The Nation Newspaper

Tag: pilgrim

  • Katsina gives 300 Saudi Riyals to each state pilgrim

    Katsina State Pilgrims Welfare Board has commenced the payment of 300 Saudi Riyals to each pilgrim from the state as Special Sallah gift from Governor  Aminu Bello Masari

    According to the  report,  the Executive Director of the Board, Alhaji Muhammad Rimi, gave directives yesterday for the payment of the amount to the pilgrims currently performing Hajj in Makkah, Saudi Arabia.

    Rimi said the cash gift was a welfare package to the 2018 pilgrims from the state by the government.

    He urged the pilgrims to spend the governor’s gift and their Basic Travelling Allowances (BTAs) judiciously, and avoid reckless spending that might hinder their return journey to the country after the exercise.

    Rimi also advised the pilgrims to shun all forms of protest or demonstration, pointing out that such deviant acts were against the Saudi laws.

    He also called on all Nigerian pilgrims to continue to pray for the country and its leaders so that they would continue to demonstrate the fear of Allah in their dealings.

  • Pilgrim recovers $700 BTA in Saudi

    Nigerian pilgrim, Hassana Aliyu, yesterday in Madinah, Saudi Arabia, recovered her lost Basic Travelling Allowance (BTA) from her hotel camp.

    Aliyu, from Gezawa Local Government Area of Kano State, was lodged at Al-Andalus Al-Masi Hotel in the heart of Madinah, reported losing her $700 BTA, which was found by a hotel worker who handed it over to the management.

    No sooner had the cash been found than the management alerted officials of the National Hajj Commission (NAHCON).

    NAHCON’s Head of Civic Enlightenment Umar Bala, while handing over the cash to Aliyu, cautioned pilgrims against careless handling of their money and valuables.

    Aliyu lauded the hotel management, workers and NAHCON officials for their honesty in dealing with visitors.

    A pilgrim from Nasarawa State, Nuhu Musa, similarly recovered his $600 from the same hotel.

    The first batch of 561 intending pilgrims from Borno State yesterday left for Saudi Arabia. They were taken by Max Air from the Maiduguri International Airport.

  • Pilgrim under probe for ‘illegally collecting $500’

    A pilgrim from Sokoto State is being probed for allegedly illegally collecting USD 100 each from five pilgrims, for the purchase of sacrificial animals, reports have said.

    It was confirmed that the pilgrim (name withheld), was alleged to have fraudulently collected the money, before his apprehension by members of the state government’s 2017 hajj delegation.

    Reports said the pilgrim had perpetrated similar acts in the previous hajj exercises.

    Confirming the incident, the Amirul Hajj, Justice Bello Abbas, said the pilgrim would be investigated and sanctioned if found guilty.

    Represented by Alhaji Ibrahim Gusau, he said: “Any pilgrim found wanting will not be spared.

    “Pilgrims should be good ambassadors of the state and Nigeria while in the holy land.”

    The Director, Operations of the Sokoto State Pilgrims Welfare Agency, Alhaji Abdulganiyu Muhammad, said the pilgrim was from Sokoto South Local Government and had been “in this business for six consecutive years.

    “We don’t want to give his name or tell you more about him now, because doing so will be tantamount to preempting the outcome of the probe.”

  • Arrested female pilgrim excretes 82 wraps of Cocaine

    Arrested female pilgrim excretes 82 wraps of Cocaine

    A 55 year-old female pilgrim arrested at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport (NAIA) Abuja has excreted eighty-two wraps of cocaine weighing nine hundred and thirty-one (931) programmes.

    The suspect was arrested during the outward screening of passengers on an Emirate flight to Dubai en-route Medina.
    Mrs Binuyo Busari Iyabo who hails from Irepodun local government area of Kwara State is married with three children and sells cosmetics at Dosumu market, Lagos. In her statement, she owned up to the crime and also provided investigators with useful information.
    Describing her action as shameful and discreditable, the Chairman of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) Muhammad Mustapha Abdallah warned against trafficking in narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances.He said that drug traffickers shall be severely sanctioned in line with anti-narcotic laws of the land.
    “It is a shameful and discreditable act for a 55 year old mother who is going on a holy pilgrimage to ingest narcotics. This is very shocking and a clear indication of her inability to effectively discharge parental responsibility. The Agency shall invoke the powers of the law against her and others caught indulging in production/trafficking in narcotic drugs”.
    NDLEA commander at the Abuja airport, Hamisu Lawan confirmed the total number of wraps of cocaine ingested by the suspect while under observation. “Mrs Binuyo Basari Iyabo while under observation expelled eighty-two wraps of cocaine weighing nine hundred and thirty-one (931) grammes. All arrangements have been concluded for her prosecution”. Hamisu stated.
    In her statement the arrested woman said she wanted to expand my cosmetic business but I had no money.“My sponsor offered to foot my expenses to Saudi on pilgrimage. This was how I got involved in the act. I was excited until the issue of drugs was introduced. I wanted to decline but it was late. Besides, I was offered a million naira which I accepted. I swallowed the drugs in Lagos and took a flight to Abuja on my way to Medina but I was caught in the process” she told investigators.
    NDLEA Chairman called on members of the public not to get involved in drug trafficking and other criminal activities capable of exposing them to ridicule and undermining their good reputation.

     

  • Ambode’s pilgrim’s progress

    Ambode’s pilgrim’s progress

    The Lagos State government decided no trips to Mecca or Jerusalem on the tax payer’s purse. It was striking it happened in Edo, Kaduna and a few other states. But for it to happen in Lagos is especially significant. Lagos, for one, embodies to two pilgrimages, unlike others. That made Akinwunmi Ambode’s move especially bold. Two, Lagos spends more than any other. For some pilgrims, it was both escape and escapade, not a real pious experience. Three, it affirms that pilgrimages are not compulsory in either faith. It is mentioned in Islam. It is not even suggested in the Bible. Four, the economy is stumbling, and it is no time for pious jamboree.

    It does not make progress for any pilgrim to go. They often see it as pork for politician, and vanity for many others. It does not necessarily make them better Christians or Muslims. John Bunyan wrote an allegory titled Pilgrim’s Progress, and it tracks a man’s hard and exacting journey through sin and redemption. This is the time for a true pilgrim’s progress. Let individuals who must go toil to afford it and appreciate it like Bunyan’s protagonist.

  • ‘No Cross River pilgrim killed in Hajj stampede’

    The Cross River State Muslim Pilgrims Welfare Board has said no pilgrim from the state was among the dead in this year’s Hajj stampede in Saudi Arabia.

    Head of Islamic Affairs in the State Department of Religious Matters and Coordinator of the 2015 Hajj operations, Mallam Bello Audu, told reporters in Calabar, the state capital, that he had been in touch with the 37 pilgrims from the state, adding they were “hale and hearty”.

    Audu said: “We give glory to Almighty Allah that no pilgrim from the state was missing when a head count was done for the 37 pilgrims from the state in Mecca, Saudi Arabia. We also thank Governor Ben Ayade, who has promised to always listen to Muslims in Cross River State and give them their rights.

    “That nothing happened to the pilgrims from Cross River State shows that the governor’s prayers have been answered as a good believer and a man of God.

    “We regret the loss of lives at Jamarat. As Muslims, we condole with the affected persons and their families in Nigeria and in other countries with prayers that Almighty Allah will grant the dead Aljanna Firdaus (Paradise) as well as grant the victims’ families the fortitude to bear the irreparable loss.”

  • How it happened, by Nigerian pilgrim

    How it happened, by Nigerian pilgrim

    Saudi Television Channel, ‘Saudi 2’ said death toll had risen to 736.

    According to various accounts, the deaths were caused by a stampede close to Jamrat owing to the high number of pilgrims who converged on Saudi Arabia for the pilgrimage.

    A pilgrim from Sokoto, Alhaji Muhamadu Ilela, who was at the scene, said the deaths occurred because the Saudi police blocked one of the gates leading to the Jamrat area.

    ‘’For over one hour, the queue didn’t move and we were in the scorching sun. After some time, people started collapsing because of the heat wave, This was what caused the initial deaths. A stampede followed which caused the deaths of most pilgrims.’’ he alleged.

    The Public Relations Officer of the National Hajj Commission, Uba Mana, said that Emir of Kano, who is  the leader of the delegation, and others were meeting.

    The Saudi Civil Defence Directorate reported on twitter that 4,000 personnel had been sent to the scene of stampede, along with more than 220 emergency and rescue units.

    Incidentally, the emir of Kano earlier in the week urged pilgrims to accept the arrangement which the

    Saudi Authorities  have put in place over ‘’the stoning of the devil’’ at Jamrat.

    Amirul Hajj Sanusi revealed that performing the stoning of the devil in batches and spreading the time for the Islamic rite to include the period of Zawal (sun rise) is necessary to protect the  lives of pilgrims.

    The Emir noted that ‘’on many occasion, pilgrims have been killed at the stoning site from stampede arising

    out of thousands of pilgrims converging to do the throwing at the same time, among number of causes.’’

    Emir Sanusi II recalled that 266 pilgrims had died in 1994 while 98 others were injured at the stoning site that year. Ten years later, 251 pilgrims died in 2004 and in 2006, 346 also died, he added.

    According to him, ‘’all these incidents happened at the Jamarat. The frequency and sheer enormity necessitated the following arrangement of the concerned authority, by performing the ritual in a way that will protect human life.’’

  • Pilgrim board gets website

    The Oyo State Pilgrims Welfare Board (Muslim Wing) has opened a website for effective organisation of this year’s hajj. The board’s chairman, Taofeek Akeugberu (Akewugbagold) said yesterday that the internet option was to curb irregularities associated with the exercise. Akeugbagold, who gave the website as oyostatepwbhajj.com, said the board had over shoot its allocation from 600 to over 1,200. According to him, over 1,200 forms had been sold to intending pilgrims, who are mainly non-indigenes. He warned that as a result many of those who had purchased the forms might be disqualified to allow more indigenes to have the opportunity to participate. Akeugbagold warned that council chairmen in the 33 council areas should not recommend more 20 intending pilgrims and they should not give agents any recommendation letter. He said that intending pilgrims would have to purchase forms on line while successful named will placed on internet.

  • Sokoto loses 70-year-old pilgrim

    Sokoto loses 70-year-old pilgrim

    The death of a 70-year-old, Ahmadu Achida from Wurno Local Government Area of Sokoto State, has tempered the excitement of the state’s pilgrims after the Aliyu Wamakko administration donated N56m to the Holy Land visitors.

    The septuagenarian died at Muna two days after observing the Arafat, the chairman of the Publicity Committee of the state’s 2013 delegation, Labaran Dundaye, told Newsextra in a telephone interview.

    Dundaye, who is also the chairman of the Sokoto State council of the Nigerian Union of Journalists (NUJ), said the deceased died after a brief illness.

    “The incident took place at Muna, near Makkah, two days after the Arafat, after Achida complained of minor body pains and other discomforts,” he said.

    “Shortly after, he was confirmed dead. So far, he was the only pilgrim from the state who died during this year’s hajj.

    “His remains have since been buried by the Saudi authorities at Makkah, after a funeral prayer at the Grand Mosque, the Ka’abah.

    “The family of the deceased have been informed about his demise,” he said.

    Dundaye said that the remaining pilgrims were hale and hearty.

    The governor’s donation did much to lift the spirits of the pilgrims but the death brought considerable despair.

    The state has 6,170 pilgrims in this year’s hajj.

    The state’s publicity committee sub-chairman on the 2013 hajj, Dundaye, said the donation was announced by the leader of the delegation (Amirul Hajj), Senator Jubril Gada, in Makkah.

    Dundaye said: “Wamakko made the donation when he visited the office of the state’s Pilgrim’s Welfare Agency, Makkah,” he added.

    Dundaye said each of the 6,170 pilgrims got 200 Saudi Riyals, equivalent of about N 9,000.

    “The gesture was an annual exercise being extended to the state’s pilgrims by Wamakko to alleviate their sufferings and to assist the beneficiaries to augment their usually-exhausted basic travelling allowances.

    “The distribution of the money was done between October 17 and 18, and all the pilgrims had received their shares,” he said.

    Accordingly, Wamakko was quoted as commending the National Hajj Commission of Nigeria (NAHCON) for making excellent arrangements which helped in ensuring the success of the 2013 Hajj exercise.

    “Nigeria has made good arrangements in this direction and the pilgrims had prayed for sustainable peace and unity of the country during the hajj.

    “There is no compromise about the unity and peace of Nigeria, and these fervent prayers would be sustained even after the current hajj exercise,” Wamakko was further quoted.

    The governor, according to Dundaye, also commended the state’s Pilgrims’ Welfare Agency, members of the hajj delegation and the state’s pilgrims for exhibiting a high sense of commitment and patriotism.

    Governor Wamakko had also performed the just-concluded hajj exercise as the special guest of the Saudi Arabian authorities.

    The leader of the state’s delegation, Senator Jubril Gada and the chairman of the Pilgrims’ Welfare Agency, Alhaji Muntari Maigona, all attributed the success of their assignment to the unwavering commitment, support and cooperation of Wamakko to the welfare and comfort of the pilgrims.

    However, the annual hajj exercise has been concluded after the 3-day symbolic stoning of the devil at Jamrat, Muna, between 10th Zul-Hijjah to 12th Zul-Hijjah.

  • Hajj: Airlift of pilgrims to resume, eight , on standby, says NAHCON

    Hajj: Airlift of pilgrims to resume, eight , on standby, says NAHCON

    • Saudi Arabia may give limited waiver

     

    The Chairman of the National Hajj Commission of Nigeria (NAHCON), Mallam Mohammed Musa Bello yesterday said Nigeria still stands a good chance of meeting its target of airlifting pilgrims to Saudi Arabia once the row over Muharams (male guardians for female pilgrims) is resolved.

    He said eight states already have their pilgrims on standby having adjusted to the new rules imposed by Saudi Arabia.

    He said the visas of the 1,500 female pilgrims returned to the country from Jeddah and Medina are still valid because they were really not deported.

    There were also indications last night that the Saudi authorities might give a limited waiver to Nigeria on Muharams.

    Bello, who addressed journalists in Abuja on the impasse between Nigeria and Saudi Arabia, said there is no cause for alarm.

    He pledged that all pilgrims would be airlifted before Jeddah Airport is closed on October 20.

    He clarified that Nigeria did not violate Saudi laws as being insinuated.

    Bello said: “Hajj predates Nigeria; it predates Saudi as a country. The issue of Muharam is a fundamental aspect of hajj and we couldn’t have violated it.

    “If there was any change of rule, we were not communicated. We didn’t break any Saudi law, all hajj officials at all level have always been preaching to the pilgrims to obey the law of the land.”

    “Muharam is a fundamental issue in hajj exercise. There appears to be a change of position of Saudi government on who constitutes Muharam. It is always understood that the constitutionally established bodies like us can stand as Muharam. We are going to sort out all the technical issues so that they can go back”.

    He said that airlift of pilgrims will soon resume.

    He added: “The airlift of pilgrims will soon start. Eight states with 32 flight schedules are on standby to commence operation when the challenges are sorted out.

    “We are hopeful that we will meet our target before King Abdulazeez International Airport Jeddah and Madina airport are closed to traffic on October 20.

     

    “Our carriers- Max Airline, Medview, Meridien and Kabo air lines- are all set to commence airlifting.”

    On the fate of female pilgrims returned to Nigeria from Saudi Arabia, he added: “The female pilgrims were not deported contrary to insinuations and reports; they were returned and their return was a deliberate action of the Federal Government using a Nigerian Airline so that whatever lapses regarding their travel documents would be rectified. They were brought back on Nigerian planes by the Hajj commission.”

    “These pilgrims were not deported; their visas have not been stamped, they are still valid. They will certainly go back to perform this year’s Hajj.

    “All their travelling documents are intact and we would make sure all of them are returned as soon as the issue is sorted out.

    “Actually, it was a deliberate decision by the Nigerian government to return the affected female pilgrims home to address issues raised by Saudi authorities.”

    Responding to a question, Bello said: “The Federal Government delegation to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia was also not denied.

    “It is totally unthinkable of a situation that high-ranking government officials would be denied visa. It is totally false and when they get there, the delegation will understand what happened and why it happened suddenly after over 20 flights have moved into the Kingdom.”

    A representative of the airline operators, Nura Harazim of Meridien Airline said: “The pilgrims were not deported. The challenge we have is that the Saudi authority did not carry us along on the change of law on the issue of Muharam.”

    As at press time, there were indications that the Saudi Arabian government might “grant a limited waiver to the Federal Government.”

    A highly-placed source said: “The Saudi Government wants substantial compliance with its laws before it could grant waiver.

    “I think in the next one or two days, this issue will be resolved.”