Muslims on Friday urged the National Hajj Commission of Nigeria to review and make the orientation for pilgrims comprehensive to ensure compliance with the rules guiding the yearly Hajj operations.
They said the comprehensive orientation was necessary to prevent the recurrence of the recent stampede in Mina, Saudi Arabia, in which hundreds of pilgrims were confirmed dead and many others injured.
The Muslims, who were sad over the stampede, said the incident could have been prevented had concerned authorities and pilgrims complied with the rules guiding the annual rites.
A community leader and Islamic cleric, Alhaji M. A. Abisoye, urged the commission to increase its workers to the level that would be able to control the number of pilgrims from Nigeria.
He said “When you ask between 15 and 20 officials to control 70,000 people, it is going to be a difficult task for the officials because of their limited number.
“Comprehensive orientation for pilgrims is necessary; the pilgrims should be told to follow the rules laid by the Saudi Authorities. They should be told the implication of non-compliance with the rules.”
Claiming that many pilgrims could not read Arabic language and properly interpret written instruction directing them while going for the symbolic stoning of the devil in the Holy Land, Abisoye urged the commission to devote more time in educating pilgrims in this area.
He suggested that the pilgrims from Nigeria should not exceed 50,000 every year.
Another Islamic cleric, Alhaji Kabir Akewugbore, suggested collaboration with the Saudi authorities in the area of security and crowd control, if the need be.
“Constant review of the rules guiding the exercise will also help,” he said, adding that a population that cannot be controlled should be discouraged.
An Islamic cleric in Lagos, Sulaiman Dorego, attributed most of the problems faced by Nigerian pilgrims in Mecca to their inability to understand Arabic.
He said that the few pilgrims among them who can speak the language often abandon their counterparts on arriving in Saudi Arabia while calling for comprehensive orientation for Hajj pilgrims.
He said, “Many pilgrims don’t understand Arabic, which is why many pilgrims miss their way in Mecca. It is the cause of many of the problems our pilgrims face in Mecca.”
“The government should organise classes for pilgrims to start three months ahead of the trip. Some people believe that once they pay for the trip, then that is all. Nigerians are also sometimes uncooperative. I remember when sometime we were told to travel with slippers because of their hills; some Nigerians went with high heels and twisted their ankles.”
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