President Muhammadu Buhari, Senate President Bukola Saraki, the Deputy Speaker, House of Representatives, Hon. Yussuff Lasun, Ogun State Governor, Senator Ibikunle Amosun and other eminent Nigerians yesterday expressed sadness over Thursday’s stampede that killed 725 pilgrims, including eight Nigerians, during the hajj.
They called on Saudi authorities to review the safety rules governing activities around places where the hajj rites usually take place.
The Saudi authorities confirmed the death of 725 pilgrims following a stampede that occurred during the ritual, known as “stoning the devil” in a tent city in Mina, about two miles from the holy site in Mecca, Islam’s holiest city.
Two Nigerians – Hajiya Bilkisu Yusuf and Professor Tijjani El-Miskin – were first thought to be the only Nigeria victims of the incident, reports yesterday, however, suggested that no fewer than eight Nigerians may have lost their lives.
President Buhari, according to his Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, extended condolences to the families of all the pilgrims who lost their lives in the disaster and those who died when a crane collapsed on worshippers in Mecca two weeks ago.
He commiserated with the Nigerian Guild of Editors and the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) on the loss of Hajiya Bilkisu.
The President described Bilikisu as “an exemplary, dedicated, knowledgeable, very credible, highly-respected, outstanding editor and columnist who, even in death, will remain a glittering role model for journalists, within and outside Nigeria.”
He took “note of the assurance by the Government of Saudi Arabia that Thursday’s catastrophe will be investigated and urges King Salman to ensure a comprehensive and thorough exercise that will identify any flaws in Hajj organisation with a view to avoiding a recurrence of such tragedies during the annual pilgrimage.”
President Buhari prayed that ”Almighty Allah will comfort the families who lost their beloved ones in the stampede and receive the souls of all those who died in the Holy Land while fulfilling the religious obligation of the Hajj.
The Senate President, Dr. Bukola Saraki, said he was pained and saddened that such tragic incident could still occur despite the safety instructions the Saudi Arabian authorities issued to pilgrims.
In a statement issued by his media office, Saraki said: “We are pained. The death of pilgrims who came to worship from different parts of the world is too much for us to bear.
We recorded over 100 deaths and 331 injured others when a crane crashed in Kaaba, Mecca about two weeks ago and now, hundreds of Muslim faithful lost their lives while performing the symbolic stoning of the devil ritual.
“My heart goes out to the families of those that lost their lives in this tragic incident as I pray Almighty Allah to grant Aljannah Fidaus to souls of all those who lost their lives.
“I also pray for quick recovery for those that sustained injuries during the stampede. May Allah give the families of the victims the fortitude to bear the irreparable loss,” Saraki stated.
Saraki charged the Saudi authorities to organise a comprehensive review and update of the safety rules and security arrangements around the holy places where many pilgrims visit at the same time.
He said this was necessary to avoid unnatural disasters like the two that had happened in the last one month.
He also called on the National Hajj Commission of Nigeria to be more proactive in the training and orientation of intending pilgrims, stressing that safety instructions and guide to pilgrims during hajj, particularly in specific areas, will help forestall future occurrence of such human surge and any other form of crises.
Senator Saraki called on the Saudi authorities to intensify measures to guarantee the overall safety and welfare of pilgrims in future exercises.
“Hajj is the fifth pillar of Islam and compulsory for every able-bodied Muslim who can afford to undertake it. Tragic incidents like this may create fear and panic in the minds of prospective pilgrims,” the statement said.
In a condolence message signed by his Chief Press Secretary, Wole Oladimeji, the Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon Yussuf Lasun, prayed for the repose of the souls of the dead, urging the government of Saudi Arabia to step up its apparatus aimed at ensuring the safety of all pilgrims during the holy exercise.
Ogun State Governor, Ibikunle Amosun, who is also performing this year’s hajj, expressed his condolences to President Muhammadu Buhari, Governors Akinwunmi Ambode of Lagos State, Aminu Bello Masari of Katsina State and Kashim Shettima of Borno State, whose pilgrims were victims of the tragic incident.
In a statement signed by the Secretary to the State Government, Barr Taiwo Adeoluwa, Governor Amosun expressed concern over the death, which he said could have been avoided.
While urging pilgrims across the world to always observe codes that would engender an incident-free pilgrimage, Amosun called on the Saudi authorities to further improve safety measures in order to prevent recurrence of the unfortunate incident.
“I pray to almighty Allah to comfort the families across the world that lost their loved ones at the Grand Mosque and Mina and grant the deceased Aljannah firdaus. I also wish those that sustained injuries a speedy recovery,” Governor Amosun said.
Senator Shehu Sani, representing Kaduna Central in the National Assembly, described Hajia Bilkisu Yusuf, one of the victims, as a role model for northern women. He said her contributions would be greatly missed.
According to Sani, the deceased, who was the first woman Editor from Northern Nigeria, lived an exemplary life of service and sacrifice to humanity. He added: “She was a gift to our country and our generation. She was a woman with a voice like no other and a pen like no other.
“She was a professional with conscience. She was a restless soul in the quest for human dignity, equity and justice. She lived for us and proved a life of synergy of modernity and morality.
“Death hath not just snatched a prolific writer and a dogged fighter, but it has taken out an outstanding pacesetter. She was a flame for women’s rights and a torchbearer for humanitarian service. She was a silent rebel who combated conventions and stereotype and triumphed.
“Death stampeded her out of our sight, but she rises and stands permanently in our memory and our conscience. Bilkisu’s life was a challenge to our life- to live for an ideal and be eternally remembered for it. In the north and beyond, she advanced the frontiers of freedom and inspired a generation of women and youth to defy and to match forward and onward in dignity and grace.”
Sani added: “We triumph over death when our life become a journey of accomplishments in the service of God and humanity. Hajiya Bilkisu is free, free from the burdens and attributes of fears associated with mortality. Bilkisu spoke to our conscience and wrote on the inner layer of our heart. We belong to a nation where the living are wasted and the dead are eulogized; This is among the few climes in the world where you need to die to be noticed, recognized or be appreciated. She was a treasure we underutilized for the betterment of our country. May her gentle soul and that of others consumed in the tragedy rest in peace.”
The Asiwaju Musulumi of Yorubaland, Asiwaju Khamis Olatunde Badmus, who said he was pained by the tragedy, enjoined the bereaved families and Muslims across the country to take the loss with equanimity.
Speaking through his media aide, Alhaji Dawood Ajetunmobi, Badmus said, “Though the incident is painful, as Muslims, we have to submit to the will of Almighty Allah. Saudi authorities over the years have been making concerted efforts to see that there is hitch-free hajj every year, but it is unfortunate that the stampede happened at the time the hajj rites were almost completed.”
He, however, urged the Saudi authorities to put in place mechanism that will forestall a reoccurrence in the future, adding that adequate compensation should be paid to the bereaved families.
“The Saudi authorities should pay compensation to the family of those who lost their lives in the incident as they did for those who were affected in the Makkah crane incident.
“I commiserate with the President Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs, His Eminence Alh Abubakar Sa’ad on the death of the Council’s Assistant Secretary General, Professor Tijjani El-Miskin and the entire Muslims in the South West. I pray to Allah to admit the deceased to Aljanat firdaos and give their families fortitude to bear this irreparable loss.”
In its condolence message, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) expressed sympathy with the Muslim community worldwide over the tragic stampede.
In a statement issued yesterday by its National Publicity Secretary, Chief Olisa
