the railway and later moving into aviation.
His aviation career eventually took him to the top of Nigeria’s aviation sector. He became Managing Director of Nigeria Airways in 1992.
He was also a prominent figure in the private aviation sector and served as Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Skypower Express Airways.
His professional career included involvement in major aviation issues and efforts to develop Nigeria’s aviation industry. Contemporary accounts of his career also identify him as the Nigeria Airways managing director appointed in 1992.
Many prominent individuals and government officials attended his funeral, after which he was buried at the Unguwar Sarki GRA Cemetery in Kaduna.