Alhaji Zikrullah Hassan, the chairman of the National Hajj Commission, has stated that the commission will see to it that intended pilgrims undergo rigorous medical screening.
This is in line with what he declared, which was that anyone deemed unsuited for the journey would no longer be permitted to take part in religious activities.
When asked on Wednesday if the commission will prevent people deemed unfit from entering Saudi Arabia, Hassan responded, “Absolutely yes.”
He also disputed claims that more than 41,000 Nigerian pilgrims became ill while participating in the exercise in Saudi Arabia, claiming that some of the pilgrims had more than two visits from medical professionals.
14 pilgrims lost their lives this year while doing the Hajj. Dr. Usman Galadima, the leader of the Nigerian medical team for the trip, provided the breakdown on Sunday in Makkah during the post-Arafat review conference. He stated that seven pilgrims passed away prior to the time of Arafat.
In addition to the three fatalities reported by private tour operators, he listed the casualties as follows: Plateau (1), Kaduna (2), Osun (2), Borno (1), Yobe (1), FCT (1), Benue (1), and Lagos (1).
He said while many things could be attributed to death by others, Muslims believes death is ordained by Allah irrespective of the circumstances.
“We are Muslims and we believe that death is inevitable. Death is not associated with sickness. As Muslim, we believe death is not about sickness.
“It (death) is about when you are called by Allah. Though we would have wanted a situation where nobody dies but we can’t question the Almighty,” Hassan told our correspondent.
Speaking further, he clarified that the commission had in its team over 500 medical experts to cater to the pilgrims, adding that some figures being bandied about in some reports were false.
He said, “It is misleading to state that 41,000 Nigerian pilgrims fell sick this year, this is because the figure represents only medical consultations i.e. the number of times a doctor consulted a patient.
“A single patient can attend a clinic multiple times if his or her condition requires multiple medical consultations. We expect over a hundred thousand consultations at the end of the operation.”
On plans to reduce mortality during a pilgrimage, Hassan said, “An effective pre-HAJJ medical screening has the potential to reduce mortality during hajj.
“Therefore, we have also recommended that a more stringent medical screening be conducted and a person certified fit to perform hajj before he or she is allowed to perform Hajj.
“NAHCON could take up the responsibility of enforcing such a decision to reduce interference by the State’s stakeholders.”
