Governor Seyi Makinde of Oyo state bade 900 pilgrims of the state farewell to Saudi Arabia for the 2019 Hajj, urging them to use their pilgrimage to beseech Allah for solutions to the numerous socio-political and economic problems confronting the state and nation at large.
Speaking at the farewell ceremony held at the state’s Hajj camp, Olodo, Ibadan, on Wednesday, Makinde particularly urged the intending pilgrims to pray at the holy land of Mecca for Allah to direct the nation’s leaders to lead aright.
Especially, he urged the pilgrims to shun going with illicit and prohibited items such as drugs and kolanut, reminding them of the death penalty that awaited such offenders in Saudi Arabia.
Furthermore, he urged the intending pilgrims to resist all forms of temptations that ran contrary to the aims and objectives of performing Hajj and be good ambassadors of the state.
In a bid to reduce the stress of intending pilgrims, he avowed the commitment of his administration to seeing that the state’s pilgrims begin to be airlifted from the Ibadan Airport, Alakia, in the nearest future.
In his remarks, the Aare Musulumi of Yoruba land, Alhaji Dawud Akinola who is to lead the Oyo state delegation to Hajj, assured of an open-door policy for all pilgrims throughout their stay in Saudi Arabia.
Speaking in the same vein, Chairman, Oyo State Pilgrims Welfare Board (Muslim wing), Professor Sayed Malik assured that plans were in place to ensure the safe airlifting to and fro of the pilgrims.
Present at the farewell ceremony was the wife of Oyo governor, Mrs Omini Makinde; wife of the deputy governor, Mrs Bose Olaniyan; Chief Imam of Ibadan land, Sheik Abdulganiy Abubakri; Head, Department of Arabic and Islamic Studies, University of Ibadan, Professor Kamil Oloso; South West Commissioner of the National Hajj Commission of Nigeria (NAHCON), Sheik Adeyemi Fuad.
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