Hajj: Nigerians urged to give country good image

 As the airlift of pilgrims for this year’s Hajj enters into its final stage, a faith-based civil society organization (CSO), Independent Hajj Reporters (IHR), has called on the Nigerian delegation to the 2024 Hajj to portray the country in good light through their conducts and utterances.

IHR in a statement by its national coordinator, Ibrahim Mohammed, said both pilgrims and officials travelling to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia for Hajj should know that whatever they did would reflect on how the international community perceives Nigeria and its citizens.

The CSO particularly calls on officials to know that their duty transcends every day civic responsibility because they are serving the guests of Ar-Rahman, adding, “Anything they do with the fear of God will be highly rewarded by the Almighty.”

“While we acknowledge that officials deserve commensurate pay in line with public service rules, public servants working during Hajj operations should focus more on getting high rewards which cannot be quantified.

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 “To the pilgrims, we urge you to know that you have left your homes to travel for Hajj as enjoined by Allah SWT. Therefore, your focus should be solely devoted to your mission of achieving Hajj mabrur, the reward of which is Aljannah Firdausi.

 “Know that the Hajj journey is not about enjoyment, inasmuch as you pay for services and expect to be served, therefore, where services are not according to your expectations, consider such as part of the trials of undertaking the Hajj. Do not allow challenges to make you miss your mission,” the CSO said.

It also urged all service providers to ensure that they meet their contractual obligations without cutting corners.

Nigerian pilgrims paid for all services inclusive of service charges to ensure that they are comfortable while fulfilling their religious obligations in the holy land.