By Dan Sule,Jalingo
Intending pilgrims for this year’s Hajj exercise from Taraba state have expressed concerned over lack of conducive Hajj Camp in the state.
Some of them who expressed their dismay in an interview with our Correspondent at the temporary Hajj Camp in Model Primary School Jalingo also described the situation as worrisome.
Madu Ardo, Delu Moddibo and Shu’aibu Mamman all wretched the action of the state Muslim pilgrims welfare Board towards the intending pilgrims for camping them in delapideted classrooms where some of them are even unroofed.
They attributed it to the negligence of the state government for not providing a permanent Hajj Camp since the the creation of the state in 1991.
They said, the primary school is not conducive at all for camping intending pilgrims as there is no toilets, no Barth rooms while most of the classes are unroofed.
According to Madu, in the past Taraba state used to secured close to two thousand Hajj seats, but now because of poor services they hardly got even one thousand intending pilgrims.
“Like Me now about 47 of my relatives went and paid their money through Nasarawa state, beside many other people that i knew and even those that i does not know which i heard about them, they went and paid their money through other states” Madu said.
They however described the delay that Taraba usually experienced in airlifting intending pilgrims as another contributing factor that makes people running away from paying in the state.
They called on the state government under the leadership of Governor Darius Ishaku to establish a permanent Hajj Camp in the state, while they promised be good ambassadors of the state and the nation at large while in the holy land.
Reacting on the matter, Chairman Taraba state Muslim Pilgrims Welfare Board, Hamman Adama Tukur described the complaints by the intending pilgrims as baseless, saying they are supposed to be camped at NYSC permanent camp but now Corps Members are in the camp, that is why they kept them the primary school.
“God’s willing we will get our permanent Hajj Camp in Taraba very soon”
According to him, some many states are experiencing delay on the part of airlifting intending pilgrims and the problem is not from the state but the National Hajj Commission who are the ones that schedules and provides flights.
Hamman Adama however revealed that out of 1,575 seats allocated to the state, only 946 are going to perform this year’s Hajj exercise from the Taraba, pointed out that the remaining seats will be preserved against next year.
Investigation by our Correspondent indicated that, since the creation of the state in 1991 no government has established a permanent Hajj Camp.
It was also gathered that since then, about four places were being used as temporary Hajj Camp which includes Muhammad Nya Primary School and Science Secondary School all along Donga road Jalingo, the state capital.
Others are NYSC permanent camp sibre, in Ardo kola local government area and presently at Model Primary School at Donga road in Jalingo local government area of the state respectively.
Meanwhile, the state Deputy Governor Haruna Manu had on Monday evening paid a farewell to the intending pilgrims where he admonished them to be good ambassadors of their respective local governments, the state and Nigeria as a whole as well as be law abiding while in Saudi Arabia and urged them to pray for peace.
