FROM RAHILA ABDULLAHI, KADUNA
Kaduna State Pilgrims Welfare Agency has promised to refund $50 to its pilgrims, following the downward price review it got from the company that it engaged to slaughter animals on their behalf.
Speaking to newsmen in Makkah on Thursday, Air Vice Marshall Muhammad Dabo (rtd), a board member of the agency who chaired the Hadaya Committee, disclosed that the pilgrims will either be paid in Saudi Arabia or Nigeria, depending on their preference.
AVM Dabo said 1,357 pilgrims paid through the Kaduna State Pilgrims Welfare Agency and 700 of them who paid in Nigeria are those who are eligible for the refund.
He disclosed how his members met about five times, got input from everyone on the way to go about the assignment and how it met the companies that procured and slaughtered animals in Makkah.
Slaughtering of rams or Hadaya is an important component of the hajj rites, as pilgrims are expected to slaughter rams individually or contribute to buy a camel for slaughter.
AVM Dabo recalled that Hadaya is one of the most complicated aspects of hajj where pilgrims are often short changed, adding that it was “why we took our time and negotiated with the companies.”
According to him, the committee did not just allow the companies to procure the rams and slaughter them on their own, ‘’we went to the slaughter house to see each ram ourselves before they were slaughtered.’’
The chairman said the first company they met was ‘’owned by a Sudanese, retired General Muhammad, who insisted that we pay 500 Riyals per ram, which translates to about N200,000, which is $150.
‘’We argued that given the shortfall of the Basic Travelling Allowance, pilgrims were given $400 because of the exchange rate that the Central Bank applied, we pleaded that he should review it to 300 Riyals per ram to allow pilgrims take care of other things.
‘’At the end, we got an Islamic Development Bank-accredited company which agreed to collect 375 Riyals per animal. We were at the slaughter house to physically inspect the animals and saw them being slaughtered,’’ he added.
AVM Dabo added that with this review, pilgrims that paid for Hadaya through the Kaduna State Pilgrims Welfare Agency, will get a refund of about $50 each.
He lamented the activities of some staff of the agency who collude with Africans who live in Saudi Arabia, promising them a better price for Hadaya, adding that ‘’most of these pilgrims ended up being cheated.’’
He advised that the National Hajj Commission of Nigeria, NAHCON, should include the cost of Hadaya in the total hajj package to protect pilgrims from these unscrupulous elements.
