From Usman Gwadabe, Makkah with agency report
National Hajj Commission of Nigeria (NAHCON) has saved the lives of 17 citizen pilgrims from death who were heatstroke at Mina during the Hajj ritual.
This was revealed by Head of National Medical Team, Dr Abubakar Adamu Ismail during the presentation of an interim report of the 2024 Hajj Exercise organised by the commission and held in Makkah on Wednesday.
Dr. Ismail stressed that had the team was not adequately prepared for the eventuality, those affected would have died after five minutes of the stroke.
Even though, the medical doctor said, so far 15 pilgrims died during the exercise, appealed to pilgrims to always adhere to advice given by professionals.
Meanwhile, a Nigerian pilgrim from Dutse Local Government Area of Jigawa State, Abba Limawa, 52, has returned 10,500 Russian rubles, $800 and 690 Saudi Riyals, he found, to the authorities in Makkah.
Limawa handed over the different currencies to the Executive Chairman, of the National Hajj Commission of Nigeria, Jalal Ahmad Arabi, during the post-Afarat conference held on Wednesday in Makkah, Saudi Arabia.
He stated, “Initially, I wanted to ignore the waist bag and move to the mosque, but on second thought, I said it might belong to a Nigerian, especially some of our old women. So, I decided to pick it, and I proceeded to the mosque. When I returned to my accommodation, I opened the bag and discovered that there was no Nigerian currency and no sign that it belonged to a Nigerian.
Immediately, I approached one of the officials of the Jigawa State Pilgrims Welfare Boards, narrated the story and presented the money to him.
From there, he commended me for showing exemplary character and honesty and told me that he would hand over the money to the NAHCON to ensure that the owner gets his or her money.’’
Responding, Mr Arabi commended Mr Limawa for being honest and projecting the image of Nigeria positively in the international arena.
Earlier, in his presentation on the outcome of the just concluded hajj, the NAHCON boss explained that the post-Afarat conference aimed to review what had transpired.
He stated, “This will enable us to have a sincere post-mortem of what we did at the battlefield and improve on the success recorded.”
Arabi disclosed that the Saudi government released the timetable and timeline for the 2025 Hajj operation on Tuesday.
He said, “Perhaps by Thursday we would have known what they allocate (Hajj slots allocation) to each nation of the world, how the visas will commence. But interestingly for the first time, they (Saudi authorities) opened the e-portal as of Tuesday.”
He, therefore, called on the state pilgrims’ welfare boards, tour operators and other stakeholders to take note of the development.
He described the Hajj exercise as a successful one, he called on officials of States Muslim Pilgrims Welfare Boards and Commissions to ensure that they comply strictly with the 2025 Hajj calendar released earlier on Wednesday by the Saudi Arabian Ministry of Hajj and Umrah.
The chairman said the special recognition accorded to some countries by Saudi Arabia for complying with a timeline for Hajj is a challenge that Nigeria must work hard to meet.
He wished all the Nigerian pilgrims a blessed and acceptable Hajj, promising that NAHCON will continue to up its game in providing top-notch services.
In their respective goodwill messages, the Chairman Senate Committee on Foreign Affairs, Senator Abubakar Sani Bello and the Chairman House Committee on Pilgrims Affairs, Hon. Ja’faru Ali Mohammad commended NAHCON for a job well done.
