Why Nigerian Pilgrims Suffer In S/Arabia –Kaduna Community Leader

By Lawal A Dogara,Kaduna
The major problem with Hajj operations from Nigeria is that some of the pilgrim officials are no longer interested in the welfare of the pilgrims but have turned the yearly pilgrimage into a venture to make money,a community leader in Kaduna ,Malam Hassan Ahmed Rufa’i has said,
He told Newsdiaryonline today that as a result of greed and insincerity on the part of officials, many unsuspecting pilgrims suffer in their hands as they have over the years devised how to shortchange the pilgrims when giving them their basic travel allowance .Some pilgrims are often lodged in substandard hotels in spite of paying the required amount in Nigeria.
“It’s a pity,they commit all kinds of atrocities,some are even unprintable.At times there were allegations of deceit especially during the animal sacrifice.Even if you report them,they have a way of covering each other because the entire thing is now like a family business.They will tell you that most of them have gotten to the offices because their parents were there before,”he said,
Rufa’i however,expressed delight that from reports reaching him,there seems to be changes in Saudi Arabia that would improve the welfare of the Nigerian pilgrims,
He said Nigerians studying in the University of Medina are now rendering humanitarian services to pilgrims which has gone,a long way in making them feel comfortable.
Similarly,he said rickety and other bad vehicles used to convey Nigerian pilgrims were now a thing of the past,as new and comfortable luxurious buses,hitherto used in conveying Asian and European pilgrims alone, are now available for the Nigerian pilgrims.
“We learnt that these new luxurious buses are conveying our pilgrims to religious sites faster and in a very comfortable manner,unlike the situation before now,”he said.