NIGERIA’S security challenges, growth and development turnaround as well as fair, free and peaceful elections in 2015 were some of the points canvassed at a special prayer session held for the country at the weekend at Mount Arafah.
A total of 76000 pilgrims from Nigeria joined over two million Muslims from 37 countries who stood on Mount Arafah at the weekend.
Staying on the plain of Arafah is not only the cardinal rite of Hajj, it is regarded as a divine moment of blessing for the humanity. And when it falls on a Friday, it becomes a unique moment of multiple blessings. This uniqueness of this year’s Arafah Day was hammered by the Amirul Hajj and leader of Federal Government Delegation, Oba Riliwanu Akiolu of Lagos, who tasked all pilgrims from Nigeria to pray fervently for the country.
“This Arafah Day which falls on a Friday is unique. It is a sign of better things to come for us as Nigerians and our country, provided we sincerely and genuinely believe in God; be our brothers’ keeper. Since this exercise started, Dahiru Bauchi and others have been praying and the anchor of their prayers is that sincerity, love for others and belief in God should reign supreme in our hearts. We pray that all security challenges and other challenges in our country, Allah, in His infinity mercies, should bring a permanent end to them. In sha Allahu, I have no doubt that our prayers have been answered.”
The monarch, however, stressed “sincerity and honesty of purpose” as ingredient that quicken acceptance of prayer. “As we pray for all our leaders that God should be with them, guide them in the right way, the leaders also have a duty to be absolutely honest in anything they are doing. There should be no pretence of any sort. And the general elections in 2015, my prayer is that the leader that has the best interest of Nigerian community should emerge and lead us in the way of God and peaceful coexistence.”
Both Islam and Christianity, Oba Akiolu averred, “teach peace, even, the traditional religionists also preach peace,” just as he tasked Nigerian masses to cooperate with leadership. “But we the followership should also cooperate with our leaders, pray for them, support them and give them honest and sincere advice, not what they want to hear. If we continue to tell them what they want to hear, the Day of Reckoning will come when, according to the Holy Quran, the mouth will not be allowed to talk, but your hands and legs will do the talking. We should remind our leaders that everything that has the beginning must also have an end. I have no doubt that Nigeria is a blessed and loved country provided we know what we are doing. By the grace of God Almighty, all will be well for us.”
In the same vein, Speaker of the House of Representatives, Aminu Tambuwal underscored the imperativeness of peace to socio-political and economic development pleading for normalcy to return to Nigeria.
“We just finished praying for our dear country, Nigeria. We earnestly need peace and that is what has been prayed for. May God Almighty return Nigeria to normalcy, so that we can witness tremendous development in all spheres of life. This is Mount Arafah where, as Muslims, we believe that once you pray, Allah answer the prayer. And we believe firmly that Allah has answered our prayer in that respect.”
Tambuwal also seized the occasion to call on Nigerians “and our leaders that we must continue to see ourselves as Nigerians, we must continue to relate with one another as brothers and sisters. We have only one country, Nigeria and we believe in Nigeria, we must continue to work for the progress of Nigeria.’’
I plead that we should continue to tolerate each other, understand one another, and we should continue to preach unity and peaceful co existence.”
As a member of the delegation, Ambassador Adamu Muhammad Bulkachuwa described this year’s hajj as special because Arafah day fell on Friday. He recalled that the Arafah of the last and only Hajj performed by the Holy Prophet Muhammad (SAW) was also on Friday.
“We, here in the Federal Government delegation tent, have prayed for peace and tranquillity for our beloved country. And we have also prayed for the unity of Nigeria and all the things that make us, Muslims and Christians, feel bad, we have prayed against that and we have asked God to bring back Nigeria as it were in the very good old times.”
The Seriki Bai of Katgum insisted that prayer is what Nigeria need to overcome its all challenges. “At all times, we should continue to pray for Nigeria. The country needs prayers. We have so many wise, clever people, who believe they know the solution to myriad of Nigeria’s problems, but ultimately, we believe prayer is the ultimate thing as God Almighty is the only solution to our problems. We have prayed here in Saudi Arabia and I believe, Nigerians, especially Muslims who are in festive mood, will also continue to pray for our dear country.”
What gladdened the heart of the spokesman of the National Hajj Commission of Nigeria (NAHCON), Malam Uba Mana was the prompt resolution of the transportation challenge that confronted the last batch of Nigerian pilgrims in Madinah. “I am happy that all our pilgrims made it to Arafah.” Last Wednesday night when Mana’s attention was drawn to the hitches faced by 120 Nigerian pilgrims, he had assured that both the Hajj Mission and the Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Hajj Affairs were hard to the remaining pilgrims then in Madinah join their counterparts in Makkah for onward movement to Arafah on Friday.
He had attributed the delay to large number of pilgrims who arrived in the holy land this year through the city of Madinah.
“For the first time in the history of airlifting of pilgrims, over 70 per cent of pilgrims came through Madinah. And this tasked the movement of pilgrims back to Makkah for the commencement of the rites of Hajj. But the hitches are being sorted out as no pilgrim will stay in Madinah today (last Wednesday),” Malam Mana had said.
Statistics from the NAHCON office in Madinah indicates that out of 76000 pilgrims, over 74 per cent had visited the city which hosted the sacred mosque of the Holy Prophet Muhammad. A total of 37000 flew directly from Nigeria to Madinah, while 20,100 came by road having first landed in Jeddah.
And to make the stay on the plain of Arafah comfortable, Saudi Arabia authorities mobilised over 10,000 security and para military officials to ensure security of lives and property during the observation of the fundamental rite of hajj. Similarly, over 800 hospitals and clinics were provided to cater for the wellbeing of pilgrims during the dawn to dusk programme
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