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Tag: NAHCON

  • Buhari receives 2018 Hajj report

    *Plans Hajj Saving Scheme to increase participation

     

    President Muhammadu Buhari on Friday received the 2018 Hajj report at the State House, Abuja.

    The Chairman of the National Hajj Commission of Nigeria (NAHCON), Alhaji Abdullahi Mukhtar Muhammad, briefed the President after the jumaat prayer.

    Speaking with State House correspondents, after the meeting, he said “I briefed Mr president on the outcome of 2018 Hajj which was recently concluded and Mr President was very happy with the outcome of the Hajj.

    “He particularly commended Nigerian pilgrims for behaving excellently during the Hajj and he urged and directed that the commission should do everything humanly possible sustain the tempo and the successes recorded and also commence preparations for the 2019 Hajj in earnest. We should try to sustain the tempo of the successes recorded.

    “I briefed Mr President about the turn out of the pilgrims and we all appreciate the reasons and what ought to be done in future to make sure that Nigeria fills up its quota.

    “And part of the measures to be taken will be the introduction of the Hajj Saving Scheme programme which will enable pilgrims who want to pay over a long period of time to start paying by installments.

    Read Also: APC must resolve all crisis or lose 2019 elections

    “And all regulatory framework to ensure the success of the Hajj Saving Scheme will be put in place and government will do the needful for the take off of the scheme in due course.” he said

    According to him, one of the main challenge faced was the medical fitness of some of the pilgrims.

    He said “In some states, you see people who apparently are aged and don’t have accompanying relations to support them.

    “We are not saying no to the registration of aged people but they should have an accompanying relation who should give them all the support they should require to perform the hajj in the best manner.

    “To address this, we are going to strengthen our education and enlightenment programme and also the medical screening aspect of it will be strengthened.

    “We will consolidate the gains we have recorded with the concert of the national medical team to make sure that this is achieved in subsequent Hajj.” he said.

  • Hajj 2018: Nigerian pilgrim dies in elevator pit

    …As Kaduna loses another to diabetic emergency

    Tragedy struck at the Makkah residence of Niger State pilgrims to the 2018 Hajj, when a member of the contingent (name withheld) fell to his death from a faulty lift this morning.

    Soon after the incident, the Commissioner in charge of health of the National Hajj Commission of Nigeria (NAHCON), Dr. Ibrahim Abubakar Kana, representing the chairman of the Commission, paid a condolence visit to the bereaved contingent, urging them to take heart.

    The NAHCON boss sought Allah’s forgiveness for the deceased and fortitude for his family to bear the loss.

    According to him, immediately the tragedy was reported, NAHCON despatched medical personnel to the scene of the mishap; and after medical checks they certified the victim, dead.

    He lamented that residence managers knew that the lift had been defective for days but they made no conscious effort to seal it off and warn pilgrims to keep away from it.

    Dr. Kana said if they had taken such precautionary measures the mishap would have been averted, adding that host nation, Saudi Arabia’s authorities and security agents have intervened in the issue.

    In his response, Niger State Amirul Hajj, Abubakar Magaji, expressed gratitude for the NAHCON boss’ concerns, urging him to investigate the incident and ensure that appropriate punitive measures are taken against the blameworthy to serve as deterrence and a re-occurrence of such incident.

    In another sad incident, the Kaduna State Muslim Pilgrims Welfare Board announced the loss of another pilgrim (name withheld), from Lere Local Government Area.

    The victim, passed away at Muna Alwadee Hospital, soon after been diagnosed by the NAHCON medical team as diabetic emergency.

  • NAHCON hails Buhari over 2018 Hajj success

    Abdullahi Muktar, Chairman, National Hajj Commission of Nigeria ( NAHCON ) has commended President Muhammad Buhari for relentlessly assisting the commission to accomplish its task.

    Muktar made the commendation during a post Arafat meeting with stakeholders on Monday in Makkah, Saudia Arabia.

    He said the commendation became necessary in view of the tremendous support the commission received from the presidency which was instrumental to the successes recorded during the performance of the hajj rites in the holy land.

    The chairman further thanked the government of Saudi Arabia for making all the necessary provisions that assisted in making the 2018 exercise a huge success.

    The NAHCON chairman expressed satisfaction over the diligence and hard work exhibited by the commission’s staff during the exercise.

    He, therefore, called on them to maintain the tempo in subsequent missions.

    He commended state officials for good work in coordinating their pilgrims in good manners.

    ”The states have done wonderfully well in terms of coordinating pilgrims and Jamarat activities (pebble throwing rites) and environmental sanitation; we pray Allah rewards them all.

    On her part, Sen Monsura Sunmonu, Chairman, Senate Committee on Foreign Affairs, thanked Almighty Allah ” for allowing us to witness this year’s Hajj”.

    Sunmonu hailef NAHCON for a job well done by ensuring hitch-free exercise, adding that she passionately supported the entire operation and prayed Allah to continue to protect the country.

    In a goodwill message, the Chairman, House Committee on Foreign Affairs, Alhaji Ibrahim Abdullahi, commended the progress achieved in this year’s hajj, adding that NAHCON made some notable achievements in the last three years.

    He also appreciated the National Medical Team and clerics who guided the pilgrims.

    “We hope that next year and beyond, Nigeria will be on the record of great country, ” he said.

    While giving a brief on phase one of the hajj, Alhaji Sulaiman Usman, Director, Planning, Research, Statistics, Information and Library Service, NAHCON, said the feeding and animal sacrifices recorded incremental improvements.

    Read Also: Hajj 2018: NAHCON outlaws political campaign in Mina

    He said 6000 people paid their money for sacrifice through Jaiz Islamic Development Bank.

    He said the commission discovered that some illegal agents collected money for slaughtering animals but shared the crackers to themselves.

    ” We want to believe that those who paid to Jaiz also paid for transporting the meat to poor countries.”

    On environmental sanitation, he said “food vendors at Nigeria’s tents contributed in making our tents as refuse dumps. This are the areas that we need to work on in future”.

  • Hajj 2018: Nigeria to commence airlift with Kogi pilgrims

    Barring last minute changes, Nigeria will welcome Kogi State pilgrims as the first batch of returnees from the 2018 Hajj exercise in Saudi Arabia.

    This was disclosed by Chairman of the National Hajj Commission of Nigeria (NAHCON), Abdullahi Mukhtar Muhammad, on an inspection tour of pilgrims’ accommodation and welfare facilities in Mina, the tent city, on the outskirts of Mina.

    He promised that when Saudi aviation authorities approves airlift of pilgrims back to their homelands by the end of August, the Kogi contingent will be the first to be airlifted back home. This is because they were the first group to arrive in Madinah from Nigeria.

    The first batch of 445 pilgrims from Kogi State arrived in Madinah aboard the inaugural flight for this year’s Hajj in Saudi Arabia.

    The pilgrims were transported by Max Air Limited to Prince Muhammad Abdullaziz International Airport, Madinah via the Nnamdi Azikwe International Airport, Abuja.

    The contingent which was headed by the Chairman of the commission, Sheikh Lukman Abdullahi, also conveyed some members of the National Media Team established by NAHCON.

    The pilgrims from Kogi and other parts of the country are billed to return according to the sequence of their flights and arrival in Madinah.

    Read Also: Hajj 2018: NAHCON outlaws political campaign in Mina

    Muhammad expressed his satisfaction with the Kogi State contingent, commending them for cooperating with NAHCON team and being compliant with Hajj rules and regulations.

    Leading Nigeria’s ambassador to Saudi Arabia, Isa Dodo, and a team comprising NAHCON and state officials round the tents housing Ebonyi, Zamfara, Kano, Kogi and Kwara pilgrims, among others, he commended the services of the various operations teams and welfare committees, adding that he was satisfied with the quality of care given to the pilgrims.

    In response to pilgrims’ complaints about inadequate toilet facilities, Muhammad said NAHCON will engage relevant Saudi authorities to address the problem, which caused long queues of pilgrims on several occasions.

    The NAHCON however, advised pilgrims to abide by the 38-kilogramme aviation luggage size requirement, stressing that, defaulters will incur extra charges for carrying overweight items.

     

     

     

  • Hajj 2018: NAHCON outlaws political campaign in Mina

    Barrister Abdullah Muktar Muhammad, Chairman of the National Hajj Commission of Nigeria ( NAHCON ), has read the riot act to pilgrims seeking to politicise the 2018 Hajj exercise.

    Speaking at a stakeholders’ conference on Saturday, August 18, at the Al Raqiyyah hall, Ring road, Khalidiyya 3, in Makkah, Saudi Arabia, Muhammad warned state officials and other operations staff to prevent pilgrims from displaying banners or embarking on political campaign of any nature during the Hajj exercise.

    According to him, such activity is frowned at by the host nation and it vitiates the essence of the spiritual activities during Hajj.

    Muhammad sounded the note of warning as the pilgrims prepare to depart to the tent city in Mina as part of the spiritual activities.

    He also advised officers of the State Pilgrims Welfare Boards and tour operators to comply with host nation, Saudi Arabia’s operational rules and regulations, and ensure that pilgrims do likewise, to guarantee a hitch-free Hajj exercise.

    Read Also: 37, 746 Nigerians among two million pilgrims on Mount Arafat

    Muhammad urged pilgrims to pray for Nigeria’s peace and stability at the forthcoming general elections, adding that from 2019, the pocket money of state-sponsored pilgrims would be remitted with their fare, to facilitate easier disbursement of the money by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).

    To emphasise NAHCON’s commitment to ensuring smooth operations, team leads and senior staff of the organisation highlighted steps been taken to improve the 2018 Hajj experience.

    In response, representatives of tour operators and state officials thanked Muhammad for his support and promised to cooperate with NAHCON to ensure the success of the Hajj operations.

    Also in attendance at the conference, were the Nigerian Ambassador to Saudi Arabia, Riyadh, Muhammadu Isa Dodo, the Consul General of Nigeria, Jeddah, Muh’d Sani Yunusa among others.

     

     

  • NAHCON records 91 flights in accelerated Hajj operation

    The National Hajj Commission of Nigeria (NAHCON) has accelerated transportation of pilgrims for this year’s Hajj with 35,118 now in Saudi Arabia to beat the authority’s August 20 date for Arafat.

    The airlines operated more than six flights to Madinah on Wednesday, recording a total of 91 flights since the exercise on July 21 from Abuja.

    Fifty-five thousand pilgrims are expected to perform the Hajj this year.

    The latest flights from Nigeria transported an additional 140 pilgrims from Kebbi State, with 113 males and 27 females, while Sokoto State flew in additional 131 pilgrims to Madinah.

    The Armed Forces team has also arrived in Madinah under the leadership of Col. Abubakar Sadiq.

    It was gathered that NAHCON had extended the conclusion of flights to the Holy land from Thursday to Friday, to beat the Saudi Government’s Arafat date, which declared August 20 as Arafat day and August 21 as Eid-el-Kabir .

  • Hajj 2018: Don’t overstay in Madina, NAHCON warns Nigerian pilgrims

    National Hajj Commission of Nigeria (NAHCON) has cautioned state pilgrims agencies against allowing their pilgrims to stay beyond eight days in Madinah or take responsibility for their feeding and accommodation.

    The warning was issued in a circular to the agencies on Friday in Madinah, Saudi Arabia.

    The pilgrims are expected to be transported to Makkah, preparatory for the Hajj rites after staying for eight days in Madinah.

    There are currently 1,946 Nigerian pilgrims in Medinah, from Kogi, Nasarawa, Kaduna and Kwara states.

    “Any pilgrim that overstays beyond eight days, state pilgrims welfare boards will be fully responsible for their feeding and accommodation in Madinah,” the circular read in part.

    NAN reported that 556 pilgrims from Kaduna State arrived in Madinah late on Tuesday night while 552 from Kwara landed in the Holy land on Friday.

    Before their arrivals, 446 from Kogi and 382 pilgrims from Nasarawa State were already on the ground.

    The essence of transporting pilgrims to Madina en-route Makkah is to among others, enable them to visit historical sites and worship in the Holy Prophet’s Mosque. (NAN)

  • Hajj 2018: Medical team cautions pilgrims against health hazards

    The Nigerian Hajj Medical Team on Monday in Madinah, Saudi Arabia, cautioned pilgrims against environmental hazards arising from harsh weather conditions during the Hajj in the holy cities of Makkah and Madinah.

    Dr Muhammad Abdulkadir, Head of the Medical Team, National Hajj Commission of Nigeria (NAHCON), told our reporter that “the most important health advice to pilgrims now is to maintain personal hygiene and observe environmental sanitation”.

    “They must eat well and avoid junk food from vendors that are not certified and they must take adequate water as they move around.

    “The weather in Madinah is very harsh and the temperatures are high, so pilgrims are at the risk of getting dehydrated. Therefore, they need plenty of water frequently.”

    He said the team had taken adequate measures to attend to medical needs of pilgrims in the Holy land, adding that eight members, including nurses and five doctors, were already on ground ahead of arrival of pilgrims in Madinah.

    Abdulkadir said the team had mobilised its drugs and equipment from Jeddah and finally established its main clinic in Madinah at NAHCON office.

    “We have established two outreach centres near our pilgrims to provide immediate first aid treatment services and those who need other management will be transported in our ambulances to the main clinic.

    “There is arrangement where severe cases that need admission will be referred to Saudi medical and reference centres. We are fully ready to take off our operations because our drugs and equipment are intact.”

    Abdulkadir added that drug and equipment supply to the team would not be done at once, “it is done according to needs and what we have now is adequate to start our operations”.

    The medical doctor explained that there was a standard Procurement Committee responsible for procurement and supply of medical equipment, adding that another set of pharmacists was expected soon to join the operation.

    Asked if the team had attended to patients after the arrival of the first batch of pilgrims from Kogi, he said one of them had a minor medical issue on arrival and had been treated.

    A NAN correspondent who visited the facilities in Madinah, reported that a team of doctors, pharmacists and nurses was seen sorting out drugs while others were found in both male and female wards.

    The facilities have provisions for consultation, treatment of patients, administrative matters and other minor health related issues.

    The medical personnel were among the National Advance Team that arrived in Madinah two weeks ago to perfect arrangements for a successful Hajj operation by Nigeria.

  • The NAHCON-Diaspora Matters synergy

    SIR: I was privileged to attend the meeting between the Chairman/CEO of the National Hajj Commission of Nigeria (NAHCON) Barr. Abdullahi Mukhtar Muhammad and the Senior Special Assistant to President Muhammadu Buhari on Foreign Affairs and Diaspora Matters, Hon. Abike Dabiri-Erewa where both national personalities examined thoroughly all issues relating to the Nigerian citizens in Saudi Arabia. It was a thing to rejoice about the discovery that many of Nigerian-Saudi residents are excelling in their areas of specialization in the Kingdom. Both offices, therefore, have agreed to partner to uplift the image of Nigeria and for the interest of Nigerian patriots in the Kingdom.

    Hon. Dabiri-Erewa visited the commission with his media and administrative team led by her special assistant who is also the national president of Muslim Media Practitioners of Nigeria (MMPN), Alhaji Abdurrahman Balogun. At the end of the parley, it was clear that the welfare of the generality of Nigerians were uppermost in the minds of the two officials of state. Nigerians in Saudi Arabia was the subject matter. Every year, the National Hajj Commission of Nigeria  (NAHCON) takes the responsibility, a very difficult one, of transporting over 95,000 Nigerian compatriots on Hajj to and from the Holy Land in Makkah.

    In the past, especially before the birth of the commission, the story was often unpleasant as some of the pilgrims preferred to stay back without returning home. This trend is referred to as abscondment. And for a long time, they constituted the illegal residents referred to as “takaris” in the Kingdom. Unfortunately, their activities have often overshadowed those of the legitimate dwellers, including students, professionals, tradesmen and women.

    The leaderships of both offices – NAHCON and Diaspora Matters – seemed to have been of the same mind. They validated each other when each of the heads took time to analyze the concerns of the Nigerian-Saudi dwellers. The illegal immigrants have caused Nigeria enormous embarrassment. Many a times, the Saudi security find it difficult to differentiate between Nigerians and other black residents in the Kingdom. That is why many black non-Nigerians had been deported to Nigeria through the Kano International Airport by Saudi Arabia. In those cases, Nigeria rejected the non-Nigerians.

    In relation to the meeting between Barr. Muhammad and Hon. Abike, the commission has also gone into partnership with some other government agencies in the areas of ensuring pilgrims’ education and orientation, curbing trafficking and abscondment in Hajj, advancing the mandate of President Buhari on fighting corruption in Hajj and ultimately implementing the demands of the Act that established the commission.

    The willingness for partnership by both NAHCON and Diaspora Matters bosses is commendable. The offices have something clear in relation. It is the welfare of Nigerians. Notwithstanding the impression created by the character of the illegal immigrants, there is on record the excellent character exhibited by a lot of Nigerians in the Kingdom. Here comes the partnership to identify those bad eggs and put them on the track of patriotism and fruitful life and also to discover the excelling Nigerians and make proper arrangements so that their wealth of intellect and wisdom in their fields of endeavours can benefit Nigerians at home.

    Another critical area of collaboration will be on the task of pilgrims’ education, orientation and awareness. Every year, over 90 percent of pilgrims who go to Hajj are usually first timers mostly from the rural areas. A large number are often not read, not exposed to modern facilities, thus are gullible and can easily be manipulated. Besides, investigations have also shown that most of those who refuse to come back home after Hajj include citizens with some level of understanding of the Kingdom either through previous trips or through relations over there. That is why NAHCON is going hard on guarantors for each pilgrim who must now be the Chief Imams of Mosques around the vicinity of the intending pilgrim, the leader of the place or any high grade civil servant.

    Hon. Dabiri-Erewa acknowledged NAHCON’s achievements under the present leadership and hoped for the takeoff of the partnership as soon as possible. She described her office as sharing similar concern with NAHCON because Nigerian pilgrims fall under the Diaspora, saying her office was ready to join NAHCON in creating more awareness on the do’s and don’ts in Saudi Arabian Kingdom so as “to rescue some Nigerians from themselves”.

     

    • Muhammad Ajah, Abuja. E-mail mobahawwah@yahoo.co.uk.

  • Rats attract NAHCON’s attention too

    A discourse on rats and 2018 Hajj exercise recently made headlines in many online and mainstream media. Some news platforms drew a bleak picture of the doom about to befall Nigerian Muslim pilgrims due to rats attack whilst another group towed with caution querying whether the rodents may prevent same pilgrims from embarking on the holy journey. Thankfully enough, the minister of health quickly dispelled all fears with a single declaration backed by data that the rat attack has been ‘technically defeated’ and that they are at the stage of ‘operation final punch’ before declaring the outbreak successfully over.

    Indeed with some papers running gloomy headers such as “Hajj 2018: Saudi Arabia moves to stop Nigerian pilgrims”, perhaps some intending pilgrims, especially those who have already paid might have begun experiencing cardiac freezes. This was evidenced by the frenzy of calls some NAHCON staff kept receiving from individuals seeking clarification. However, two principal officers swiftly laid the confusion to rest just when some Nigerians might have seen a cover to launch their political subterfuge. One of these principal officers is the chairman and Chief Executive Officer of NAHCON, Abdullahi Mukhtar Muhammad and the other is the Minister of Health, Prof. Isaac Adewole.

    In a stakeholders’ meeting held on Tuesday, April 24, 2018 in the Office of Secretary to the Government of the Federation, NAHCON’s CEO said that due to media panic over Lassa fever outbreak late last year, the Saudi ministry of health resolved to take precautionary measures towards preventing persons, items or Lassa fever vectors from gaining entrance into the Kingdom in order not to endanger the lives of world pilgrims.

    Mukhtar who concurred to Saudi’s fear, affirmed that NAHCON would do anything humanly possible to ensure that no one with a suspected case of Lassa fever is allowed to make the pilgrimage to Makkah and that all agencies responsible for transportation of pilgrims have been mandated to screen their pilgrims’ luggage thoroughly against travelling along with rats, rodents or contaminated items. The chairman described Saudi’s step as an ideal Islamic practice and one which NAHCON and the world of medicine identify as a safety precaution. Hence, NAHCON will fully collaborate with Saudi Arabia in maintaining this.

    The health minister gave an update on the Lassa fever scourge declaring it almost over. He urged the media to adopt the habit of being positive in their reportage and giving government benefit of the doubt while reporting only substantiated information.

     

    • By Fatima Sanda Usara

     NAHCON media unit, Abuja.