A Lagos-based lawyer, Efunsola
Coker, reacts to an alleged unfair
treatment meted out to her by
the Nigerian Christian Pilgrims
Commission during a trip to Israel
last year, reports GBENGA
ADENIJI
The excitement of Miss Efunbola
Coker, a lawyer knew no bounds last
year when she considered
embarking on a pilgrimage to Israel.
Initially, her intention was to
register with the Lagos State
Pilgrims Welfare Board until,
according to her, she learnt that
the Federal Government is the ''co-
coordinator of the all pilgrimage
exercises in the nation.''
Thus, her plans changed and had to
register with the Nigerian Christian
Pilgrims Commission. But that
decision, Coker noted, has left her
with a bad experience because of
what she described as the shoddy
welfare the commission offered her
group in Israel.
Narrating her ordeal to this
correspondent, Coker said she
started having troubles with the
NCPC as soon as she bought the
forms because she discovered that
she was the one calling all the time
to seek information that ordinarily
should be available even on its
website.
According to her, she paid the sum
of N406,150.00 for the travel
package and N108,750 equivalent of
$750 for Traveller's Allowance.
Coker added that after unpleasant
handling of matters by the
commission, the group eventually
left Nigeria for Israel on Saturday,
November 10, 2012.
The lawyer explained that signs
that the trip was not going to be
eventful started manifesting when
the group was lodged in what she
called a rundown hotel in Galilee,
which she named as Savyonei
Hagalil. She further said the
experience they had in Jerusalem
was also terrible because, according
to her, the hotel they stayed was
worse than Savyonei Hagalil.
In a complaint dated November 30,
2012, sent via email to the
Executive Secretary, NCPC, Mr.
Kennedy Okpara, after she arrived
and forwarded to our
correspondent, Coker expressed
her grievances about the trip.
She wrote, ''We arrived Tel Aviv,
Israel and travelled some two hours
to our 'motel' in Galilee. I will never
forget the words of my roommate,
Mrs. Dupe Ojo, when someone
announced, 'This is the hotel' and
we looked at this place. I will never
forget the feeling of despair that
overwhelmed me as we walked into
the reception. The place was filthy,
for want of a better word. There
were cats everywhere, including the
reception, cuddling up on the dirty
chairs, the wood floor was terribly
dirty and the entire furniture and
place were terribly unclean.''
She also stated in the email that
Israel was the 18th country she
had travelled to, so she had a very
good idea about holiday packages.
The letter read in part, ''There
were no less than five persons in my
group who were over 70 years old
and I cannot imagine the toll the
stress had on them. I feel I have
been robbed by NCPC, and should
be grateful to receive by return
explanation for the treatment we
received. I do not understand why
my life had to be endangered in
Bethlehem because, as far as I am
concerned, some people wanted to
make money from us. It was this
attitude that cost over 200 lives to
be lost in the Dana air crash,
causing families grief.
''I called NCPC and spoke with a
female member of staff who told
me that pilgrimage is not about
comfort. I know too well that I paid
for comfort and NCPC collected
money enough to provide me with
just that. Again, if I paid to sleep
on floors I would have. The lady
told me the Legal Department of
NCPC is waiting for my letter. I do
not know exactly what that meant.
She said I was the only one who
complained and that some people
had actually called to thank her.
"Now, I do not know of a culture
where someone spends her hard-
earned money, gives it to another in
trust to provide certain services
and the giver picks up a phone to
thank a person she (the giver) has
patronised!''
Efforts made by our correspondent
to get the reaction of the
commission proved abortive as calls
made to the mobile phone of the
commission's Head of Operation,
Henry Ezike, rang out without him
calling back. Besides, he did not
reply the email and a text message
sent to him.
But in a rejoinder to the same
letter published on an online
platform, titled 'Rejoinder To
Efunbola Coker- A Pilgrimage Is
Not A Holiday', purportedly written
by the commission's executive
secretary, he said the state of
things painted by the writer was
false.
The writer added that the claim by
the writer that she was entitled to
a four or five star hotel was never
made.
He also said members of the public
should visit sites such as
expedia.com or hotels.com to find
out the rates for hotels in the Holy
Land.
''The writer complains that the
tour plan forced them to visit
Bethlehem and that she would have
rather not visited Bethlehem
because of the conflict in Gaza.
First of all, who would conceive of
going on a pilgrimage to the Holy
Land without visiting Bethlehem,
the birth place of our Lord and
Saviour, Jesus? What then is the
point of the pilgrimage?'' The
letter read