₦airaland Forum

For a very long time I'd opined stoppage of state-sponsored pilgrimages for the purpose of rescuing the country from the verge of economic recklessness and by going so, religion would stop to be an avenue for any politician to deceive the electorates and crisis. www.punchng.com/opinion/viewpoint/time-to-scrap-state-sponsored-pilgrimages/

Are you not asking too much from an angry jihadist?

Seconded... Too much fund is wasted on these pilgrims... No b say we dey even grow holy after coming back.

Correct. The Government should have no business sponsoring religious pilgrimages, anybody that intends to travel outside the country on pilgrimage should make adequate plans for such on their own.

Religion/pilgrimage is a private matter.

Lalasticlala

Pls people should mke their research and findings very well before making comments. There is no such thing as State sponsored pilgrimage especially for Muslims. People pay from their pockets. Recently in katsina State, intending Pilgrims have been instructed to to N650,000.00K via bank draft. As time goes they will be asked to pay more depending on choice of class that pilgrim wishes. HAjj happens to be one of the pillars of Islam, so muslims don't mind paying for it despite the cost to fulfill the obligation. We have so many people around us who wil save just go for Hajj but they don't care about other worldly things.
I don't know how our christian pilgrim board is so I won't comment on that.

dt02:
Pls people should mke their research and findings very well before making comments. There is no such thing as State sponsored pilgrimage especially for Muslims. People pay from their pockets. Recently in katsina State, intending Pilgrims have been instructed to to N650,000.00K via bank draft. As time goes they will be asked to pay more depending on choice of class that pilgrim wishes. HAjj happens to be one of the pillars of Islam, so muslims don't mind paying for it despite the cost to fulfill the obligation. We have so many people around us who wil save just go for Hajj but they don't care about other worldly things.
I don't know how our christian pilgrim board is so I won't comment on that.

you are the one to get your fact right, state stiil sponsor pilgrimage although most of the people still pay with their money.

dt02:
Pls people should mke their research and findings very well before making comments. There is no such thing as State sponsored pilgrimage especially for Muslims. People pay from their pockets. Recently in katsina State, intending Pilgrims have been instructed to to N650,000.00K via bank draft. As time goes they will be asked to pay more depending on choice of class that pilgrim wishes. HAjj happens to be one of the pillars of Islam, so muslims don't mind paying for it despite the cost to fulfill the obligation. We have so many people around us who wil save just go for Hajj but they don't care about other worldly things.
I don't know how our christian pilgrim board is so I won't comment on that.

maybe you are oblivious of how some states operate the programme, try to find out, like in my state and some others that I know very well...they give Jerusalem/ hajj slots to some stalwarts of political parties and other people such as the traditional and religious leaders for state to pay for their trip. Those leaders now share the slots among their favorites and family members...as a matter of fact majority of councillors and local govt chairmen who performed any pilgrimage must have been sponsored by the state

dt02:
Pls people should mke their research and findings very well before making comments. There is no such thing as State sponsored pilgrimage especially for Muslims. People pay from their pockets. Recently in katsina State, intending Pilgrims have been instructed to to N650,000.00K via bank draft. As time goes they will be asked to pay more depending on choice of class that pilgrim wishes. HAjj happens to be one of the pillars of Islam, so muslims don't mind paying for it despite the cost to fulfill the obligation. We have so many people around us who wil save just go for Hajj but they don't care about other worldly things.
I don't know how our christian pilgrim board is so I won't comment on that.

I quite agree with you to an extent that most pilgrims make savings to actualize a very important part of their religious obligation. (Let us say it here once again, it is a compulsory journey at least once in lifetime of any physically and financially capable Muslims).
This nonetheless, we have government at all level sponsoring few individuals using the state's fund.

I have encountered many serious cases where genuine Muslims who are more qualified (financially, physically and with adequate knowledge of Hajj activities) were denied and slots were given to pilgrim boards’ members’ concubine and some of their political thugs.

A times the pilgrim board members create artificial scarcity of the application form and gave them to their surrogate to sell at a higher price more than twice the official price. Could you imagine extorting intending pilgrim to part with about 450k above the official price of 650k?

I am in support that Government should look into this pilgrimage stuff, as the intended beneficiaries (if there are any) are not the one actually getting the benefits from these establishments.

There are so many despicable activities in the way the pilgrim boards (Muslim and Christian) operate,

Government should look into both boards and review their operations and existence.

It one of the many areas Nigeria can block financial and moral leakages.

People who are ill-informed should not construed my comment to mean for North and/or South, in fact most of my experience is that of South, while similar things happen in other part of the country, including south-south and south east mostly at state levels.


God Bless Nigeria