The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Mecca

  • How Olusegun Mimiko’s Mecca became desert

    Success and power can do strange things to people. They can inflate ego and blind people to reality. Ultimately, the sweet thrill of success and power goads men to believe that they are gods. Hubris afflicts the beneficiary of these twin bounties, making them reel in the throes of exaggerated praise and the adoration of sycophants and fair-weather friends. For a short while, such characters coast on top of the world and bask in the thrill of public instant celebrity. But success and power, like life’s best bounties are transient. They often evaporate while life is sweetest for the beneficiary. Things fall apart and they find themselves plummeting back to earth.

    The foregoing is a lesson that would never be lost on former Ondo State governor, Olusegun Mimiko. He must have learnt by now that friendships begun when power is acquired often vanish when power is lost. The same applies to success. As  governor of the Sunshine State, Mimiko’s influence loomed large. He appeared to wield the power of life and death in the state and his Ondo country home became a Mecca of sorts as favour seekers thronged its corridors.

    Now that he is out of office, Mimiko’s Mecca has become a desert. Many of his avowed loyalists have moved on; as you read, many of them are trying to hop on the APC’s bandwagon while Mimiko himself has recoiled into his shell.

  • Saudi varsity warns female students on short haircuts

    A Saudi university on Tuesday sent a warning to its female students of immediate dismissal for imitating men in haircuts and outfits, a media report said on Tuesday.

    The Imam Mohammed bin Saud Islamic University in Riyadh sent the warning messages, while the decision will be enforced staring April.

    The university stressed that the violated students would be suspended immediately without previous warning.

    “The decision covers women with very short haircuts as such styles are considered by conservative Muslims as a sin for imitating men,” it noted.

    Report says Saudi Arabia follows gender segregation in all walks in life, including education and female students in different education levels study in separate buildings from males.

    They are also taught by females, except at universities, while in case of male teachers they are either teach behind partitions or the students should be fully covered.

    In 2002, fifteen girls killed in a fire at their school in Mecca when religious police stopped the females from leaving the building because they were not wearing correct Islamic dress.

     

  • Hajj: Sokoto Govt subsidises pilgrims’ accommodation

    Hajj: Sokoto Govt subsidises pilgrims’ accommodation

    Sokoto State Government said on Thursday that it provided N200 million to subsidise pilgrims accommodation in Mecca, Saudi Arabia.

    The Director-General of the State Pilgrims Welfare Agency, Alhaji Ibrahim Umar, said this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria ( NAN) in Sokoto.

    He disclosed that the government provided One Thousand Saudi Riyals, approximately N40,000, to subsidise the accommodation of each pilgrim.

    He said that, the agency had rented befitting houses for the pilgrims near the Holy Mosque of Ka’aba.

    “This is very important as the proximity of the houses to the grand mosque will reduce travel hassles and offer the pilgrims more opportunity to intensify their acts of worship.”

    Umar stressed that the agency had made adequate arrangements to ensure the comfort, security and welfare of the pilgrims throughout the exercise.

    He commended the state government for its commitment towards the success of Hajj operation in the state.

    “Gov. Aminu Tambuwal has graciously approved all our requests for funds, to enable the Amirul Hajj committee and other subcommittees to function effectively.

    “I am therefore appealing to the officials to live above board, while the pilgrims should be law abiding at home and abroad.

    “They should also pray fervently for sustainable peace, unity and progress of Nigeria.”

    NAN reports that about 5000 people from the state are expected to perform the pilgrimage

  • 18 injured in Mecca stampede

    18 injured in Mecca stampede

    Eighteen pilgrims have been reported injured in a stampede near Islam’s holiest site, Saudi media reported yesterday, as the kingdom continues to review safety after a deadly crush during last year’s hajj.

    The incident happened on Friday night near the Grand Mosque in Mecca, the Al-Riyadh newspaper said, as Muslims gathered in large numbers to mark the Night of Destiny, one of the high points of the Ramadan fast.

    All the injured were treated at the scene and none required admission to hospital; the newspaper cited a health official as saying.

    Every year, hundreds of thousands of pilgrims flock to Mecca to carry out the lesser umra pilgrimage during Ramadan — especially during its last 10 days.

    They include the Night of Destiny, when the angel Gabriel is believed to have given the Prophet Mohammed the verses of the Quran.

    The incident comes as Saudi authorities continue to unveil new safety measures for this year’s hajj in September.

    A crush at last year’s hajj killed more than 2,000 pilgrims in the worst disaster to ever strike the annual ritual.

    According to figures from foreign officials, at least 2,297 pilgrims died. Saudi Arabia issued a death toll of 769.

    Newspapers reported at the weekend that, among new security measures, hajj pilgrims this year will have to wear an electronic safety bracelet to store their personal information, including address and medical records.

  • Saudi policeman killed in Mecca after raid on terrorist

    A Saudi policeman was shot dead in the holy western city of Mecca, hours after four terrorist suspects were killed during a raid, a security source said on Friday.

    Atthe al-Qurashi, the media spokesman for Mecca’s regional police department, said in a statement that the policeman was killed by an unidentified gunman while performing his duties Thursday evening.

    Almost 12 hours earlier, Saudi security forces had killed two suspected militants in a police raid on what the Saudi Interior Ministry described as a “terrorist hotbed.

    “Two others blew themselves up.

    “The four were suspected of having links to the Islamic State extremist militia and were wanted by the authorities,’’ he said.

    In recent months, Saudi authorities have carried out a series of crackdowns on people suspected of having connections with Islamic State.

    The militant group has claimed responsibility for several bomb attacks in the oil-rich kingdom in recent years.

    The bombings mainly targeted Saudi Arabia’s Shiite Muslim minority whom the radical Sunni group regards as heretics.

     

  • Lagos bans sponsorship of pilgrims to Mecca, Jerusalem

    Lagos bans sponsorship of pilgrims to Mecca, Jerusalem

    Lagos State Government Thursday said it will no longer sponsor Muslims or Christians pilgrims who embark on pilgrimages to Mecca in Saudi Arabia or Jerusalem in Israel, saying it was not a responsible way to spend tax payers’ money.

    Commissioner for Home Affairs in the State, Hon. Abdulateef Abdulhakeem, who disclosed this when members of the Lagos State House of Assembly Committee on Home Affairs, led by Hon. Olayiwola Olawale, paid a visit to the ministry in furtherance of their oversight function, said the government decided to ban the sponsorship because it amounts to injustice for certain individuals to continue to benefit from the government to the detriment of other numerous members of the society.

    Abdulhakeem said, “Part of our mandate is the supervision of the Pilgrims Welfare Board. Recently the governor and the state executive council approved a policy for the state to stop sponsorship of pilgrimages and that is line with the policy thrust of the government and what the State House of Assembly also speaks to.

    “In this day and time when we are talking about paucity of funds coupled with inhibiting challenges that the government has to take care of. We can no-longer afford to spend the sum of one million on one single individual to go on pilgrimage when the scripture did not compel anyone to do so.

    “So it is most irresponsible way of spending tax payer’s money. That is why the government has taken a solid decision that we will be accountable and responsible for every kobo that the tax payers pay to the government. It is an injustice for the government to be spending millions on group of people when millions of Lagosians are yearning for government’s attention.”

    He said state government has commenced the process of gathering data of religious organizations and their locations in the state to be able to set standards give orientation and provide security for them.

    According to him, there is a symbiotic relationship between the executive and the legislative arms of government in the state, while thanking the Assembly for the quick passage of the 2016 Budget.

    “Your resolution is a compulsion it is not advisory. Even your motion that Mile 12 Market should be relocated to another area is being considered by the state government. The Ministry of Home Affairs has been restructured and some of its duties have been given to other MDAs.

    Responding to the development, Chairman of the Lagos State House of Assembly Committee on Home Affairs, Hon. Olayiwola Olawale, said the decision was laudable, saying the Assembly was ready to back it with the necessary legislation.

    He said the visit of the committee to the ministry was homecoming, adding that the commissioner was a man of integrity and that the committee would work hand-in-hand with the ministry.

  • Aso Rock as a sort of Mecca

    Aso Rock as a sort of Mecca

    The social diary of the presidency at Aso Rock, the official residence of the head of state, is quite formidable. Since coming to power last year, President Muhammadu Buhari has spent a lot of time receiving both local and foreign visitors at his official residence. Hardly a day passes without some important and not so important guests calling at Aso Rock. In the case of foreign visitors, particularly his counterparts from foreign countries, it is perfectly understandable that the President should receive them personally when they visit Nigeria, either at Nigeria’s invitation, or at their own request. These visits are usually profitable to both sides. But that is not quite the case with local visitors to Aso Rock, some of whom are not really needed or wanted.

    Usually, these calls are intended either to congratulate President Buhari, or to express the august visitors’ support for the new government. In most cases these local visits to the President at Aso Rock are used to request from the President personal favours that are not necessarily in the interest of the country. In this respect, one might mention oil blocks, huge contracts and choice land that, in the past, were casually given away by the presidency to the visitors after such visits. Official advisers to the President are not usually present on such occasions to offer the President any advice.

    Virtually, all former living heads of the federal government, military or civilian, have made courtesy calls on Aso Rock since President Buhari came to power. These include Jonathan, Obasanjo, Abdulsalami and Shonekan, with many of them visiting the President several times. I am not sure whether Gowon should be included on the list of former heads of the federal military government that have since paid a courtesy call on President Buhari. The only former military head of state who has so far not visited Aso Rock to express his solidarity with the Buhari federal government is former military President Babangida. Obviously, he is not yet welcome in Aso Rock. It was he who deposed Buhari from power in 1985.

    In some cases, when these former heads of the federal government visit the President, they are usually accompanied by foreign CEOs of local or foreign companies in which the visiting former heads of state may have some financial interests. This is morally unacceptable as Nigeria’s economic and financial interests may not possibly be served when foreign CEOs of companies are taken directly to see the President. In such a case, it is unlikely that Nigeria’s true interests are being served. This practice is the source of much of the financial scandals that have been unveiled in recent years in our country, such as Halliburton and Siemens, in which our country was simply ripped off. The Jonathan presidency was undermined by these social visits from his cronies that eventually led to the frenzied and vast sharing and looting of public funds. During Obasanjo’s presidency, a certain Uba, little known and politically obscure then, could even brag publicly that he was often received in the President’s bedroom.

    Not to be left out of this unnecessary pilgrimage to Aso Rock are the bishops, the senior clergymen of all denominations, and the senior Islamic clerics. To this list must be added the various traditional rulers, except the Oba of Benin, the Awujale of Ijebu land, the Owa of Ijesha land and the Alaafin of Oyo, who traditionally hardly ever venture outside their domains.  And this is why they are respected and held in high esteem by the public. It is ungainly for traditional rulers to beat the doors for admission into Aso Rock merely to seek personal favours from the presidency. Even the newly installed Ooni of Ife has paid the President a courtesy visit. Even men of letters, academics, vice chancellors, heads of professional associations, all seek to visit the President. I am not sure that even Professor Wole Soyinka has not yet felt obliged to visit the President despite his well known disdain for the ‘establishment’ and the power elite. It is as if the President has nothing better to do than to spend valuable time receiving visitors.

    It is perfectly understandable that when a new government is elected, the entire ‘establishment’ should wish to reconnect with it immediately. In the Nigerian political setting, it is vital for members of the ‘establishment’ to remain in the ‘magic circle’ where important political and economic decisions are taken, regardless of their true political persuasions, or lack of any. To be left out of this ‘magic circle’ can be politically and economically costly. And the fastest way to reconnect is to wangle a visit to Aso Rock. Such visits, which are usually given much publicity in the local press, are also used, or misused, to lead the public to believe that the visitors are in good standing in the seat of power, even if they are not. Being seen publicly with the President can yield valuable political and economic dividends for the visitors.

    To some extent the doors of Aso Rock should be kept open to those who have legitimate reasons to wish to see the President. There is considerable advantage in running Aso Rock, the President’s official residence, in an open manner, as both a national institution, as well as the official residence of the President. An accessible and open presidency is good and healthy for the country as this promotes a ‘corporatist’ style of government in Nigeria, one in which all interests are taken seriously and are involved in vital decision making. An open and all inclusive government is far better for Nigeria than one dominated by parochial and other selfish interests that do, in fact, hurt the country.

    Having said this, I do believe, however, that the time has now come when the President should discourage too many visits to Aso Rock, except by those that he really considers are useful to his government and the country, and whose advice or views are really needed. If the President wants to invite anyone to Aso Rock, they are only a phone call away. He has the facility to reach anyone in the country that he wants to talk to. President Buhari is faced with so many political and economic problems that he needs all the time he can find to address these problems. Too many calls on him in Aso Rock are a waste of time and should be discouraged. His social diary should be well managed to enable him concentrate more on the grave challenges facing our country. He should be mindful of any form of cronyism in his government.

  • Mecca: Witnesses to tragedy

    Mecca: Witnesses to tragedy

    Alhaja Ayoka Lawal ‘Some pilgrims ignored instructions’

    The last Hajj witnessed massive deaths of pilgrims including about 64 Nigerians as at the last count. Taiwo Abiodun met some of the lucky survivors who told him the story of their miraculous escape.

    Adijat Ayoka Lawal from Ogun State had been praying to visit the Holy land to fulfil one of the pillars of Islamic rites. But this nearly took her life. “I went to Mecca on August 22 and we were lodged in Medina. We left Medina in the dead of the night in order to meet up. When we got to Jamra where we would throw stones at the ‘devil’, we went through a place and came out through the normal exit but some of the pilgrims did not listen to instructions. They were returning through where they came in and jammed those going to throw stones; that was when the stampede started.

    “I was already through when I met those who were going to throw stones, the Pakistanis and Iranians did not listen, it was a woman who was being pushed on the wheelchair that caused it. She fell from the wheelchair and they all started falling on one another. The rule is that if any pin falls on the ground nobody should bend down to pick it. We did not sleep, we went early and trekked there overnight, if we had waited till the normal time we could have been involved. We went at night but those the stampede affected went at 6 am, while we were already there. We had finished before they came. It was a bad news which spread like wild fire. The stones we threw are like pebbles or as small as a bean seed, it should not be brought back home.”

    Lawal is of the opinion that, “The old ones should be restrained from going on the pilgrimage. They should allow those who have not gone at all the opportunity. This will reduce the number of pilgrims going there to Mecca annually.

    “While some of those who died had wished so, the fact is that some  old people believed that  if they die there in Mecca they would go to heaven, that is their Aljaana  so many even prayed to die there. It is what one wishes for himself that will come to pass.”

    According to her, while some of the pilgrims go to Mecca for business, some others go for prayers, while some are sick or begging for child believing in the miracle of Mecca.”

    Speaking on the efforts of the Saudi government she said, “They all tried, we should tell others to emulate them and follow instructions. The place (Jamra) is like a tunnel. The people who caused this problem are adamant to correction that is why many died.”

    Alhaji Moshood Basaru

    ‘I have learnt my lesson’

    “The experience in this year’s hajj is terrible, this is my fourth time. When we were going to Jamra where we were going to do the stoning, the crowd was too much, the Saudi authority had made enough preparation for the exercise, those who were to pass another side or take the exit way were coming back, and they started taking the wrong way as they did not go through exit. The Arab that is Egyptians and Moroccans caused it because they wanted to take a short cut.

    “I escaped. When it happened I just removed my leg from my sandals and abandoned it. It was a case of do or die! Before and after many had died so it was Allah’s wish. There was a woman on a wheel chair, and her husband was pushing her, the husband was trying to safeguard the wife and they fell. Some people were already coming and this added to the crowd, also many had not eaten breakfast and were weak.”

    In terms of security he suggested reduction of the numbers of pilgrims making the journey while those who are not physically fit should not be given visa and same with pregnant women.

    He agreed that some Nigerians make the trip purely for business purposes and call on the Hajj Commission to look into this. He agreed that the Saudi authority made sufficient security arrangements. But blamed some pilgrims for breaching the traffic arrangement, he accused Egyptians, Algerians, Moroccans and Iranians whose tents were very close to Jamra of causing the stampede because they wanted to go back through the same route.

    According to him, “When this happened I was almost down, I quickly removed my sandals and jumped to the front, that was how I escaped the crisis. I would have been involved. It is the wish of Allah for we were not better than them (the dead). There was a woman on a wheelchair, her husband was the one pushing the wheelchair, I don’t know whether the wheelchair broke down and she fell, the chair fell on her and the husband was trying to safeguard her, to raise her up and the stampede started. The woman, I think was an Arabian while some people were coming and facing the same direction at same time. That is all what happened. Many too had not taken their breakfast that day for many woke up early.

    “There was sufficient security. We cannot blame them. They were unable to open their exit places on time, that was the mistake they made. The Saudi authorities try to discourage the disabled , and aged people but you know Nigerians they know the way to go about it. The Nigeria Hajj Commission should endeavour to stop the political slot. Our politicians give rough necks, people with questionable characters slots, this should be stopped to reduce the number of people going on pilgrimage.”

    Jamiu Olurotimi Ogunbodede

     ‘Many were electrocuted’

    “We left Muljalifa for Sumri then to Arafat for Jamra to perform the stoning of the Devil rites. There was a stampede, at that particular moment there were about 13 of us from Owo and Allah rescued us.

    “When the stampede happened some of us climbed tents and by the time we looked down a lot of pilgrims had fallen. There were tents where pilgrims stayed. We have African /Arab tents and Ondo State pilgrims were in African tents and were at that scene. Each country has its site. The incident happened within African /Arab tents. I was there watching the ugly episode because it happened before my eyes.

    “The Egyptian pilgrims caused it as they faced those who were coming to throw stones instead of these Egyptians going out through the normal exit doors, the reverse was the case as they turned back facing those who were coming to throw their stones. Coupled with this was a woman who fell from the wheelchair, this aggravated the whole episode.

    “That very day two of our indigenes were involved, they fell and fainted, it was God that saved them. I called God that if it is true that whoever goes to Mecca will not die and God saved him. Some fainted and many more died. Fortunately, I climbed the tent. Some of those who climbed the tents unknowingly held on to live wire cable and were burnt to death. It was a tragedy. A nurse who went along with us to take care of us too fell but God used me to revive her and an elderly man.

    “Back at home in Owo many thought some of us had died but thank God we all came back home alive while those who were trampled upon and fainted came back alive.”

    Alhaja Khadijat Tiamiyu

    ‘How I escaped’

    For Alhaja Khadijat Tiamiyu, a banker, her experience was the scariest experience in her life.

    She told The Nation that everything had gone well during her pilgrimage to the holy land until the fateful day designated as the stoning of the devil, an exercise she said she had looked forward to.

    Pilgrims travel to Mina, a large valley about 5km (3 miles) from Mecca, to throw seven stones at pillars called Jamarat, which represent the devil.

    Relieving her story, she said, “People were going towards the direction of throwing the stones, while others were coming from the opposite direction. Then it became chaotic and suddenly people started going down.

    “There were people from Nigeria, Niger, Chad and Senegal among other nationalities. People were just climbing on top of others in order to move to a safer place and that was how some people died.

    “People were chanting Allah’s name, while others were crying, including children and infants. People fell on the ground seeking help but there was no one to give them a helping hand. Everybody seemed to be on his or her own.”

    On how she managed to escape death, Tiamiyu replied: “When the environment became chaotic, I just noticed that another pilgrim who was struggling not to fall on the ground, held on to my hijab with so much force. At a point, I was becoming choked and suddenly, an inner voice told me to remove the hijab. I did that and almost staggered to the floor. Fortunately, there was a vehicle just beside me which I leaned on to regain my breath.”

    While recounting her experience, Tiamiyu’s faint voice was barely audible, an indication that she was yet to get over her close shave with death.

    She continued, “It was really scary I must say, but in my mind, I kept praying. I saw people falling down and being trampled upon by thousands of people. I saw victims passing out faeces after being trampled upon. It was a gory sight.”

  • Hajj Stampede: NAHCON confirms 99 Nigerians dead, 214 missing

    Hajj Stampede: NAHCON confirms 99 Nigerians dead, 214 missing

    The National Hajj Commission of Nigeria (NAHCON) has confirmed the death of 99 Nigerian pilgrims in the recent stampede at Mina, Saudi Arabia.

    The Commissioner Planning, Research Statistic Information and Library Service (PRSILS) of the commission, Dr. Saleh Okenwa told reporters in Makkah on Thursday that 42 were injured and 214 others missing

    He however insisted that those missing cannot be declared dead, since identification of those affected were still being collated by the Saudi Arabia health authorities in conjunction with Nigerian and other health officials.

    He also gave the breakdown of the Hajj victims as 73 deaths from the state pilgrim welfare board, agencies and commissions, while the remaining 26 were from the tour operators.

    “Those injured were 42, 41 from the state pilgrims and one from tour operators. The numbers of those missing from the states are 96 males, 94 females and four males who were officials, totaling 194. Ten males and 10 females were missing from the tour operators. Of those injured only seven remain in the hospitals on admission and receiving treatments and others were discharged,” Okenwa said.

    When asked if there is hope that those missing can still be found alive, the commissioner said: “In the early days people expressed hope but the hope is weaning. We cannot declare those missing as dead since there is no evidence to state that.”

  • Hajj: Nigeria loses another 19 to hypertension, diabetes – Centre

    The Head of Data Unit of the National Hajj Commission of Nigeria’s Medical Centre in Mecca, Dr. Jibrin Suleman has said 19 Nigerian pilgrims died of heart diseases, hypertension, diabetes and other related ailments during the just-concluded Hajj.
    The death was separate from the casualty figure recorded by the nation during last Thursday Hajj stampede in Jamarat in Mina.
    He said more than 10,000 pilgrims were treated in NAHCON’s five clinics in Madinah and Mecca for cold, malaria, body pain and other simple and non-complicated cases.
    Suleman gave the statistics while briefing the Leader of the Senate Ad Hoc Committee on Hajj, Sen. Ali Wakili when he visited the centre in Mecca.
    Suleman said the 19 deaths involved pilgrims between 65 years and above.
    On his part, the Head, Medical Team of the centre, Dr. Muhammad Bello Abdulkadir, said the clinics were stocked with necessary drugs.
    “We brought some of the drugs from Nigeria, while others were procured in Saudi Arabia,’’ he added.
    He also said NAHCON recruited 232 medical staff, including doctors, nurses, and others to man the clinics.
    He, however, complained that the centre had no ambulance to move to the pilgrims’ hostels during emergencies.
    Wakili said members of the ad hoc committee were going round NAHCON facilities in Saudi Arabia to evaluate the situation and find out challenges confronting the agency.