TWO Nigerian pilgrims were delivered of new babies while perfuming this year’s pilgrimage in Saudi Arabia. The female pilgrims are from Sokoto and Kogi states.

However, 14 Nigerians were reported dead during the just concluded hajj in the holy land.

The dead included a member of staff and legal adviser to the National Hajj Commission, NAHCON,  identified as Ahmed  Idris, who travelled with his wife, died after a brief illness shortly after performing all the hajj rites.

Ibrahim Kana, head of the team in charge of health matters in the commission, disclosed this during a stakeholders’ meeting in Mecca at the 2017 hajj post Arafat meeting with stakeholders. According to him, members of the medical committee would visit all hospitals in Saudi Arabia and take care of all Nigerian patients on admission, while all unidentified and missing pilgrims would also be ascertained.

Kana projected and cautioned that within the next 10 years, Nigerians would operate hajj during a dry season and hot weather, hence those unhealthy persons or the aged would not be advised to perform the pilgrimage, except if it is expedient. Such pilgrims, he said, would need to be accompanied by able-bodied persons from home.

He added that the commission would adopt a system where the operations of all ambulances would be centralised for proper coordination.

– Sept 6, 2017 @ 15:35 GMT