Ten Nigerian pilgrims in Saudi Arabia have died , according to
the Coordinator of the National Hajj Commission in Mecca, Aliyu Tanko.
Tanko said Monday that at least 50,000 Nigerian pilgrims had so
far arrived in Mecca with virtually all of them having performed the
Umrah rites.
According to Tanko in a telephone interview in Mecca,
the commission's three clinics and those set up by the various state
pilgrims boards provide effective medical services to Nigerian pilgrims
in Mecca.
He urged pilgrims to always seek medical advice before embarking
on pilgrimage and warned them against exposing themselves to the
harsh weather in the Holy Land.
Two lounges were provided at Jeddah airport to check African pilgrims
for Ebola. King Abdulaziz International Airport (KAIA) has the two
lounges to receive pilgrims coming from Nigeria and some other African
countries as a preventive measure against the Ebola virus.
'So far 118,000 pilgrims have arrived by air from Nigeria. There
was not a single suspected case of the deadly virus among anyone of
them,' said Abdul Ghani Al-Malki, the supervisor of haj affairs at
the terminal.
According to him, aircraft coming from Nigeria are thoroughly checked to prevent the deadly virus.
''Emergency doctors and consultants in infectious diseases are
participating in the execution of the plan in addition to qualified
teams who are capable of checking the virus,'' Mr. Al-Malki said.
'We are particularly checking pilgrims coming from countries with
reported cases of Ebola including Nigeria, Kenya and Congo,' he said.
The Saudi Kingdom has prevented entry of pilgrims from
the Ebola-infected countries in West Africa namely Liberia, Sierra
Leone and Guinea.
Meanwhile, with the arrival on Sunday morning, in the holy city of
Madinah, of Amiru-l-Hajj (leader), Oba Rilwanu Akiolu of Lagos and
members of the 2014 Hajj Federal Government Delegation, the National
Hajj Commission of Nigeria (NAHCON) has successful conveyed all
intending pilgrims from Nigeria for this year's hajj to the holy land.
Over 75,000 Nigerians including those who employed the services of
private tour operators will be participating in the spiritual exercise
which will commence on Thursday, the eighth day of Dhul Hijjah, the 12th
month of Muslim calendar.
Last week, the Saudi authorities announced the midnight of
September 28 as the deadline for the airlifting of pilgrims from all
parts of the world to the holy cities of Makkah and Madinah.
Medview Air Special Flight No. VL3168 that conveyed the Oba of
Lagos and his entourage departed Abuja to Madinah at 10:20p.m. on
Saturday with 253 passengers, all officials except one FCT pilgrim.
It was the 140th flight since the beginning of the airlifting
operations on September 6 in several locations across the country. The
139th trip was Kabo Air KNE7271 flight which departed Kano to Madinah at
10:00p.m. with 496 pilgrims comprising 202 pilgrims from Kano and 294
pilgrims from Adamawa.
So far, a total of 65,984 pilgrims have been airlifted by the
NAHCON-accredited flight operators such as Flynas, Kabo Air, Max Air,
Medview, and Skypower Express.
And in preparation for the commencement of the rites of hajj this
Thursday in Makkah and its neighbouring towns, NAHCON will, on October
1, 2014 shut down the operation in the holy city of Madinah. NAHCON
Coordinator in Madinah, Dr. Bello Tambuwal, told journalists on Saturday
that the decision to close activities in Madinah became imperative to
ensure the smooth movement of Nigerian pilgrims remaining in Madinah to
the spots of the spiritual exercise in Makkah and its environs.
On Thursday, all pilgrims will camp in Mina, the outskirts of Makkah
for an onward movement to Arafah on the following day, October 3.
Converging on the plain of Arafah from sunrise to sunset on ninth of
Dhul Hijjah (October 3) is a fundamental rite of hajj without which the
spiritual exercise is null and void. October 4 is Eid-l-Adha (feast of
sacrifice).
During the informal briefing, Tambuwwal expressed the determination
of the Federal Government through NAHCON to ensure stress-free exercise
for Nigerian pilgrims. This, he noted, was in line with the high-level
improvement, especially in the area of infrastructure upgrade that the
Saudi authorities had continued to embark upon. The coordinator
mentioned the introduction of feeding (dinner) of pilgrims in Madinah,
the procurement of standard accommodation as well as good conduct among
pilgrims as some of the areas where tremendous improvement had been
recorded.
'Now, our pilgrims are accommodated in five-star hotels very close to
the Haram (Prophet Mosque). Also, we have drastic reduction in the rate
of untoward behaviours by pilgrims from Nigeria due to massive
awareness programmes executed by various welfare boards in all the 36
states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) in Nigeria and in Saudi
here. Our pilgrims are no longer missing because they live within 500
meters radius to the Prophet Mosque, and the perennial clash between
Saudi security operatives and Nigerian pilgrims has also vanished during
this year,' Tambuwwal said.
He praised the Saudi authorities for consistent lifting of the
standard of the exercise. 'Since 2011 edition, the rail system has
reduced the problem associated with moving a large number of pilgrims
especially from Mina to Arafah and from Arafah to Muzdalifah. A train
now conveys pilgrims from Europe and Asia to Arafah with ease within the
very shortest time. And there is now a dedicated route for Nigerian
pilgrims that under 15 minutes, they move from Arafah to Muzdalifah.
Already, there is a 30-year plan to expand airport facility in Madinah
as well as the expansion of the rail service to all parts of the
cities - Jeddah, Makkah and Madinah - that are connected to hajj
operation for hitch-free conveyance of pilgrims.'
Most countries of the world, including Nigeria, Tambuwwal said, 'have
keyed into the uplift project being embarked upon by the Saudi
authorities.' And Nigerian pilgrims have also shown appreciation for
what NAHCON has done so far. The feeding initiative as well as proximity
of their hotel accommodation thrill them greatly.
Alhaji Ayinla Babatunde Oniyeye from Kwara described the new feeding
arrangement as a welcome development and wished it extended to other
meals such as breakfast and lunch. 'We are very grateful to the Federal
Government for the new arrangements and we pray that Allah should
continue to guide them in all undertakings,' said Oniyeye.
Also commenting on feeding and accommodation arrangements, Alhaji
Muhammad Aminu Yahya from Lagos State commended Federal Government for
providing its pilgrims with five-star hotels close to the Holy Mosque in
Madinah.
'Accommodation in Madinah is fantastic. We thank Allah for giving our
officials the vision to do this. Every pilgrim is comfortable with the
arrangement. It is very close to the Holy Mosque. Reports in the past
indicated travail that our pilgrims encountered as they were quartered
in low-standard hotels that were also far away from the Haram,' noted
Aminu Yahya. Similar satisfaction was expressed by Ibrahim Hassan from
Adamawa and Ahmad Garba Abubakar from Plateau State.
Idris Abdul Rahman, an official of NAHCON working directly with Lagos
State pilgrims made further clarification on the new feeding formula,
insisting that the programmes had boosted the welfare of Nigerian
pilgrims in Madinah.
A visit to Wakan Hotel yesterday by The Guardian confirmed some of
the remarks made by the pilgrims and officials of NAHCON.
Situated on King Abdul Aziz Street, the imposing edifice is just
about six minutes walk away from the Holy Mosque. Pilgrims from Lagos,
Plateau, Adamawa, Kwara and Kogi states live in the five-star hotel.
They were in high spirit as they discussed in groups the preparation for
the main rites of Hajj which commences two day.
