As one of the guests of the Custodian (I)

As airlift of Nigerian pilgrims to Saudi Arabia for the 2018 hajj exercise began with the inaugural flight that took off on Saturday July 21st, 2018 at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport in Abuja, I never imagined then that I was going to be one of the pilgrims to perform the 2018 hajj. Lest did I ever think of being a guest of the Saudi Arabian King. With only a short period to big Sallah which I already planned to travel home to celebrate, I was called to submit my international passport at the Royal Embassy of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia as a nominee shortlisted to be one of the guests of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Salman bin AbdulAzeez Al-Saud. Such a favour and honour could only be at the instance and grace of Allah who “when He says ‘Be’, it becomes”.

On Monday August 13, 2018, a short send forth reception was organized for those of us travelling from Nigeria to perform the 2018 hajj as guests of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques; solely at the expense of the government of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The venue of the reception was the Saudi Arabian Cultural Attaché’s office in Abuja. Main events at the reception included a welcome address by the Cultural Attaché, a speech by the Saudi Arabian Ambassador to Nigeria and presentation of travelling documents including passports to the nominated guests.

The travelling documents however did not include Basic Traveling Allowance (BTA). This was probably because our host, the Saudi King, was going to provide everything we needed not only to perform the hajj but also to make us (as guests) feel at home away from our respective indigenous homes. The hopeful among us insinuated that the BTA was probably going to be given on our arrival at the holy land. As each one of us on the list of the King’s guests had a handshake with the Saudi Ambassador, we individually received a pack of gifts. The pack contained a pair of white ihram clothes, a pair of white foot wear, one white waist purse and a travelling bag sticker; all imported from the holy land.

At about 2.30pm on Tuesday August 14, 2018, we departed Abuja airport for Jeddah by Egypt Air. We were to have a stopover at Cairo where we were due to take a connecting flight to Jeddah. The Nigerian team of the King’s guests was led by Prof. Muhammad Taofeeq Ibrahim who is the current Vice Chancellor of Al-Hikmah University, Ilorin. Other members of the group included Prof. Magaji Garba who is the Vice Chancellor of Federal University, Gusau; Prof. Bala Bello Muhammad Dewu of the Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria; Prof. Hassan Ibrahim Harun of the University of Jos; Dr. Abdulaziz Shittu of the University of Abuja; Dr. Yusuf Kolawole Jimoh; Dr Abdulahi  of the Nassarawa State University, Keffi; Alhaji Yahaya Muhammad Naibi who retired as a Director from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Abuja; some staff of the Saudi Arabian Embassy in Abuja; and my humble self.

At Cairo airport, we changed into our ihram clothes before boarding a Saudi Airline flight to Jeddah in the early hours of Wednesday August 15, 2018. Soon after the aircraft was airborne on our way to Jeddah, those among us who were passing through Cairo international airport for the first time started condemning the Abuja airport back home in Nigeria. They were astonished by the busy traffic of passengers at the airport as well as the size and facilities at the airport. I told the person who sat beside me that he would have been more disappointed with Nigeria if he had passed through Addis Ababa airport in Ethiopia.

The reception given to us at the Jeddah airport on our arrival was warmer than predicted. We were each given a copy of a handbook on hajj; with the option to collect the English or Arabic version of it. We were led as a group in to a brand new 2018 model luxury bus, labeled No. 10, which had an Arabic inscription that meant “Guests of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques”. As we departed Jeddah airport for Makkah city, our tour guide in the bus announced that we would first be taken to the hotel reserved for our accommodation to take some rest before we would thereafter be taken to Ka’abah mosque to enable us perform Umrah (the lesser hajj). The network of security personnel at the various checkpoints between Jeddah and Makkah were quite amazing when compared to what obtains in Nigeria. Throughout our trip from Jeddah to Makkah, we kept chanting the talbiyyah formula (Labayka Allahumma Labayk…) in chorus.

On our arrival at Casablanca hotel, a 5-star hotel located in Kude district of Makkah city, a team of officials were at the hotel entrance to receive and treat us to another brief reception. Upon stepping down form the bus, each one of us was given a cup of Zamazam water, followed immediately with a cup of hot Arabic coffee with dates. We then had a group photograph with the programme officials at a designated place close to the reception desk. Without any delays, we were led to our respective rooms and the electronic keys to the rooms were handed over to the respective occupants of the rooms. Three persons were lodged in each of the executively-furnished hotel rooms. Placed on the bed of each person was a travelling bag containing a praying carpet, an umbrella, a tooth brush, a shaving stick, a small-size comb (for combing beards), and a small handbag with which to carry these personal belongings while leaving Makkah for Mena on the 8th day of the Islamic lunar month of Dhul-hajj. These items all had the inscription “Programme for the Guests of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques”.

The Nigerian contingent of the King’s guests was on floor 2 of the hotel. The Casablanca hotel also provided accommodation for other guests from other countries. Details provided on the electronic information stand at the reception showed that the King was hosting over 1,000 guests from 63 countries across six continents. The countries include South Korea, Indonesia, Malaysia, Pakistan, Philippines, Ukraine, USA, Netherlands, Kosovo, Macedonia, Czech, Singapore, Canada, Russia, Serbia, Maldives, Albania, Ghana, Nigeria, Bangladesh, Mauritania, Niger, Nepal, Myanmar, India, Mongolia, Kenya, Sudan, Burundi, Eritrea, Chad, Congo, Senegal, Rwanda, Gambia and Ethiopia. This narration continues next week. May Allah (SWT) spare our lives beyond then, amin.