The Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the National Hajj Commission of Nigeria (NAHCON), Mallam Jalal Ahmad Arabi, has said 30 Nigerian pilgrims died during this year’s pilgrimage.
He said four of the pilgrims died of heat wave.
Arabi said the deaths had nothing to do with either negligence or poor feeding.
The NAHCON boss said the commission provided decent meals and other necessities to protect the nation’s pilgrims.
He warned Private Tour Operators (PTOs) against breaching guidelines on Hajj operations that would leave pilgrims stranded.
Arabia, who spoke at this year’s Post-Hajj Briefing in Abuja, said the pilgrimage was a “huge success”.
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He said: “We tried the best we could. We believe one soul is as important as a million souls. We lost 30 pilgrims but from the figure, about four or five pilgrims died from heat wave.
“We tried our best by providing necessary tools to remain safeguarded but Allah has always been Allah. We lost pilgrims but not all of them died of heat wave.”
Asked why the agency sponsored 153 Ulamas (clerics) to Saudi Arabia for this year’s Hajj, Arabi said it was necessary to guide most pilgrims who were greenhorns and ignorant of pilgrimage rites.
He added: “If we have our way, we could have taken a thousand Ulamas to Saudi Arabia. If there are stakeholders to take to Hajj to guide the pilgrims, they are the Ulamas. We did not want the pilgrims (mostly on their first-time trip) to perform Hajj in futility.
“If you take 153 Ulamas to guide 56,000 pilgrims, that is about one Ulama to 400 pilgrims. While you know what to do, thousands do not know. It is worthwhile going with the Ulamas.
“We have never hidden anything. I wish we had enough money. The clerics would have been more than that.”