Niger moves towards ensuring pilgrimage without tears

Isah Ndagiman, Chairman, Niger State
Pilgrims Board

The annual problems encountered by pilgrims to the holy land is a thing of worry to Niger State government hence, its decision to put necessary machineries in place to ensure hitch-free hajj operation, reports Dipo Laleye.

One of the pillars of Islam is the performance of the Holy pilgrimage to Mecca at least once in a Muslim’s life time. This is why in line with the secular nature of the country, government at all levels usually accord the performance of the Holy pilgrimage high premium every year.

However, as the governments at all levels, try to make hajj hitch free every year, the exercise continues to run into one problem or the other ,from lack of aircraft to airlift the pilgrims to administrative ineptitude on the part of the officials handling the entire exercise, among others. It is no longer strange to hear pilgrims who had left their homes for the holy land only to be stranded at the lounges of the various international airports designated for their airlifts across the country. Some of these pilgrims return home without performing the pilgrimage while some others die as a result of the harsh weather they are exposed to while waiting for the aircraft that will take them for the religious voyage.

For those who are able to make the trip to Saudi Arabia, the return journey most often is more hectic than their take off because while pilgrims from other lands had long forgotten that they performed the pilgrimage those from Nigeria remain for weeks in Jeddah waiting for the plane that will transport them back to Nigeria and to the warm embrace of their families.

The lucky ones after their arrival would also wait for weeks for their luggages to arrive, if the goods arrive at all. In Niger state and in the last three years, the picture painted is still very vivid in the minds of most of the pilgrims from Gurara and Tafa local government areas who though completed their preparations in record times could not for two years consecutively perform the religious obligation because of lack of aircraft to airlift them to the holy land.

The incident of the last pilgrimage still leaves a sour taste in the mouths of the pilgrims who after they managed to travel and return their luggages did not arrive until the then government shipped the goods to Nigeria . The airline which was to bring the pilgrims and their goods abandoned its responsibility only to make the government to commit millions of tax payers money to the shipment and transportation of the goods to Minna from the ports in Lagos .

Officials have always heaped the blame of poor hajj operations on the Saudi embassy which they often claim fail to issue travelling visas to intending pilgrims on time and by changing the rules in the middle of game. In addition, the airlines were also always held responsible for not providing aircraft on time. These excuses are correct, recent events in Niger state have proved that inadequate planning by the various pilgrim officials in the country contributed to derailing the hajj exercise in the country. For the ongoing pilgrimage, the Niger state pilgrims welfare board which was reorganised by governor Muazu Babangida Aliyu when he assumed duties started planning for the pilgrimage since June.

The result is that by the end of august this year, most of the intending pilgrims had paid their hajj fares which were promptly remitted to the National hajj commission. The board headed by Amir Isah Adamu, the executive secretary and Alhaji Isa Ndagiman, chairman, also ensured that all the travel documents of the intending pilgrims were obtained from the Saudi embassy long before the big rush commenced which made the state the first among the 33 states of the federation and the FCT to collect valid documents for their intending pilgrims.

The issue of airline was also speedily decided upon since the board had long sanctioned the former airline that failed to live up to expectation. It is to the credit of the board that everything was put in place weeks before the flag ff of the airlift of the pilgrims to the holy land and without any iota of doubt, Niger state pilgrims became one of the very few states in the country to commence the airlift of the pilgrims on schedule. So far 1006 out the over 3780 pilgrims had been airlifted to the holy land within the first three days of the commencement of the airlift. All those airlifted were from the Minna international airport which has been witnessing a beehive of activities as carriers came in and left at regular intervals.

The airline has also promised to complete the airlift of pilgrims within the next few days, a promise if fulfilled will be creating a record in the history of hajj operations in the state if not in the country. Secretary of the pilgrims board, Amir Isa Adamu attributed the success so far recorded in the airlift of the intending pilgrims “to the cooperation and support given to the board by the chief servant, and fervent prayers by all those concerned “ adding that “we are grateful to Allah that our prayers have been answered.” “The chief servant gave us a target that must be met and we are are trying to meet the target” Amir Adamu said.

The secretary said that so far, pilgrims from eight local government areas of the state had been airlifted saying that there was no favouritism in the choice of the first set of people to be airlifted. According to him, only pilgrims from Tafa and Gurara local government areas were favoured because for two years, they had not been able to perform the pilgrimage even after paying their fares. Unlike in previous airlifts of pilgrims where pilgrims were left to their fate in the hajj transit camp in Minna and in the Holy land this time round, virtually all the stakeholders joined hands with pilgrims board to ensure the pilgrims enjoy for the first time, a pilgrimage without tears.

For instance, the wife of the state governor, Hajia Jumai Babangida Aliyu donated 1500 hijab to all the female intending pilgrims while a leading commercial bank in the state also gave equal number of the veil to the female pilgrims. The governor, Dr Muazu Babangida Aliyu on his part, purchased and distributed free of charge 4000 copies of the pilgrims guide to all the intending pilgrims. Perhaps the most spectacular support the pilgrims from the state has got is the free feeding by the wife of the governor, Hajia Juamai Aliyu at the Hajj transit camp in Minna.

The three square meals being provided to all those who stay at the transit camp before the airlift was contracted to a private caterer to “ensure the best meals are served to the pilgrims” Hajia Jumai may be following in the footsteps of her husband who has also promised to feed the pilgrims for three days in Minna and Jeddah at his own expense . The government on its part subsidized the cost of the production of their travelling bags apart from other juicy welfare packages introduced for them to make the hajj less tedious.

To show the seriousness the government attached to the performance of hajj without tears, the state deputy governor Hon. Ahmed Musa Ibeto was named the leader of this years pigrims to the holy land while all the traditional rulers were mobilised to ensure that pilgrims from their emirates were prepared on time for the religious trip. Flagging off the take off of the pilgrims governor Muazu Babangida Aliyu advised the pilgrims to be good ambassadors of the country in Mecca and warned them against doing anything they will live to regret.

Governor Aliyu said the government did not sponsor pilgrims this year apart from officials who have something to do because “we believe religion is a personal thing which should be handled personally” The governor asked the pilgrims to pray for the peace and progress of the country and for the various programmes put in place for the improvement in the lives of the ordinary people in the state to be successful. Both the secretary of the board, Amir Isah Adamu and the chairman Alhaji Isah Ndagiman who will be among the last batch of pilgrims to leave the state for Mecca were confident that the success recorded will be built upon in subsequent hajj operations.